Franconian Schäufele

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 portions of pork shoulder (Schäufele)
• 1 pack of soup vegetables (carrot, leek, celery, parsley)
• 1 tsp, heaped caraway seeds
• 1 clarified butter
• 1 large onion(s)
• 2 carnations
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 small rosemary sprig(s)
• 1 pack of gingerbread with sauce, crushed
• 1 slice(s) black bread (edges), well dried, shredded
• 1 bottle of wheat beer (preferably wheat bock, alternatively dark or light wheat beer)
• 750 ml vegetable stock

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 4 hours

First, rub the shoulder of pork (if the rind isn’t yet cut, then make a nice checkered cut) with salt and pepper. Heat the clarified butter in a pan and sear the pieces on all sides. Then place the shoulder of pork in a large, deep baking sheet or casserole dish. Deglaze the hot pan with approximately 250 ml of vegetable stock, bring to a boil briefly, and carefully scrape off any leftover roasting residue from the pan. Then add everything to the baking sheet with the seared shoulder of pork. Add the cloves, spread the bay leaves over the baking sheet, sprinkle with caraway seeds, and add the rosemary sprig. Set aside for now. Now roughly chop the vegetables (leek, celery, carrot, and onion) and sear them well in the pan – they should brown nicely. Just before they’re nicely browned, add the sliced ​​garlic and chopped parsley. Once everything is nice and dark, spread everything out next to the shoulder of pork in the baking tray. Arrange the gingerbread and the edges of the black bread around the shoulder of pork, making sure everything is well covered with liquid. Place the baking tray in the hot oven on the middle rack at just under 160°C (320°F) and leave it there for a good three hours. After the first thirty minutes, open the tray every now and then and pour the sauce from the tray over the shoulder of pork. Every now and then, add a splash of beer to the rind and top up with the remaining vegetable stock until it is all gone. Note: Over the course of the three hours, I like to pour one to one and a half bottles of wheat beer over the crust. Just before the shoulder of pork is done, briefly switch to the broiler function at the top of the oven and look through the window to see how the crusts on the shoulder of pork now rise and become really crispy. Then remove the shoulder of pork, place them on a nice large plate, and fish out the cloves and bay leaves from the tray. Pour the sauce into a large pot and puree thoroughly with a hand blender. I usually don’t need to season the sauce any further. Then serve. Good potato dumplings and spaetzle go best with it.