German Eisbein: How Berlin-style pork knuckle is prepared

There are traditional dishes that divide opinions. The Berliner Eisbein is one of them. Some say it's too fatty, with too much skin, while others find it wonderfully tender and juicy. What's certain is that anyone who eats a genuine Berliner Eisbein with sauerkraut and potatoes will be guaranteed to be full. But what exactly is an Eisbein, how is it prepared, and why is it called Eisbein? We have clarified these questions for you at a traditional Berlin restaurant and also visited the butcher.
#Eisbein #porkknuckle #Germany
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:51 The restaurant
01:34 The meat
02:54 Haxe vs. Eisbein
03:30 The cooking process
04:47 The final dish
CREDITS
Report: Jens von Larcher
Camera: Ralph Meiling
Edit: Holger Radeke
Supervising editors: Hendrik Welling/Ruben Kalus
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[@DWFood]

Would you give Eisbein a try?

[@willydihar2418]

Thanks for hearting my comment (one of the comments in the comments section). I absolutely would, it looks delicious 🙂

[@mgithaiga1]

maybe

[@state5497]

YES! But since I am nowhere near Germany (for now), I will have to find a recipe so I can make one myself.

[@muschikatze]

Das leckerste Eisbein mit Sauerkraut und Kartoffeln habe 1983 in der Hamburger Innenstadt gegessen. In der nähe vom Rathaus gab es eine alter Schlachterei wo ich als junger Handwerker mein Essen geholt habe. Leider gibt es den Laden nicht mehr und die heutigen Schlachter bieten so was leckeres nicht mehr an. MfG

[@hoilst265]

Did you change the thumbnail on this?

[@GrizzAxxemann]

Pork hocks were a staple growing up as a kid. Pork hocks were cheap as dirt here when I was a kid. But mom did a variation between Eisbein and Schweinhaxe. So it was braised with sauerkraut for hours so all the flavors melded, then mom would pull the hocks out and broil them for a few minutes to render some fat and make the skin crispy. Drippings would go back into the sauerkraut or into some mashed potatoes. We ate it with mustard. Mom & dad drank beer, my sister and I got apple juice.

[@cecagna]

After having both, I have to say the Schweinshaxe looks better with the crispy, salty exterior but the Eisbein is the one that tastes better. Although where I had it (Frankfurt), people called it Haspel. The curing makes such a big difference. Tender, delicious meat all the way through.

[@remist]

how much does it cost ? i would guess in germany and that big portion of meat 30€?

[@cecagna]

@@remist Surprisingly no! I never spent more than 20€ for a pork knuckle dish (usually with bread or sauerkraut or dumplings) in Germany. Berlin may be even cheaper.

[@jeromedavid7944]

Fennischfucher Mainzer LandStrasse 95

[@luketargett2233]

@@remist It's quite affordable for such a great bit of meat. Usually is 16-23eur for the whole meal

[@claudiawoods4382]

Agreed. I have it when I visit Berlin. Very tasty!

[@nielsenn7012]

This is my dads favorite dish. He is always telling how he went to Germany once and they were served this and beer on a cold day. I will have to take the trip from Denmark and try it one day 🇩🇪🇩🇰

[@backlash8776]

Don't order it if you dislike fat on your meat. It's not crispy but slimy and wobbly, the rest is really delicious but the wobbly fat kills the entire dish for me

[@knochengier]

@@backlash8776 Use some english mustard to.

[@paulson2008]

I always trust a chef who loves eating his own food. He looks like he eats his own food ;)

[@petergrandien1440]

I am Swedish and I cook this meal 4 times a year, 6h in the slow-cooker with mashed potatoes on the side

[@Deeveedends]

Now that’s literally a “meat and potatoes” meal. Looks delicious 🤤

[@peteradaniel]

I lived near Oranienplatz when I lived in Berlin and Max und Moritz was my Sunday hangover cure. I miss it so much. ❤❤❤❤

[@mightyfishman]

After I moved to Berlin 4 years ago, that's the place my friend showed me. Man, I love Eisbein. My father introduced me to this extraordinary, but simple dish. So much better than the bavarian one 😂

[@JT-yj3tr]

My Canadian husband fell in love with Eisbein and German food when we went to visit my home country (Brazil) for the first time many decades ago, so every time we go back, he insists on getting his picanha steaks, açai and going to a German restaurant.

