The story behind the recipe
Pork knuckle is a part of the pig's leg with bone: the hind is cut from the ham, and the front at the elbow joint. As a dish, the "Encyclopedia of Poland" from 1996 describes it, according to Wikipedia, as "a traditional Polish dish served with horseradish or mustard and pea puree." The knuckle with skin is boiled in water with vegetables and spices until tender, in the Silesian Beskids and Żywiec region, it is braised in beer, and the roasted version is also eaten cold, sliced, with bread.
In many regions, it shows the influence of German cuisine. The description of "pork knuckle in Greater Poland" on the Ministry of Agriculture's website links it to the over a hundred-year period of Prussian partition, and the Poznań dialect dictionary provides the term "ajsbajna," from the German Eisbein. According to the description of the knuckle from Pilzno, the dish likely came from Germany and became popular in Galicia. For years, it was a festive dish: it was eaten during pig slaughter, at Easter, and Christmas.
On the ministerial List of Traditional Products, there are several types of pork knuckle. The Podkarpacka knuckle from Pilzno (listed in 2007) was once salted for about a week in wooden troughs and smoked over fruit wood with juniper. The pickled knuckle according to Poniatowski (2026) is braised for 8–10 hours at 85°C. The closest to this recipe is the knuckle with sautéed cabbage from Nagawek in the Łódź Voivodeship (2016): first boiled, then roasted for about 40 minutes with marjoram and bay leaves, and drizzled with beer.
Ingredients
For boiling
-
2 pcs pork knuckles (about 1.2–1.4 kg each; or 3–4 front ones, totaling about 2.6 kg)
Abroad: Germany: frische Schweinshaxe or Eisbein ungepökelt; USA: fresh pork hock; UK: pork knuckle or pork hock (not pickled) - 200 g carrots (2 pieces)
-
150 g parsley root (1 piece)
Abroad: parsnip (pasternak) -
150 g celery root
Abroad: celeriac, celery root - 1 pc onion (or 1/2 leek)
- 4 cloves garlic
-
2 pcs bay leaves
Abroad: bay leaves -
4 pcs allspice (whole berries)
Abroad: allspice berries - 1 tsp (5 ml) black peppercorns
- 1 tsp (about 6 g) salt (omit if the knuckle is pickled)
For roasting
- 1 tbsp (about 21 g) honey
-
1 tbsp (15 ml) mustard
Abroad: Dijon or mittelscharfer Senf - 3 cloves garlic (pressed through a garlic press)
-
1 tsp (5 ml) sweet paprika
Abroad: sweet paprika - ½ tsp (about 3 g) salt (omit if the knuckle is pickled)
-
caraway (a pinch)
Abroad: caraway seeds (not cumin) -
marjoram or thyme (a pinch)
Abroad: dried marjoram -
250 ml dark beer (light beer will also work)
Abroad: Dunkel, Schwarzbier, porter - 250 ml broth from boiling the knuckle
- 2 pcs onion (sliced)
For serving
-
grated horseradish and mustard
Abroad: prepared horseradish; Germany: Meerrettich; Austria: Kren - sautéed cabbage, pea puree, or potatoes (choose one)
Method, step by step
-
Inspect the skin of the knuckles and singe any remaining bristles over a flame or with a torch, then wash the meat thoroughly. If you want, you can score the skin in a crisscross pattern with a sharp knife, being careful not to cut into the meat: raw skin is easier to cut than cooked.
-
Cut the onion in half and char the cut side on a dry skillet until it darkens significantly. This will give color and flavor to the broth. Peel the carrots, parsley root, and celery, and cut them into large pieces.
-
Bring water to a boil. Place the knuckles in a large pot (about 5 liters), cover them with boiling water, add bay leaves, allspice, pepper, and salt. When the water comes to a boil again, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer slowly.
-
When the meat is slightly tender, add the vegetables, charred onion, and 4 cloves of garlic to the pot. Adding the vegetables later will prevent them from falling apart in the broth. Cook the knuckles for a total of about 2 hours (large hind ones up to 2.5 hours), until the meat starts to easily pull away from the bone.
-
Remove the knuckles from the broth and set aside to cool slightly. Pour a cup of the broth (250 ml) for roasting, and keep the rest for soup.
-
Prepare the paste: mix honey, mustard, pressed garlic, sweet paprika, salt, and a pinch of caraway and marjoram.
-
Rub the knuckles with the paste on all sides and let them sit for 30–60 minutes to absorb the flavors.
-
Spread the onion slices in a baking dish or roasting pan, place the knuckles on top, and pour in 250 ml of beer and 250 ml of broth. Cover with a lid or foil, place in a cold oven, set to 200°C (top and bottom heat), and roast for one hour, starting from when the oven heats up.
-
Remove the cover and roast for another 20 minutes, basting the knuckles with the pan sauce every few minutes, until the skin is dark golden and shiny.
-
Serve immediately, hot, with horseradish and mustard, along with sautéed cabbage, pea puree, or potatoes. Serve the roasting sauce with onions separately.
Photos
