The Schäufele got its name from its main ingredient: pork shoulder, which is shaped like a shovel. Its crispy and delicious crust makes Schäufele unique and a very special delicacy. Traditionally, Franconian dumplings, sauerkraut, red cabbage, or a delicious salad are served as side dishes.

Preparation time: approx. 45 minutes
Resting time: approx. 12 hours
Cooking time: approx. 4 hours

Preparation of the Schäufele the day before

1. Wash the pork shoulder and thoroughly pat dry.
2. Use a very sharp knife to cut small squares into the rind. The squares should be approximately 1 cm x 1 cm or smaller. This makes the crust especially crispy at the end. Make sure that the cuts are deep, but do not go into the meat.
3. First grind the caraway seeds in a mortar. Add garlic cloves, caraway seeds, black pepper, marjoram, and nutmeg, and grind everything into a spice paste. Rub the meat with it, but not the rind, otherwise it will become tough. Cover the meat and leave it to rest in the refrigerator overnight.

Preparation of the Schäufele on cooking day

1. Preheat the oven to 250 °C top/bottom heat.
2. Prepare the meat broth. It should be rather thin and not too strong. Since it is needed repeatedly during the frying process, it must be kept hot throughout the entire frying time. One liter is quite generous. The rest can be used to season the sauce if necessary.
3. Wash and clean the carrots, celery, leeks, and parsley.
a. Cut the celery into large cubes.
b. Cut the carrots lengthwise into quarters.
c. Remove the leaves from the parsley.
d. A 10 cm piece from the inside of the leek stalk is sufficient.
e. Stud each onion with 2 cloves.
4. Now salt the pork shoulder and place it in a shallow roasting pan. If necessary, a large oven proof pan can also be used. Add carrots, celery, leeks, parsley, bay leaves, rosemary, and a peeled garlic clove. Pour the hot broth over everything so that the vegetables are not completely covered.
5. Place everything on the lowest rack in the preheated oven. The pork shoulder should not be placed too close to the top heat, otherwise the crackling will burn.
6. After 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 150 °C.
7. Every 30 - 45 minutes, baste the pork shoulder with the juices from the roasting pan. Make sure that not too much liquid evaporates and that the vegetables and sauce do not burn. If necessary, add a little hot meat broth but make sure that the vegetables are not completely covered.
8. Approximately 45 minutes before the end of the roasting time, pour 100 ml of beer over the pork shoulder. After 15 minutes, repeat this step with the remaining beer. Instead of beer, you can also use boiling water with a pinch of salt.
9. After about 4 hours, the pork shoulder should be ready.
Test: Use a thin, flexible knife to cut a small piece between the meat and the bone. This should be easy. Otherwise, leave the meat in the oven for a few more minutes and repeat the test.
10. Once cooked, wrap the pork shoulder in aluminum foil and keep warm.
11. Pour the sauce through a sieve into a saucepan. Then pass the soup greens and onions (without garlic) through the sieve. The sauce does not need to be thickened or refined with cream or sour cream. If desired, carefully add the remaining meat broth and/or a little beer to the sauce in small amounts. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and briefly bring to a boil.
12. Finally, slice the pork shoulder lengthwise. When serving, make sure that the crackling remains free of sauce.
Preparation of side dishes: Franconian dumplings and either sauerkraut or red cabbage during the frying time.