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Home » Main Meals » Crispy pork knuckle with saute potatoes (Eisbein)

Crispy pork knuckle with saute potatoes (Eisbein)

Author: VJ Published : August 2019 Updated : August 2021 / 12 people have commented

Recipe
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Eisbein is a traditional German dish of juicy, tender pork knuckle with the crispiest, crackly skin. Serve with vegetables and perfectly cooked creamy saute potatoes for a meal you will want to eat again and again!

2 crispy pork knuckles on a plate.

Post updated August 2021 with new photos and extra information – the recipe itself remains unchanged.

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Table Of Contents
  1. What is pork knuckle?
  2. Recipe notes
  3. How to cook a crispy pork knuckle
  4. How to make the saute potatoes
  5. FAQ
  6. Other roasts
  7. Pin for later
  8. Recipe – Crispy pork knuckle with saute potatoes
  9. Crispy pork knuckle with saute potatoes

There are many names for this dish, depending on where you live in the world. In Germany it is either Schweinshaxe or Eisbein, in Poland it is known as Golonka and the Swedes call it Flasklagg. If you are in Austria, it goes by the name of Stelze. My particular favourite is the Italian name for pork knuckle, which is Stinco. In my personal vocabulary however, I call it delicious!

What is pork knuckle?

Pork knuckle is traditionally made from a boiled ham hock and can be served either just boiled, with soft skin, or you can put it under the grill to convert the soft skin into a crispy crackly coating.

You can also roast the pork knuckle in the oven, rather than boiling, which will result in a nice crispy skin. I prefer to boil it first in the pressure cooker because I think it makes the meat juicier. The meat from the knuckle has a lot of connective tissue and ligaments and therefore it needs to be either boiled for a long time or baked very slowly in the oven to break down this tissue and soften the meat.

Properly cooked, pork knuckle is one of the most tender and tasty joints of meat you can get.

What part of the pig does it come from?

A pork knuckle is a cut of meat from just above the trotter on either the front or back leg of the pig. The cut from the back leg is larger than the one from the front leg, but both taste the same and can be cooked in the same way.

I found this picture on Wikipedia, which illustrates the cut perfectly.

A drawing of a pig showing the position of the hock.

Recipe notes

  • Prep time – 15 minutes
  • Cooking time – 2 hours
  • Calories – 360 per serving
  • Main equipment – electric pressure cooker (or normal pressure cooker). I use a Pressure King Pro electric pressure cooker, but I’ve had it for so long I can’t find it on Amazon! I did find this one though, which is very similar (and probably a lot more up-to-date).

How to cook a crispy pork knuckle

For a complete list of ingredients and full instructions on how to cook a crispy pork knuckle, see the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

It takes about 2 hours to pressure cook the meat and crisp the skin. The potatoes take about half an hour to prepare and cook, but they can be done whilst the meat is cooking so I haven’t added this to the total time.

Get the meat in the pressure cooker

My pressure cooker will only take 2 pork knuckles at a time so if you want to do 4 knuckles you will need a REALLY big pressure cooker, or you will have to do them in 2 batches.

You will need pork knuckles, celery, a carrot, an onion and some black peppercorns and salt.

Try to get pork knuckles with a good covering of skin. Sometimes the butcher will trim a lot of the skin away, but it is the skin that gives the lovely crispness to this dish.

An uncooked pork knuckle normally weighs in the region of 2 pounds or 900 grams. However, there are two large bones running through the knuckle, and a lot of fat and connective tissue which adds tons of flavour, but is normally not eaten.

Rinse the knuckles in cold water and put them in a pressure cooker with 1 carrot, 1 stick of celery, 1 small onion, about 10 peppercorns and 1 teaspoon of salt and cover with 1/2 litre of water. No need to chop the veggies first – they are only in there to add flavour.

Set the pressure cooker time

I like to cook this in 30 minute stages . After the first 30 minutes I open the pressure cooker and give the meat a bit of a stir around. Then cook again for another 30 minutes. Depending on the size of the pork knuckles they may be fully cooked after the second 30 minutes. If not, I give them a bit longer.

