Schweinshaxe (Pork Knuckles) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 small leek
1 stalk celery
1 carrot
1 onion
2 meaty pork knuckles
salt
black peppercorns
2 tablespoons cooking fat or 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1/8 teaspoon cumin (or to taste)
beer or water

Preparation

Wash and dice the leek, celery, carrot and onion.
Cook pork knuckles, diced vegetables, salt and peppercorns in water to cover 2 to 3 hours or until tender; avoid overcooking.
Remove from water; drain well reserving vegetables and cooking liquid.
Preheat oven to 425F.
Melt fat or shortening in an dutch oven.
Add drained pork knuckles, cooked vegetables and a small amount of cooking liquid.
Bake 30 minutes, moistening meat frequently with more cooking liquid.
Just before meat is done, sprinkle with beer or water in which a good amount of salt has been dissolved.
Add cumin to taste.
Serve with potato or white bread dumplings or sauerkraut salad.
Note: In Bavaria, the juices and cooking liquid are strained and served as an accompanying sauce.