[@dfonseka2120]

German restaurant in Brazil…lol they did not serve Jews I bet

[@cbalducc]

@@dfonseka2120 Why wouldn’t they?

[@danhobart4009]

@@dfonseka2120 South of brasil is very different from the rest of the country.

[@Garcwyn]

Light, healthy, and full of collagen and protein!

[@salguodrolyat2594]

You are right. I thought I would feel stuffed with the whole dish, but it sits quite light on the stomach. the sauerkraut is the key, I think.🤤

[@papa_pt]

Hey if Schweinshaxe is made correctly it melts in your mouth too! Plus you get the crispy exterior 😍

[@delynndehardt1859]

Yea. Im kind of obsessed with Schwineshaxe right now, I want it falling apart tender inside & crispy skin on the outside. This Berlin style does not appeal to me.

[@papa_pt]

@@delynndehardt1859 100% agreed

[@luketargett2233]

@@delynndehardt1859 yeah I prefer it done the roasted way, they do it very good in poland

[@mightyfishman]

No, the tenderness is not even close...

[@papa_pt]

@@mightyfishman BS. you can just as well brine Schweinshaxe, like every other meat, before cooking it. Which is key

[@adrianamac5759]

We eat it too in the Philippines 🇵🇭 alot. Deepfried or on a soup 🍜

[@SS-yv9cq]

Naah, you guys love pag pag, I've heard

[@adrianamac5759]

@@SS-yv9cq keep ur hate on Filipinos hun 😘 karma on u 😘

[@adrianamac5759]

@@SS-yv9cq u eat pag pag 😢 because I can smell the foul smell lingering coming from ur mouth 😁🤣

[@dancostello6465]

More pork recipes please. Don't be shy. Teach us to eat German pork dishes. Grunz, grunz!

[@shyamdevadas6099]

On my many business trips to Germany over many years, the three best things I've eaten have been pork-based and the least sophisticated ones have been the most delectable. At #3 was Raumschnitzel - breaded pork cutlet with mushrooms and sauce. #2 was Schweinehaxe - the roasted pork knuckle. #1 was a rotisserie ham hock (sorry, I don't know the authentic name) that I bought from a vending truck outside a military base. It was so simple, yet so delicious. I can just close my eyes and imagine the rich, fatty, gelatinous goodness of that Eisbein! I wish that Germany was a more affordable place to retire. I'd plan on spending my sunset years there, in a heartbeat.

[@agbottan]

When I saw the thing just cooked and not roasted, I thought it was wrong. But after seeing the video I respect the recipe and would like to eat it.

[@atabac]

You can deep fry them after boiling so that the skin becomes crispy. We call that crispy pata in the Philippines minus the curing.

[@jodawgsup]

Sounds way tastier than having boiled fat.

[@hirolla74]

@@jodawgsup Yeah but the meat is way too dry.

[@jodawgsup]

@@hirolla74Interesting! I haven't had either. Which do you prefer?

[@atabac]

if the oil is hot enough to pop the skin, will be just few seconds and wont dry the meat

[@jbkhan1135]

Lecker! Also, I haven't seen Sauerkraut cooked that way, but will definitely try it!

[@rickvanheerden788]

Excellent!

[@willydihar2418]

Danke fürs hochladen; Jetzt habe ich Lust auf eine Schweinshaxe 🙂

[@gerryhouska2859]

Used to love it in (long gone) Club Germania, Port Moresby, PNG.

