Eisbein Roasted and smoked pork knuckle

Eisbein or Pork Knuckle is a typical German dish and can be fried, boiled, roasted or smoked. In all preparations, it undergoes salting and dry seasoning or immersion brine, which may or may not contain curing salt. The curing salt will make the meat redder, which is typical of pork knuckles. I prefer boiled or roasted knee as it is more tender. In this preparation I finished with a very quick smoke on a common barbecue with coals and wood chips just to give a slight touch of flavor and add a more beautiful color on the outside, but all the cooking was done in the oven. The most traditional preparation is boiled, but I prefer roasted as it doesn't dilute the flavor in the water.

Ingredients

Immersion curing

• 2.5kg of pork knuckle;
• 1.5kg of water; (may vary depending on your container)
• 50g of salt; (1,25% of water+meat)
• 20g of sugar; (helps with flavor and final color)
• 10g of curing salt¹; (*optional for 4kg of water+knees)
• 10g of antioxidant based on sodium erythorbate². (*optional in the same amount as curing salt)

Spice

• 1 dessert spoon of mustard seed;
• 1g of powdered ginger;
• 2g white pepper;
• 4g of allspice;
• 1g of smoked paprika;
• 8 bay leaves.

Condiments can vary in type and quantity according to your taste and creativity.

* Curing salt has a positive effect on the coloring, conservation and prevention of fat oxidation. To understand read curing salt what it is and how much to use.
¹ Type 1 curing salt, with 94% of salt and 6% of sodium nitrite, if you use a curing salt with different % use our additive calculator.
² Whenever using curing salt it is recommended to use an antioxidant to aid the healing process. The amount is usually the same as curing salt, but always consult your manufacturer.

Preparation of Eisbein – Roasted and smoked pork knuckle

Boil all the ingredients, except the knee, for 1 minute in half the water (750ml), turn off the heat and add the other half of the cold water (accelerates cooling), wait for it to cool, immerse the knees and leave to cure for 5 days covered in the fridge. This is a technique of brine for balance in which the salt concentration between the water and the meat is stabilized. In addition to the salt, it also gives the curing salt time to act (if used). The amount of salt added can vary between 1% and 2% of the weight of water+meat, depending on the desired doneness. Above 2% is usually excessive.

Remove the knuckles from the brine, rinse them under running water and place them in a refractory dish, cover with aluminum foil and roast over low heat for 3 hours or until very soft, falling off the bone.

Remove from the refractory, place on a grill lined with aluminum paper, light the barbecue with little charcoal (low heat), when it is hot, add a few chips of wood for smoking, sawdust or moistened wood shavings. Place the pork knuckles away from the heat if possible, cover the grill leaving just a small passage of smoke, smoke for about 10 minutes just to transfer some of the flavor and color.

For more details about smoking on the barbecue, visit How to smoke on the barbecue?

Result

Pork knuckle is a tough meat that must be cooked for a long time to become very tender. Smoking requires a little extra work and is optional, but it added a very good additional flavor and aroma that I consider to be worth the effort. Curing salt is also optional, but the color and light flavor of the cured product are very typical and pleasant. Pork knuckle goes very well with roast potatoes, sauerkraut and yellow or dark mustard.