Eisbein (cooked pork knuckle Berlin style)

Pork knuckles can be found in the many parts of Germany. However, the preparations can be very different.
In the south it is usually grilled. The skin gets very crispy. In Berlin it is cooked.

The orginal spice mix is from "Calle cooks grandma's recipe's (in German)". Of course some of the things I can't get here or they are really exepensive. 

I used:
  • celery (celery root would be better, but is hard do come buy and expensive)
  • fresh thyme (I used some I had in the freezer, an eye balled tsp)
  • parsley (I used frozen as well, a good hand full)
  • 1 medium onion, cut into 8 pieces (on the internet some people don't even peel, I dont like that, I peel)
  • 2 carrots, cut into larger chunks
  • leeks or Chinese onions (they look like baby leeks, I used those)
  • around 12 Allspice kernels
  • around 10 juniper berries (smashed)
  • around 12-15 whole black pepper kernels
  • 6 bay leaves (fresh or frozen if you have, dried is fine as well)
  • 1.5 tbsp salt
  • water
And of course a pork knuckle
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In a big pot add all of it. The water should cover the meat.
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Bring to a boil and turn the heat down to simmer.
The cooking time really depends on the size of the knuckle. Mine took about 3h 15 minutes.
Then it was really fall of the bone. To check, one can try to move the bones a bit. If they start to move showing to all out of the knuckle, it is good.

Remove the knuckle and serve with sides. Traditional sides are sauerkraut, peas, potatos. Mustard is a must.

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A beer goes well with it.
The skin looks not that appetizing. One could just put it under the broiler for about 10-15 minutes.
I was not planning on eating it in he first place. So it is ok. The meat is tender and tasty.

Now what to do with the broth: Let it cool down, strain it and freeze it. This is going to be the base for for the next soup.
-Mahlzeit-



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