[@freddymack2646]

I love succulent pork❤

[@containedhurricane]

It looks mouthwatering and makes me very hungry

[@izenkixiron5173]

Hmmm, I have this idea of dipping it in fish sauce. Definitely made my mouth water.

[@colinmayes9446]

It looks like a good meal to me, and I would certainly have it. Best wishes to you from England.

[@cheem-creem3622]

Well that checks out

[@pauloamw]

The knuckle is the tastiest part. I will definitely try Eisbein when in Berlin.

[@Nttmf]

This is simple food at it’s best. I love the preparation of the spices that will infuse into the meat. I must try this recipe at home. 😋👍

[@MaxChipz]

Imma let you finish but Schweinshaxe is the best German pork hock recipe of all time. Of allllll tiiiiime!

[@jmorello123]

I like pork knuckles or ham hocks and the food presented looks good. 👍😉

[@marcusfreire7349]

Ofcourse I'd try this delicacy. In Scotland we're I'm from we use a similar cut of pork to make our traditional soup. We call it hauch, it is divine. Reminds me of my grandparents god rest their souls ❤

[@tacit557]

It would be great ot know full receipe of this chef saurcraut, it looks delicious!

[@brandocalifornia3024]

We do it a little different here in Canada. We call ours the traditional moose knuckle.

[@zebrashark23]

I thought that is what is in Tom Green's pants.

[@AlanSmith88888]

Looks delicious

[@RhysoTV]

Thanks I'm hungry now

[@franktechmaniac7488]

Even the pork knuckle used for Haxe is cooked before it is grilled. Otherwise the meat becomes too dry. We use a pressure cooker to boil the knuckle and grill it afterward in the oven.

[@richardnunziata3221]

yum

[@sunilpatel217]

Yummy 😋

[@leviturner3265]

I have been wondering what an Eisbein was I know it was cut of pork that translates literally as ice-leg. I heard of it through learning the language. I was familiar with Schweinehaxe, although I have yet to try it. Seeing what Eisbein and the difference between it and Schweinehaxe makes me want to try both. If I ever make it to Berlin, I would definitely like to visit the traditional restaurant featured here. I was actually avoiding going to Berlin because in contrast to Munich it is very much a modern and international city, at least as far as I am led to believe. Whereas Munich is more so traditional and German albeit Bavarian German. In truth I would love to visit most all of Germany. Unfortunately, there is not given me a great amount of money, or free time. So, currently I will visit the south such as Bavaria and Franconia. Later I would like to explore Cologne, Bonn, Essen, and Dusseldorf and the surrounding areas. At some point I would like to visit the east and central and thereby possibly visit Berlin.

[@malcolmmutambanengwe3453]

Regularly cook these in Zimbabwe, Africa. Good stuff these, pork knuckles.

[@vincelemaire]

I ❤️ it!

[@pvoshefski]

Both look incredibly delicious.!

[@lukasvanenz2029]

I have no clue how this looks delicious..

[@wanderfull5829]

Now i understand why they look the way they do.

[@alparslanesmer4251]

Next time, if I visit Berlin again (I wish), it is going to be a big challenge for me :)) I am not avoiding pork, but rather boiled meat of any kind.

[@drjekelmrhyde]

It's a unsmoked ham hock. You can put the smoked ones in greens, beans and soups. When I was little, me and my brother would go for them instead of the greens or bean our mother cooked.

[@Rexini_Kobalt]

as someone with crohns, i think more people need to hear what that chef has to say on nitrites

[@Quaker521]

Definitely had Schweinshaxe more times than Eisbein but will happily eat either of them. Love German food. Lecker, lecker!

