Oven Baked Fresh Pork Hocks

This is a German inspired dish.  It’s called Eisbein in Northern Germany and Schweinshaxe in the southern part.  My inspiration is not totally authentic because I’ve added more root vegetables to it;  for fall time cooler weather this is a perfect dish.  It’s nice to serve for the family and even guests.  Not only is it quite healthy, but it’s also super economical.  The dish shown here cost me $13 (including the sauerkraut and optionals) for 3 generous servings.  And that cost is here in the Sun Valley, Idaho region where prices are a bit more than in other lower lying areas.  If you wonder from where the “hock” comes, let me tell you: it’s the part of the pig where the foot was attached to the leg.

Ingredients:

• 3 Fresh Pork Hocks
• 1 or 2 onion(s)-sliced thin
• 4-6 garlic cloves, halved or quartered
• 1 leek sliced thin
• 3 celery sticks roughly chopped or even diced
• 1/4 C. olive oil
• Sea salt and ground pepper to taste
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 Tsp. juniper berries or some rosemary (I used about two small sprigs but you can use dried as well—maybe 1 Tsp. full) and 1 Tsp. or more of fresh lemon juice or you can use some gin (use your discretion for this)
• 4 C. or less of heated beef stock (if cumin is your thing, you can add a little of that to the stock)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• Additions if you wish
• 3 white potatoes – quartered or in large chunks
• 3 carrots peeled and cut in large chunks
• 3-4 Brussels sprouts—quartered
• 1 parsnip- peeled and cut in large chunks
• 1 turnip peeled and cut in large chunks
• Serve with separately heated sauerkraut and if you didn’t use the potatoes in the dish, those can be cooked separately and served with the “kraut” and the hocks.

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 425
• In a roasting pan that you can easily cover, spread the onion, celery, garlic cloves and leek on the bottom.
• Place the pork hocks on top of the veggies and pour the olive oil over the hocks and pepper and salt both sides but make sure the hocks are rind side up before placing in oven.
• Pour on 1 C. beef stock
• Place in 425 oven and bake for about 25 minutes or till the rind is crispy.
• Remove the pan from the oven and turn the oven down to 350.
• At this point of the recipe, I did check every half-hour to make sure the stock had not totally evaporated. If so just add more.  Also you can baste the meat every half-hour.
• Probably all of the stock has evaporated which mine did; so add 2 more C. of beef stock. Add the juniper berries or fresh lemon juice and rosemary sprigs (or gin), the 2 cinnamon sticks and bay leaves.  I also added the optional parsnip and turnip at this stage.
• Cover and bake for 1 hour.
• Then add the optional potatoes, carrots and Brussels sprouts. You might need more beef stock at this point so add another cup.
• Cover and bake for another hour or until the meat is easily removed from the bone. However, don’t over cook or the hook will become tough.