Crisp Roasted Pork Hocks with Caramelized Onion Gravy

, from Issue #31. September, 2015
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Crisp Roasted Pork Hocks with Caramelized Onion Gravy

What's more comforting than crispy roasted pork and a delicious caramelized onion gravy? Nothing.

 

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

3 pork hocks, skin on, approx 1 kilogram each (we used free-farmed)
olive oil
sea salt

Gravy
1 tablespoon olive oil
knob of butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly, optional
2 cups chicken or beef stock
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 220˚C.

Using a very sharp knife, score the skin 2 cm apart around the circumference of each hock or ask your butcher to do this for you. Brush with olive oil and season well with sea salt.

Place the hocks on a rack set over a roasting dish and pour 1 cm of water into the base of the dish.

Roast for 1 hour, turning the hocks occasionally for even crisping of the skin.

Reduce the heat to 160˚C and roast for a further 2 hours, adding more water to the dish as needed. The meat should be meltingly tender and the skin crisp and golden. Transfer the hocks to a platter to rest, loosely covered, for 10 minutes.

Gravy: Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is tender and has started to caramelize. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the mustard and redcurrant jelly then gradually stir in the stock. Season and bring to the boil. Cook over a high heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until reduced by a third.

To serve: Place the pork hocks on a serving platter. Serve with Parsnip and Pear Mash.