RULKA – Russian Pork Knuckle (рулька)

I fondly remember my mother’s cooking from my childhood, in my opinion, a characteristic that each one of us inevitably carries for life. That is our unbreakable family connection, part of our identity. I especially loved gelatinous meat cuts that she used to make soups with.

My father on the other side favoured cooked pork knuckle and pork legs. Funny as it is, for that reason our  family used to have cooked pork legs for lunch, even at the beach during summer.

Rulka is a different dish but definitely reignites memories and reminds of good old family flavours.

This is Russian version of Bavarian classic “Schweinshaxe” or roasted ham hock. Being a dish from a peasant food family, it involves an inexpensive meat cut and hence, usual long preparation time. Having muscle connective tissues turning soft and gelatinous is accomplished at low heat over long time. In this recipe; pork knuckle is first pre-cooked with spices and then roasted until the skin turns crisp.

In Russia, Rulka is typically used as a beer snack but is also served with cognac. The accompanied sauce is a great complement to this finger-licking dish. The recipe for the sauce is provided as well.

The best part is peeling off the crackling skin and then dipping it in the sauce. The taste is heavenly!

We had Rulka for dinner and it was amazing! The sauce has a pronounced clove spice flavor. It strikes you as a surprise at first, but you quickly adapt and then you just want all of it. In my case I started at first with measured sauce dipping, which after few minutes turned into sauce scooping. It is amazing how well sauce and meat work together.

This is a typical comfort food. Salty, deeply flavorful and satisfying. You cannot go wrong with it!

The recipe has been adapted from chef Greg Easter and his channel “Cooking in Russia”.

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RULKA - Russian Pork Knuckle (рулька)

Pork ham hock with crackling skin, roasted to perfection and accompanying dipping sauce!

Course

Main Dish, Sauce

Cuisine

Russian

Keyword

pork knuckle

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

6-8 hours

Passive Time

8-12 hours

Servings

servings

Ingredients

Cooking

• 2 kg ham hocks
• 1 large onion cut in 5 mm (1/4") slices
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 whole garlic head unpeeled, cut horizontally
• 500 ml dopplebock beer
• 2 bay leaves
• 35 g sea salt
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• vegetable oil

Sauce

• 110 g Spanish red onion chopped
• 60 g Red bell pepper chopped
• 22 g garlic cloves chopped
• 180 g Italian tomato purée
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 1 tbsp Adjika Georgian spice
• 90 ml dopplebock beer
• 60 g granulated sugar
• 30 ml fresh lemon juice
• vegetable oil

Course Main Dish, Sauce Cuisine Russian Keyword pork knuckle Prep Time 30 min Cook Time 6-8 hours Passive Time 8-12 hours Servings servings Ingredients Cooking 2 kg ham hocks 1 large onion cut in 5 mm (1/4") slices 2 tbsp smoked paprika 1 tsp whole cloves 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 whole garlic head unpeeled, cut horizontally 500 ml dopplebock beer 2 bay leaves 35 g sea salt 2 tbsp granulated sugar vegetable oil Sauce 110 g Spanish red onion chopped 60 g Red bell pepper chopped 22 g garlic cloves chopped 180 g Italian tomato purée 1 tsp whole cloves 1 tbsp Adjika Georgian spice 90 ml dopplebock beer 60 g granulated sugar 30 ml fresh lemon juice vegetable oil

Instructions

Day 1: Rulka Cooking

1. Slice onion in 5 mm (1/4") thick circles.
2. Over medium heat (5 out of 10) heat up large 5L pot, add enough vegetable oil just to cover the bottom.
3. Line the pot bottom with cut onion slices in one layer. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add 2 tbsp of smoked paprika and stir.
5. Add 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 1 tsp whole cloves, head of unpeeled garlic and horizontally cut in half. Stir it all together.
6. Sprinkle in 35g of salt to help softening the onions, stir it around and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Put pork knuckle(s) in the pot and pour in the whole bottle (500 ml) of beer. Top it up with water just to cover pork knuckles.
8. Add 2 tbsp of sugar and bring it all to simmer. Put the lid on and over low heat (1-2 out of 10) have the liquid barely simmering for 2-4 hours.

   
9. Remove pork knuckle(s) and set on a plate. Try to set it up vertically so the skin is fully exposed. Let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8-12 hours.

   
10. Strain the broth and save about 300 ml. Put it in airtight container and refrigerate.

Sauce

1. Prepare all the ingredients including precutting onions, bell pepper and garlic.
2. Over high heat (10 out 10) add vegetable oil into preheated medium size sauce pan.
3. Sauté onions and peppers for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add chopped garlic, tomato puree, whole cloves, beer. Stir it all together and reduce heat to medium low (4 out of 10). Let it simmer for 5 more minutes.
5. Add sugar, lemon juice and Adjika. Stir all around and let simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Using a stick blender, process everything together.
7. Cover the sauce pan and over low heat (1-2 out of 10), slow simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Pass the sauce through the sieve and let it cool to room temperature.

   

Day 2: Rulka Roasting

1. Pour the saved broth into a ceramic or glass dish with a low side. Place pork knuckle in the dish, ideally in vertical orientation exposing the skin all the way around.
2. Preheat the oven at 170ºC (340ºF), convection oven, circulation fan on.
3. Roast Rulka for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Monitor the liquid level in the baking dish and add water as needed.

   
4. After 3 hours, baste the Rulka at least once with the juices and let it roast for another 30 min.

   
5. Inspect the doneness by knocking on the rulka's skin with your finger nail. If it makes a hollow sound it is done, if not let it roast a little longer until that is accomplished.
6. Let the Rulka rest for at least 20 minutes before serving. Serve hot with dipping sauce.

Recipe Notes

• make sure that pork knuckles are cooked at barely simmering liquid. You should see only an odd bubble that comes to the surface of the cooking broth. If you let it come to a full boil that will cause fat to render and meat to fall of the bones. The purpose of this stage is to infuse flavours to the meat.
• pork knuckles are refrigerated uncovered in order to dry out and firm up the skin. This is important step in order to get a crisp crackling skin after roasting.

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