Easy Roasted Pork Leg
I never would have thought that I'd eat roasted pork leg with such appetite when on a diet, but actually I am doing this thanks to the low-carb or keto diet. I would always avoid eating pork leg because it's greasy and decadent and now I am so happy to find that it is possible to eat and even recommended. The most important detail is not to serve it with carbohydrates, we had sauerkraut as a garnish and it was perfect. If you don't have restrictions, mashed potatoes work well.
I prefer to cook it in the oven only, but if you have a traditionally raised pork knuckle and the meat is a little harder, you better boil it beforehand. The charm of a perfect roasted pork leg is to be able to gently remove the meat from the bone, with the meat literally melting, while the skin is brown and crunchy. If you don't cook it long enough, it will be difficult to serve, you will get disappointed and this would be such a pity!
No matter how clean the shank looks, I still recommend burning it a little with open fire. Then scrape with a knife, rinse well and clean the skin of all impurities.
Cut the garlic cloves in half and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt.
Make some deep slits into the soft parts of the knuckle using a knife - for the garlic cloves.
Stud each slit with the garlic cloves cut in halves and salt.
This will not only give flavor to the knuckle, but will also add salt on the inside.
Be generous with the garlic, the more the better.
Sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper (or other favorite spices) and rub the skin all over.
At this stage you can make some slits into the skin in the shape of small diamonds - I did not.
In a small bowl, mix the mustard with soy sauce.
Coat the skin well on all sides with this paste.
Transfer to a small dish, large enough to fit in.
If you use a large oven sheet, the juice will spread all over, it will burn and you will have a hard time :)
Cover with foil or place the meat in cooking bag and bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 1 hour, even 1 hour and a half.
After this time the steak should be pretty well cooked, insert the knife to check for doneness.
Remove the foil and brush well with the juice and the fat released in the tray.
Bake uncovered in the oven for another 20-30 minutes and brush the pork leg with the juice from the dish from time to time.
This way, at the end, the skin will be reddish and crunchy yet not dry.
Remove from the oven, let cool for half an hour at room temperature. Meanwhile, you can cook the sauerkraut, with some onions and tomato paste, or make any other favorite garnish.
Enjoy!