First stage

Set the pressure cooker at 30 minutes on its highest setting. Mine has a setting for ‘stew’ and a setting for ‘meat’ and I find that ‘stew’ works better for this.
After 30 minutes let the pressure release, open the pressure cooker and turn the meat. Top up with more water if it looks as though it is boiling dry. I didn’t need to do this, but it depends on your pressure cooker.

Second stage

Cook for another 30 minutes then release the pressure and open the pressure cooker. Check the meat do see whether it is done.
The meat will be ready if the skin is translucent and the meat can be easily pierced with a fork, and looks as though it is ready to fall off the bone. The meat will also have pulled back from the bone.

Final stage

This stage is where you give your meat a final cook, if it is still not quite done after the first 2 stages.

I was cooking 2 large knuckles and found that they weren’t completely cooked so I gave them another 30 minutes.

Use your own judgement
The length of cooking time depends on the size of your pork knuckles. You may find you only need (say) another 15 minutes.

A cooked pork knuckle before being crisped in the oven.
Remove the knuckles from the pressure cooker and allow them to cool so that you can handle them. Pat them dry with kitchen paper and cover with a good sprinkling of salt. The salt helps the skin to crisp.

Crisp the skin

Place the knuckles in a baking tray and on a shelf just above the bottom of your oven (ie below the middle) with the grill turned on. Don’t put them too close to the grill of they WILL burn.
Be careful THEY BURN EASILY. You need to keep your eye on them and turn them occasionally so that they crisp all over.
If you find the meat is browning too much, cover the meat with a piece of tin-foil and leave only the skin exposed.

Cooked pork knuckles partially covered with tinfoil before being crisped.

Remove from the oven

Once the pork knuckles are crispy you can remove them from the oven and serve. I like to serve them with saute potatoes and a selection of vegetables.

A crispy eisbein on a plate with vegetables, showing the inside of the meat.
The skin of the eisbein turns crispy on the outside and sticky on the inside once it has been under the grill. However, the inner meat remains tender and juicy.

How to make the saute potatoes

You will need a large frying pan with a lid.

For the saute potatoes you need to have twice as many potatoes as onions. If you are making this for four people you will need 6 medium-sized potatoes and 3 medium onions.

I always brown the potatoes in a little oil before adding the onions. This way the saute potatoes tend to come out nice and brown, whereas if you fry the onions first and then add the potatoes they still taste the same, but they don’t have that lovely golden brown colour.

Three images showing steps for making saute potatoes.

Fry the potatoes

Chop the potatoes into 1″ cubes and place them in 2 tablespoons of hot oil in a frying pan.
Sprinkle with salt and allow to brown over a hot heat stirring occasionally. I like to brown the potatoes first as this gives a good colour to the saute potatoes.

Add the onions

Now add the onions to the potatoes. Give them a good stir, turn down the heat and cover with a lid.

Saute until cooked

Allow the potatoes and onions to saute gently, stirring occasionally until done. This step takes about 10 minutes. The potatoes should be soft and creamy and the onions should be nice and soft.

FAQ

How many people will 1 pork knuckle serve?

We are a family of 2 and I normally make one knuckle each purely because we are greedy and both like the crackling. There is always a lot of meat leftover, but it makes lovely sandwiches.
This also depends on the size of the knuckle- a small one would be more than sufficient for one person – a medium to large one would probably serve 2 hungry people.

Do I have to use a pressure cooker?

No, you can boil the knuckles in a normal saucepan. Depending on the size, this could take up to three hours. A pressure cooker just speeds up the process.

What can I serve with this?

In Germany this cut of meat is traditionally served with sauerkraut (pickled cabbage).
I like to serve it with saute potatoes and a bowl of fresh steamed vegetables. You could serve it with mashed potatoes if you prefer (mash your potatoes with a teaspoon of mustard and a knob of butter for instant mustard mash).
A dish of apple sauce makes a nice accompaniment or a little mustard on the side.

What can I do with the cooking liquid?

