Franconian Schäufele

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 ½ kg pork shoulder, raw, unsmoked, with bone and rind
• 1 soup vegetables (2 carrots, celery, leek, parsley)
• 2 onions
• 4 carnations
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• ½ tsp black pepper, ground
• ½ tsp marjoram, dried
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 1 sprig(s) rosemary (small branch)
• 1 liter meat broth, instant
• 200 ml beer, strong, light or semi-dark, not bitter (no pilsner)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 4 hours; Total time approx. 16 hours 45 minutes

Roasted pork shoulder, called Schäufele or Schäuferle – a Franconian specialty

First of all: Schäufele is called that because the pork shoulder blade is shaped like a shovel blade. Or perhaps because you really dig in with a good Schäufele. The dish has a very long tradition in Franconia (especially Middle and Upper Franconia) as a Sunday or holiday meal. Regional tradition is reflected not only in the preparation, but also in the shape of the cut of meat. It’s not always easy to find a butcher who knows what’s meant (you just have to travel from northern Franconia to central Bavaria) and how to properly cut the bone with the meat. Prepare the day before: Wash the Schäufele and pat it dry. Cut the rind into small squares with a very sharp knife (or even a carpet knife). The smaller the squares, the better (approx. 1 x 1 cm or smaller) – this creates a particularly crispy crust with lots of little “crackers.” You can, of course, have the butcher do it for you – but they should be small. Cut deep into the rind, but not all the way into the meat. Grind the caraway seeds in a mortar and pestle, add all the other spices except cloves, salt, bay leaves, and rosemary, and a clove of garlic. Grind everything in a mortar to form a spice paste. Rub the mixture all over the meat, except the rind (essential oils from spices, garlic, etc., will toughen it), and let it rest, covered, in the refrigerator overnight. Preparation on the day of cooking: Preheat the oven to 250°C (top/bottom heat). Prepare a liter of meat broth (not too strong, rather thin). Keep the broth hot throughout the entire cooking time—it will be needed gradually to add the broth. One liter is plenty; you may need the rest to season the sauce. While the oven is preheating and the broth is boiling, wash and trim the vegetables and roughly dice them (for example, just quarter the carrots lengthwise). We only need the heads of the parsley. Only take the inside of the leek; a 10 cm piece is enough. Pierce each onion with 2 cloves. Now salt the shoulder of pork and place it in a shallow roasting pan or the oven roasting tray. In a pinch, a large ovenproof frying pan will do. Add the soup vegetables, bay leaves, rosemary, and a whole garlic clove, peeled down to the inner skin. Pour the hot stock over everything, just enough so that the soup vegetables are not completely covered. Then immediately place it in the preheated oven on the lowest rack. The shoulder of pork should not be too close to the top heat, otherwise the rind will burn. After 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 150 °C (not NT, but it has proven itself). Baste the shoulder of pork with the cooking juices from the roasting pan approximately every 30-45 minutes. Make sure that too much liquid does not evaporate and the soup vegetables and sauce do not burn. If necessary, add a little hot meat broth, but only enough to cover the vegetables. About 45 minutes before the end of the roasting time, pour a little beer over the shoulder of pork, and again 15 minutes later. If you don’t want beer, you can also use a little boiling water with a pinch of salt – this also promotes crust formation, if necessary. Depending on the quality of the meat, the shoulder of pork should be ready after about 4 hours; if in doubt, leave it longer, as it won’t dry out as quickly. Test: Take a thin, flexible knife and run a small piece between the meat and bone. This should be easy. When carving, the juicy meat should practically fall out. After the roasting time is over, wrap the shoulder of pork in aluminum foil and keep warm. Strain the sauce through a sieve into a pot. Strain the vegetables and onions (without the garlic clove if necessary) through the sieve. Shoulder of pork sauce remains “natural” and is not usually thickened or refined with cream or sour cream. If desired, add remaining meat broth and/or a little beer (but carefully!), season with salt and pepper if desired, and bring the sauce to a boil briefly. Cut the shoulder of pork lengthwise into slices (the most tender part is on the underside of the bone). When serving, keep the crust free of sauce. Side dishes: Raw dumplings (“potato dumplings”), sauerkraut, and/or a mixed salad. Note: Traditionally, Franconians eat the shoulder of pork itself, not slices. The shoulder of pork is then served with the bone, cut into 1/2 – 1/4 pieces. This assumes, of course, that you can buy the meat from the butcher as is. If you make four “small” shoulders instead of one large family-sized shoulder of pork, the roasting time is reduced to about 2.5 to 3 hours.