Franconian Schäuferla

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 portions of pork shoulder with rind (Schäuferla), 500 g each
• 20 g salt
• some caraway
• some pepper
• 2 tbsp oil
• ½ bunch soup vegetables
• ¼ sauce gingerbread, more if needed
• ½ slice(s) farmhouse bread, more if needed
• ½ liter of beer (country beer), no pilsner
• ½ liter vegetable broth, strong

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours

Franconian national dish

Wash the Schäuferla and pat dry. Score the rind crosswise. Then mix salt, pepper, and caraway seeds with one or two tablespoons of oil to form a paste and rub the mixture evenly into the Schäuferla. Place the Schäuferla skin-side up on the baking tray. Clean and finely chop the soup vegetables, and arrange them on the baking tray with the gingerbread and half a slice of bread. Pour in the beer and vegetable stock. Place the Schäuferla in the oven at 160°C (convection oven) for at least 2 hours (preferably 2.5 hours). Then pour the sauce and soup vegetables through a sieve into a saucepan. Return the Schäuferla to the oven and, if desired, crisp up the rind a little more under the grill. Spoon some of the soup vegetables through the sieve into the sauce. Season the sauce to taste and bring back to a boil briefly. This goes well with Franconian savoy cabbage, dumplings, and, of course, unfiltered beer. Tips: For those of you who aren’t from Franconia. A good Schäuferla (a kind of dumpling) thrives on a crispy rind and a tasty, thickened sauce. A soft, chewy rind is a mortal sin. To prevent this from happening, simply place the Schäuferla under the oven grill for another 5 or 10 minutes as described above. The rind will then expand and form bubbles, looking almost a bit like popcorn. To make the sauce nice and creamy without a thickener, use the gingerbread and bread. If the sauce doesn’t have the right consistency after skimming, you can also add some gingerbread and bread afterward. This time, leave the bread without the crust. Bring the sauce back to a boil for another 5 minutes and then puree it with an immersion blender.