The cooking liquid has a lovely flavour. I strain it through a sieve and keep it in the fridge for adding to stews and casseroles.
The liquid turns to jelly when cold (because of all the gelatin in the meat fibres) and the fat rises to the top and can be skimmed off.
It will keep for up to a week in a sealed jar in the fridge, or you can freeze it.

What do I do with the leftovers?

These knuckles have quite a lot of meat on them, and for those with a smaller appetite, there is always a lot leftover. Why not turn the leftovers into mini pork pies?
Just line muffin tins with shortcrust pastry, fill with chopped up leftover meat, top up with the cooking liquid, cover with a lid of pastry and bake in a hot oven (200C/400F) for 15 to 20 minutes until the pastry is golden.
Allow them to cool before eating.

A crispy eisbein on a plate.

Other roasts

If you enjoyed this crispy Eisbein you may also enjoy these other roasts:

  • Lamb shanks with minted gravy – so tender you could cut it with a fork
  • Minted roast leg of lamb – roast leg of lamb in a delicious mint marinade
  • Meatloaf wrapped in bacon – oven baked for extra flavour
  • Sticky oven-baked Pork Spare Ribs with honey glaze
  • Honey lemon roast chicken – succulent and flavourful roast chicken

Or why not just have a browse through my section on main meals for a bit of inspiration for your next supper.

If you’d like to be notified of any new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter. As a thank-you gift, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

Pin for later

Why not pin this Eisbein recipe so you can make it later.

This recipe was number 5 on my top 10 recipes for December 2019.

Recipe – Crispy pork knuckle with saute potatoes

2 crispy pork knuckles on a plate.

Crispy pork knuckle with saute potatoes

Eisbein is a traditional German dish of juicy, tender pork knuckle with the crispiest, crackly skin. Serve with vegetables and perfectly cooked creamy saute potatoes for a meal you will want to eat again and again!
Recipe by: Veronica
Main Course
Any
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 4 people
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4.34 from 6 votes

(Click the stars to rate this recipe)

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker
  • Frying pan with lid
  • Baking dish

Ingredients

For the pork knuckle

  • 2 to 3 pork knuckles
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 stick celery
  • 1 small onion
  • ½ litre water or 1 pint
  • 10 whole black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the saute potatoes

  • 6 medium potatoes cubed
  • 3 medium onions coarsely chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive oil or sunflower oil
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  • Wash the pork knuckles and place in a pressure cooker
    2 to 3 pork knuckles
  • Add the whole carrot, celery and onion along with the salt and peppercorns
    1 medium carrot, 1 stick celery, 1 small onion, 10 whole black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon salt
  • Pour in the water
    ½ litre water
  • Set the pressure cooker on 'meat' or 'stew' function and cook for 30 minutes
  • Release the pressure, open the pressure cooker and turn the meat over.
  • Set the pressure cooker on 'meat' or 'stew' function and cook for a further 30 minutes
  • Release the pressure, open the pressure cooker and check for 'doneness'.
  • If the meat is not quite done steam again for a few minutes. Use your own judgement on this step.
  • When the meat is cooked, remove from the pressure cooker and allow to cool until you can handle it. Pat the skin dry with kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt and place in a baking pan on the lowest shelf of your oven under a hot grill, turning occasionally, until the skin is crispy.

For the saute potatoes

  • Cut the potatoes into 1" pieces. Chop the onion into 1 cm dice.
    6 medium potatoes, 3 medium onions
  • Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the potatoes and allow to brown slightly.
    2 Tablespoons Olive oil or sunflower oil
  • Add the onions and stir to coat with oil and to mix with the potatoes. Add salt to taste.
    Salt to taste
  • Place the lid on the frying pan, reduce the heat and allow the potatoes and onions to sweat gently until the potatoes are soft and the onions are cooked through. Stir occasionally.

