A German Pork Hock “Bake-Off”
A German Pork Hock is peasant food at itβs best–with big flavor, rich, fork tender meat and juicy crisp skin for a special entree.
I’d never baked a pork hock until recently. But this unusual cut of meat and I go way back. You see Milwaukee has a strong German heritage and in my youth, we celebrated many special events at a German restaurant–Karl Ratzchβs for local readers.
One of my favorite dishes was a German Style Pork Hock, sometimes known as Schweinshaxe. With its juicy, fork tender meat and crackly, crispy skin it was a rich and flavorful dinner–and a great comfort food.
I had never thought about cooking one until I ordered local pastured pork for my freezer. As I phoned in my cutting instructions, the butcher asked, βdo you want the hocks?β With good memories and up for a challenge, I answered an enthusiastic, βYES!β Now to find a recipe!
What is a Pork Hock?
If you didn’t grow up eating German food (or other international recipes), this may be the first time you’ve heard of pork hocks. Also known as a pork knuckle or ham hock, it is the part of the pig that falls below the meaty ham and above the foot.
An inexpensive and under-appreciated cut of meat, it will knock your socks off prepared correctly. It’s hard to beat juicy fork tender meat and a crispy exterior. With a lot of connective tissue and fat that melts into the meat, it does well slow roasted (or boiled) then crisped up at the end.
Alas, from the butcher’s question, I was guessing many people turned it into ground pork or sausage.
Since I was a newbie, off I went to the internet where I found two different recipes which would give me two tries to get it right!
What Didn’t Work
I started with the easiest recipe. Simply dry and salt the exterior then bake for a couple of hours at a combination of high and medium heat. It sounded too good to be true. But since this is more or less how I make my easy roast chicken (which works great) I decided to give it a try.
In the end, however, the meat wasnβt that tender and the exterior wasnβt that crisp. Yup, this is why Iβm sometimes wary of taking the easy route.
But read on for what did work!
What You’ll Need
Ingredients
- Leek, celery, carrot, onion. These add flavor to the boiling liquid which helps flavor the meat.
- Salt, peppercorns. More flavor!
- Pork Hock.
Special Tools
- A large stock pot will be needed.
Step by Step Directions
My second attempt came from the website Quick German Recipes. It involved pre-boiling with vegetables then baking at a high temperature.
And the result? A lovely combination of crisp exterior and tender meat, just like I remembered. Although this recipes involves a lot of cooking time, there is actually very little working time.
You start by boiling the pork hock in water with a variety of chopped vegetables. Drain when tender and reserve the boiling liquid and vegetables.
Place the now tender hock on top oof the vegetables and a little cooking liquid and bake until crisp.
Serve!
Yup, that’s it!
What Else Should I Serve?
I always love some type of cabbage with a pork dish, especially one with a German flair. Opening a can of sauerkraut is an easy answer or my Scandinavian Red Cabbage is a delicious homemade option! And Parsley Boiled Potatoes or Homemade German Spaetzles can round out the menu!
And of course a cold Bavarian Lager would finish things off perfectly!
Yes, with Oktoberfest coming up, isn’t a German Style, Crispy Pork Hock dinner a fine way to celebrate, maybe with some Kartoffelpuffer, German Potato Pancakes.
Notes and Tips
For easier “day of” prep, I sometimes boil it the day before, refrigerate overnight and finish cooking the next day.
Many times a German Style Pork Hock is served with a gravy, though I often skip that. I am after the crispness!
If you would like a gravy you can do the following. Make a roux with 2 Tablespoons butter or pork fat and 2 Tablespoons flour in a small saucepan. Cook for a few minutes, then slowly add 1 cup of the boiling liquid and stir until thickened.
Any leftover cooking liquid can be used as a tasty stock, so I freeze it for future soups and other recipes needing broth.
Celebrate Your Heritage
- German Pork Hocks from Art of Natural Living
- Saffron Risotto with Sausage from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Scottish Avo Toasts from Palatable Pastime
- Stuffed Green Peppers from The Spiffy Cookie
- Swedish Apple Pie from Cheese Curd In Paradise
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German Style Pork Hock
Ingredients
- 1 leek diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 1/2 pounds meaty pork hock
Instructions
- Put ingredients (vegetables, salt, peppercorns, and pork hock) into stock pot or Dutch Oven and add water to cover. Bring to boil, then simmer until meat is just tender - about 2 hours. Do not overcook.
- When tender, drain, reserving the vegetables and cooking liquid.
- Preheat oven to 425Β° F.
- Place drained vegetables and a small amount of the cooking liquid in a roasting pan and set the pork hock on top. (Remaining cooking liquid can be saved for later use or discarded)
- Bake about 30 minutes, occasionally basting meat with cooking liquid, until golden.
Notes
Nutrition
.
- The Lazy Personβs Potato Garden
- Easy Plum Clafoutis (Brandied Option)
I have never tried pork hock. Now I’m totally intrigued.
If you like old country food, this is your dish, Karen!
Whenever we are in Munich, my husband makes sure that we to go to the Haxnbauer Restaurant that specializes in Schweinshaxe. I’m sure he would enjoy your version.
That sounds awesome Karen!
Simple ingredients make this dish so appealing! The crispy cook on the outside looks incredible!
So crispy and juicy Ashley!
Hi Inger,
Where do you buy your 1.5# pork hocks? Are these hocks from the fore-leg or rear leg?
thank you, Phil
I get a half hog from a local farmer every year and have it custom butchered. They ask if I want hocks and I always say “yes.” I think they must take the hocks off of the front and the back legs because I get two from my half. Though I know they’ll sometimes distribute the less wanted parts to whoever does want them (having received like 6 packages of liver more than once).
I would suggest perhaps talking to a country butcher to source these for yourself.
Chinese butcher, always has pork hocks. Front are smaller than the huge rear leg hocks.
Interesting–makes sense I guess. And good tip on the Chinese butcher. Thanks for sharing!
Well you sure did put those hocks to the test Inger! I’m liking the second version too. My grandmother use to make hocks Italian style but I’ll be darned if I can remember how. I almost think it involved pickling? Save that bone this year, it will make a GREAT soup bone!!!
Thanks so much for sharing, Inger…You sure were up to the challenge!
Thanks Louise. I thought of you as I made this. You’d need to scrape off the crispy exterior on your new diet, but I’m sure the inside would be good alone too (and the soup…)
Ingerv this pork look amazing! Im sure my hubby would love this:)
I’ll bet he would Gloria. This is a real man-pleaser!
Thanks for doing the cook-off on our behalf! Sounds like you came up with a real winner.
I was hoping the easy version would win Beth π But in the end, the other wasn’t that hard, and I’m happy to have a new dish we like!
This looks so tender and delicious! A perfect way to celebrate October! Love your photos!
Thanks Kathy. Now that the temperatures are really dropping, it sure does feel like October!
You mean September
Or March even π
What a lovely recipe. Looks so amazing.
I was a little unsure in some of the intermediate pictures π I kept thinking it was a good thing my kids didn’t see it at that point!
Great idea for a hock-off, seems like that last one was really a winner of a recipe! And YAY Oktoberfest celebrations coming up π
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Now that it’s October, an official Happy Oktoberfest to you Uru!
I see a Black Bean Soup in your future if there is any hock left over from the first try.
I wish I’d thought of that–the bone is gone now. But there is another pork hock coming with this year’s order! Thanks for the suggestion!