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sliced pork hock on a white plate.
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5 from 2 votes

Crispy Pork Hocks (Schweinshaxe Recipe)

Crispy pork hocks or knuckles (Schweinshaxen): German comfort food at its best! Incredibly tender meat wrapped in super crispy pork crackling and served with a cold beer!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 40 minutes
Total Time2 hours 50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: German
Servings: 4
Calories: 927kcal
Author: Adina

Ingredients

  • 2 pork hocks knuckles (Notes 1,2)
  • 2 onions
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 2 cloves
  • 5 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon juniper berries
  • 1 teaspoon whole caraway seeds
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt + more to sprinkle
  • water to cover
  • 1 bottle German beer
  • 250 ml 8.5 fl. oz/ 1 cup from the cooking broth

Instructions

  • Boil hocks: Place the pork hocks, peeled and halved onions, peeled garlic cloves, cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper berries, caraway seeds in a large pot. Cover entirely with water. Bring to a boil. Add the salt, turn down the heat and simmer the pork hocks for 1 hour and 30 minutes, the water should only slowly simmer and not boil at any time.
  • Shortly before the time is up, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Roast: Carefully transfer the knuckles to a roasting tin (Note 3). Pour ½ of the beer on top of the hocks and add about 1 cup hot broth to the tin. Sprinkle the hocks with salt. Roast for 30 minutes.
  • Flip: Turn the hocks on the other side and sprinkle them with salt. Add the rest of the beer to the roasting tin. Roast for another 30 minutes. The meat should be very tender.
  • Crisp: Turn on the broiler to crisp the skin. Broil the meat, turning the hocks on all sides, so that the skin can crisp all over. Keep an eye on the knuckles all the time, the crackling should not turn dark, but remain golden brown and get crispy. Serve immediately.

Notes

  1. Total weight of about 1.5 – 2 kg/ 3.3 – 4.4 oz. This amount is enough to feed four people; however, it looks nicer to serve a hock per person when serving guests. You will have loads of leftovers, though.
  2. Fresh, uncured, and unsmoked pork hocks or knuckles. NOT shanks.
  3. You can use the broth to make a hearty soup. Discard the vegetables and spices, let the broth cool completely. Place the pot in the fridge overnight, the fat will solidify, and you will be able to remove it quickly. Use the stock to make soup; see blog post for suggestions.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 927kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 100g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 330mg | Sodium: 1277mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g