Notes

Use your own judgement when deciding how many pork knuckles you will need.  One medium-sized pork knuckle will realistically serve 2 people (unless you are really hungry).  If you do end up with leftovers, the cold pork makes delicious sandwiches.
My pressure cooker will only take 2 knuckles at a time so if you want to do 4 knuckles you will need a REALLY big pressure cooker, or you will have to do them in 2 batches.
There is no need to chop up the vegetables before adding them to the meat.  They are only used as flavouring and can be discarded once the meat is cooked.
Cooking time depends on the size of your pork knuckles.  They are done when the skin is translucent and the meat looks as though it is about to fall off the bone.  The meat will also have retracted from the bone.
Be careful when crisping the skin in the oven – KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT.  Don’t put the meat too close to the grill.  Below the centre of the oven is fine.  Turn the pork often to crisp all round.
Use tinfoil to protect the bits of meat that don’t have a skin covering.
Brown the potatoes first to ensure that your saute potatoes have an appetising brown colour.
I have not calculated the nutrition information for this recipe as this will depend on a number of things, such as the amount of fat on the pork, the size of the pork knuckles and the number of knuckles that you actually cook.
 

I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I’d love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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Filed Under: All Recipes, Main Meals

About VJ

In my previous life, I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, and you'll probably find a little South African influence creeping in due to the many years I spent there.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rebecca

    3 March 2023 at 1:23 pm

    German here 👋
    Actually, Eisbein is not the same as pork knuckle, which is called “Schweinshaxe”.
    Proper eisbein is a slightly different cut of meat to pork knuckle, and uses a unique method specific to Berlin of boiling the meat so that it becomes smooth. Eisbein will have no crackle and is never crispy; it’s rather more similar to corned ham!

    Reply
    • VJ

      3 March 2023 at 3:17 pm

      Hi Rebecca. Yes, that has been pointed out to me. However in my defence, I grew up in South Africa where a crispy pork hock or pork knuckle is referred to as Eisbein. When I visited Namibia (which was called German South West Africa up until 1919) we were served this dish and they called it eisbein. I’ll add a paragraph to the recipe notes to reflect this.

      Reply
  2. Carol

    7 September 2022 at 3:28 am

    5 stars
    I don’t understand what you mean by “Lowest shelf of your oven under a hot grill”. Do you mean broil? Thank you

    Reply
    • VJ

      8 September 2022 at 12:39 pm

      Hi Carol, yes, I do mean broil. In the UK we call it ‘grill’. I’ll make a point of mentioning that in my recipes from now on. When I say ‘lowest shelf’ I mean as far away from the grill/broiler as possible so that it doesn’t burn.

      Reply
  3. Helga

    13 September 2021 at 10:51 am

    1 star
    Hi – I do not own
    pressure cooker, so I will use a pot instead. At what temperature are you cooking.

    Reply
    • VJ

      13 September 2021 at 1:02 pm

      Hi Helga
      I haven’t actually cooked this in anything other than a pressure cooker, but you will have to simmer the knuckles in a large pot on the stove for 2 to 3 hours. Bring the water to a boil, add the meat and then reduce the heat to low so that the water is just simmering.
      The pork will be ready to go into the oven when it starts to pull away from the bone.
      Hope this helps
      VJ x

      Reply
  4. Konanani

    6 July 2021 at 6:05 pm

    Good advice on the pork knuckle, i loved it im going to cook and crisp it tomorrow

    Reply
    • VJ

      7 July 2021 at 12:29 pm

      Oh lovely. I’d love to know how it turns out!

      Reply
  5. Carolyn Schreiber

    16 June 2021 at 7:05 pm

    5 stars
    Recently had Pork Hocks,t, the German,Balkan restaurant called it Grillhax. I’m comfortable with Schweinshaxe. I had to buy the pork hocks and can’t wait to make your recipe for company. I love my Fagor pressure cooker,it can do the job for 4 hocks. Thanks again for this great recipe

    Reply
  6. Yvonne

    20 October 2020 at 2:58 pm

    Thanks will try mine to day

    Reply
  7. Yvonne Davel

    15 October 2020 at 12:00 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe will try the rest of them as well. Thanks they all sound great.

    Reply
    • VJ

      15 October 2020 at 12:15 pm

      Thank you Yvonne – hope you enjoy them all 🙂

      Reply

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