__NOTOC__ A ham hock (or hough) or pork knuckle is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the

metatarsals The metatarsal bones, or metatarsus, are a group of five long bones in the foot, located between the tarsal bones of the hind- and mid-foot and the phalanges of the toes. Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are numbered from the me ...

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 Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

proper nor the ankle or foot ( trotter), but rather the extreme shank end of the leg bone.

Uses

Since this piece generally consists of much skin, tendons and ligaments, it requires long cooking through stewing or

braising Braising (from the French word ''braiser'') is a combination-cooking method that uses both wet and dry heats: typically, the food is first browned at a high temperature, then simmered in a covered pot in cooking liquid (such as wine, broth, coco ...

to be made palatable. The cut of meat can be cooked with greens and other vegetables or in flavorful sauces. It is often added to soups, such as pea and ham soup, with the meat being added to the soup prior to serving. It can also be added to savoury pies. The meat of particularly meaty hocks may be removed and served as is. Ham hocks, like hog jowls (pigs' cheeks), add a distinctive flavor to various dishes. This is particularly true for collard greens, mustard greens, cabbage, green beans and navy beans. Ham hocks are essential ingredients for the distinct flavor in

soul food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...

and other forms of American Southern country cooking. In the

Appalachian mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, it is common to add ham hocks along with chopped onion and spices to pots of

pinto beans The pinto bean () is a variety of common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''). In Spanish they are called , literally "painted bean" (compare pinto horse). It is the most popular bean by crop production in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United Stat ...

to make the meal more hearty. In the Mid-Atlantic States, in rural regions settled by the Pennsylvania Dutch, hocks are a commonly used ingredient for making a kind of meat loaf called

scrapple Scrapple, also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name ''Pannhaas'' ("pan tenderloin" in English), is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and wheat flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is forme ...

Eisbein Eisbein (literally: 'ice leg') is a German culinary dish of corned ham hock, usually cured and slightly boiled. Despite the name, no ice is actually used in its preparation. The word probably comes from High German via the Latin term used in m ...

is the name of the joint in north

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, and at the same time the name of a dish of roasted ham hock, called

Schweinshaxe ''Schweinshaxe'' (), in German cuisine, is a roasted ham hock (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 as ''Schweinshaxn'' �� ...

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 lan ...

, Stelze in Austria and Wädli in Switzerland. The dish is very popular in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, using this cut. The dish is also popular in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, where it is most popular in Ostrava, close to the Polish border. It is the most popular dish in Polish-Czech Silesia, where it is served in a soup made from sauerkraut called Golonka (Czech: Vepřové koleno). Ham hocks are also popular when boiled with escarole, more commonly called

endives Endive () is a leaf vegetable belonging to the genus '' Cichorium'', which includes several similar bitter-leafed vegetables. Species include '' Cichorium endivia'' (also called endive), '' Cichorium pumilum'' (also called wild endive), and ''Ci ...

, in

Italian-American cuisine Italian-American cuisine is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, called Italian Americans. As immigrants ...

Fläsklägg med rotmos Fläsklägg med rotmos () is a dish in Swedish cuisine, closely related to German Eisbein. The name literally means "ham hock with root mash." Method Cured ham hock is cooked for one to two hours together with onions, carrots, and allspice. R ...

is a Swedish dish consisting of cured ham hocks and a mash of

rutabaga Rutabaga (; North American English) or swede (British English and some Commonwealth English) is a root vegetable, a form of ''Brassica napus'' (which also includes rapeseed). Other names include Swedish turnip, neep (Scots), and turnip (Scott ...

and potatoes, served with sweet

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

. In Canada, and particularly Montreal, ham hocks are referred to as "pigs' knuckles" and are served in bistros and taverns with baked beans. In northern Italy ham hocks are referred to as stinco, and is often served roast whole with sauerkraut.

Gallery

Image:Ham hock with bok choy 2.jpg, Chinese-style ham hock with

bok choy Bok choy (American English, Canadian English, and Australian English), pak choi (British English) or pok choi (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''chinensis'') is a type of Chinese cabbage, used as food. ''Chinensis'' varieties do not form heads and have ...

gravy Gravy is a sauce often made from the juices of meats that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or corn starch for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a simple mix of salt ...

File:Schweinshaxe Chiang Mai.JPG,

served with roasted potatoes (Bratkartoffeln) and

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 ferm ...

at a Bavarian restaurant in Chiang Mai,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Image:schweizerhaus04.jpg, Roasted Austrian style Stelze Image:Eisbein-2.jpg, Pickled Eisbein with Sauerkraut File:Khao kha mu 01.jpg, Ham hocks stewed in soy sauce and

five-spice powder Five-spice powder () is a spice mixture of five or more spices used predominantly in almost all branches of Chinese cuisine. It is also used in Hawaiian cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine. The five flavors of the spices (sweet, bitter, sour, sa ...

at a street stall in Chiang Mai,

File:Polish pork knuckle with grilled oscypek cheese.jpg, Ham hock (golonka) with grilled

oscypek Oscypek (pronounced , Polish plural: ''oscypki''), rarely Oszczypek, is a smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk exclusively in the Tatra Mountains region of Poland. Oscypek is made by an expert named "baca", a term also denoting a shepherd in ...

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 worldwi ...

and a slice of beetroot in

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ham Hock Cuisine of the Southern United States Soul food Cuts of pork German cuisine Czech cuisine Polish cuisine Swedish cuisine Ham Chinese cuisine Smoked meat

Uses

Gallery

See also

References

External links