''Schweinshaxe'' (), in

German cuisine The cuisine of Germany () is made up of many different local or regional cuisines, reflecting the country's federal history. Germany itself is part of the larger cultural region of Central Europe, sharing many culinary traditions with neighbo ...

, is a roasted

ham hock __NOTOC__ A ham hock (or hough) or pork knuckle is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the hog's leg. It is the portion of the leg that is neither part of the ham proper no ...

(or “pork knuckle”). The ham hock is the end of the pig's leg, just above the ankle and below the meaty ham portion. It is especially popular in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

as ''Schweinshaxn'' �ʃvaɪns.haksn̩or ''Sauhax(n)'' �saohaks(n̩) A variation of this dish is known in parts of Germany as Eisbein, in which the ham hock is pickled and usually slightly boiled. Schweinshaxe is one of the formerly typical peasant foods, in which recipes were composed to make inexpensive and tough cuts of meat more palatable (see, for beef, the popular Sauerbraten). Such inexpensive cuts usually require long periods of preparation. The meat is sometimes marinated for days, and in the case of big cuts up to a week. The Schweinshaxe is then roasted at low temperatures, typically—depending on size—for two to three hours. The most popular side dishes are potatoes and cabbage variations. Schweinshaxe in Korea

The Austrian version of this dish is called ''Stelze'' �ʃtɛl.tsəor in dialect ''Stötzn''/''Stelzn'' ʃtœˑ.tsṇ It is usually marinated or pre-boiled in a caraway seed and

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northe ...

brine, roasted until the skin is crisp, and served with mustard,

horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwide ...

, and pickled

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus '' Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

s. The Bavarian version is classically served with

potato dumplings Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fish ...

and red cabbage, or with

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria fe ...

and potatoes.

References

German pork dishes Bavarian cuisine Peasant food {{germany-cuisine-stub

See also

References