Pork Belly Schweinshaxe Style

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Cologne Cathedral

📍 Where this dish comes from: Cologne · Cologne Cathedral
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Pork Belly Schweinshaxe Style, plated and ready to serve

The Schweinshaxe — roasted pork knuckle — is perhaps the most iconic image of Bavarian cuisine, and this preparation applies its two-stage slow-roast technique to pork belly, which is far easier to serve and equally spectacular, slow-roasted with caraway and dark beer for maximum authenticity. The caraway-rubbed skin blisters and shatters in the final high-heat blast, and the meat beneath is so tender it can barely hold itself together.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients for Pork Belly Schweinshaxe Style

Pork Belly Schweinshaxe Style

All the glory of a Bavarian Schweinshaxe — crispy, golden, crackle-skinned pork belly with fall-apart tender meat beneath.
Print Recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: German
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 680kcal

Ingredients

  • 1.2 kg pork belly skin on and scored deeply
  • 2 tsp coarse salt
  • 2 tsp caraway seeds crushed
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 200 ml dark German beer (or beef stock)
  • 2 tbsp lard
  • 1 onion quartered

Instructions

  • Score pork skin deeply in 1cm crosshatch pattern. Rub all over with salt, caraway, paprika, garlic, and pepper.
  • Place skin side up on onions in a roasting pan. Rest 1 hour at room temperature.
  • Preheat oven 160°C. Pour beer around (not over) pork. Roast 2.5 hours.
  • Increase heat to 230°C. Brush skin with lard. Roast 20–30 min until skin is blistered and crackling.
  • Rest 15 min before carving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 680kcal | Protein: 38g | Fat: 57g
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Cooking Pork Belly Schweinshaxe Style in the kitchen

Health Benefits

  • Pork belly is rich in vitamin B1 (thiamine), important for energy metabolism.
  • Caraway seeds are traditionally used to support digestion and may help offset the richness of fattier pork dishes.
  • Collagen-rich skin and subcutaneous fat provide glycine, studied for its potential role in gut lining and joint support.

Pairs Well With

  • Keto Sauerkraut Homemade Fermented
  • Brussels Sprouts with Speck & Mustard
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