Bautzen pot brawn

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg pork knuckle(s)
• 2 onions
• 1 large carrot(s)
• 2 small carrots
• 50 g celeriac
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 allspice berries
• 3 tbsp vinegar
• some sugar to taste
• 2 gherkins
• some mixed pickles (pearl onions and small mushrooms)
• 1 ½ liters of water
• Salt
• 8 sheets of gelatin

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 4 hours 30 minutes

a recipe from Saxony

Rinse the pork knuckle with cold water, peel and finely chop the onions. Trim and finely chop the large carrot and celery. Pour one and a half liters of cold water into a large pot, add the salt, bay leaf, and allspice. Simmer the meat, onions, carrot, and celery for two hours (do not boil briskly, as this could make the broth cloudy). Tip: A few onion skins will add color to the broth. Peel the small carrots and add them to the boil about ten minutes before the end of the cooking time. Remove the meat and the small carrots. Remove the rind, fat, and bones from the meat, and dice the pinkish-red meat. Season the broth with vinegar and sugar to taste, then strain through a sieve. Rinse a ceramic bowl with cold water. Slice the gherkins and small carrots. Dissolve the gelatin leaves completely in a cup of broth and stir into the remaining broth. Pour a small amount of this into the dish and let it cool. Arrange the meat cubes, cucumber and carrot slices, pearl onions, and mushrooms on top. Fill the dish with the remaining gelatin and let it set for about two hours. Carefully turn the dish out before serving. Serve with hearty country bread or fried potatoes with plenty of marjoram and pickled cucumbers.