Enriched in culture, this meal holds a standing ovation as one of my favorite German dishes. Passed down from generation to generation, this dish has come with stories, legends, and memories. Pork hock is cheap in price but rich in culture.
Now, you probably don’t know what that is let alone even heard of the word before but let me tell ya, it has a story behind it. Originating from Northern Germany, this dish comes with ice skaters.
“Ice skaters?”you may ask.
Yes that’s correct.
Pork hock is directly correlated with ice skating due to its reliability from its strength. Specifically, it is a bone with light meat located between the pigs ham and trotter. Now before I boar you, let’s learn how to cook this hock. See what I did there? Nope? Well, it’s not as humorous after I explain the joke but male pigs are caked boars so instead of saying bore, I said boar. Anyways the recipe is as follows as what is listed below. This is a family recipe so some measurements may have been skewed or hindered by the time they reach me but the Eisbein still tastes fantastic. Keep in mind, Eisbein can be paired with many side dishes, those which include but not excluded to pease pudding, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, beans cauliflower, and many others.
YOU WILL NEED A CROCK POT
Ingredients:
- Smoked Hocks (about 3 lbs)
- 1 Tbsp Allspice Berries
- 1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
- 4 Bay Leaf
- 2-2 1/2 tsp Yellow Mustard Seeds
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- Water; a few quarts 2-3
- 1/2 cup kosher salt, for each quart of water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pink curing salt, for each quart of water
- 1 teaspoon juniper berries
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 2 sliced onions
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon coriander
Directions:
- Take your pork and put it in a brine of about 2-3 quarts of water. Mix in all your salt and sugar needed per quart as listed above. Allow the pork to sit in the brine refrigerated for 3-5 days. The longer it sits in the brine, the saltier it will be so keep that in mind. You can also adjust how much salt you put in the brine because I know some of us will like it a teeny bit saltier.
- Place your pork inside the water and bring it to a boil. As the pork is boiling, fat will begin dissolving in the water and rising to the surface. Begin to scrap the fat from the surface until you are content. After you have done that, turn the pot back down to low heat.
- Place all the seasoning in the pot with the pork. Allow the pork and ingredients to simmer and mix together in the water on low for 2 to 3 hours. Once you start to see your rind separating from the meat, then you know it is ready. Or you can do what my family doies and just give it a guess and hope its good to go.
- Take the pork out of the water, and let it air-dry for a few moments. Then, for around 15 minutes, place the pork inside your broiler to get that nice crispy hock. Be careful not to dry our your meat. After it looks delicious, then slap that pork on your plate with some of your favorite sides and enjoy. Sides that pair with Eisbein relatively well include: cucumber salad, potato salad, boiled potatoes, and sauerkraut.
I hope you are intrigued to grow a more diverse cultural cooking and decide to make this. Eisbein is enriched in flavor and I hope you will be able to experience it. If your not a great cook, then that’s okay. Pork hock is a cheap cut of meat; your not losing out on your whole salary! Tchüss!!!