[@indianfood9672]

Wow so absolutely👍👌 delicious 🤤tasty😋😋 yummy🤤 recipe 😋😋😋😋🤤 This looks 👀absolutely mouthwatering! ...👍 "I can almost taste it through the screen! ...👍 "Foodie heaven right here! ...👌👍 "You've outdone yourself again! ...❤️ "I need the recipe ASAP! ...👌 "Food art at its finest👍 your video is very beneficial👍👌 I am your new friend 🤗❤️ God bless you 🤲 Have a nice day 👍 Full watch the video 5:24 🎁

[@franc9111]

It would be very useful if we could have a transcription available of the German spoken here as well as the English translation.

[@kedarpaul7904]

If that is called appetizing or visually appealing we are in trouble.

[@Kamernosse]

Mmmm, Eisbein 🤤❤️

[@dannyhartwig7595]

my mom did the best! for her and my dad she made the eisbein for us kids she added some rips or sausseges

[@dr.quackenbacker5247]

The German restaurant by us has a baked eisbein. It tates like eating the best cut of ham. Spatzel and kraut on the side...

[@Threshk]

1:32 "Personally, I even like the fat most of all" Yes, I can see that...

[@salguodrolyat2594]

The fat is the tastiest bit.🤤

[@sethsoderman5152]

Love show

[@frauleintrude6347]

Eisbein is a quite funny name. In English you could call ice bone/leg. In former medieval times people used the pork shin bone for ice skating, therefore ice bone/leg.

[@weberwiese37]

To get the best out of both recipes: Cook the pork knockle first (reduced time) and then put it into the stove for another hour to get the crispy skin.

[@cristosocorromedina580]

😋😋😋

[@richardnash9925]

Had it in Berlin , a great dish , prefer the swinehaxe for the crunch tho

[@NotTomS]

I love eisbein... but very hard to find where I live...

[@TFSIChristmas]

Similar to what is here in the Philippines they have this called “crispy pata”

[@Ruskyjunak]

Meine Kindheit. In Slowakei. Ich mag das immer noch. Ab 50 j.a. ein Muss für Knochen. Kolagen.

[@kennethsatria6607]

Interesting, every pork knuckle I've eaten was the crispy kind which is oily too but usually boiled stuff don't taste as oily so im curious

[@PaulSmith-ju3cv]

Good lean meat if you take the layer of fat off first. Getting a bit harder to find these days and some places don't cook it for long enough.

[@SwordGodLuBai99]

It looks yummy! But I think it would taste better with Thai " Nam Jim Sea Food " 😊

[@JC-fd8ho]

what is the music in the background ?

[@maactinoco2038]

With tortillas and tomate verde salsa will be perfect

[@xiaogu00fa]

Aldi in my country sells a combined version of two. The pork knuckle was parboiled then grilled. It has neither tender meat nor crispy exterior. Make it worse than both. 😂

[@Ruskyjunak]

Yes. And u have to cook them home for 30 min only. I like

[@drakemguard1407]

In Philippines that's a delicacy almost every part of the pork is edible from meat to blood

[@LiamT725]

0:35 Is that raw liver?

[@user-nf5xt5zu4b]

😊❤😊lecker 😋

[@lassiejr2115]

After he Boils it just put in a Deep Fryer and comes out Crispy and Better I think in Philippines its called Pata Crispy .

[@katyagrad3704]

Filipinos would deep fry that and call it crispy pata to be dipped in spiced vinegar and with a side dish of achara (pickled green papaya)

[@ragingchaosgod]

I was going to mention paksiw na pata, actually!

[@DandelionSchroder]

In Bavaria they fry it :)

[@MrQwertypoiuyty]

Simple and very delicious. But as an Asian, I'll be reaching for 4 or 5 bottles of sacred spices from the spice cabinet for a bit of flavor (well, other than the flavor of natural pork, obviously).

[@polypem2150]

Haben die gerade echt Königsberger Klopse als "meatballs with caperssauce" bezeichnet?

[@r000ty]

We combine the cooking methods in the center of Germany: First cure and cook it, then crisp it up in the oven. Also: Mushy peas are a crime against vegetables.

[@RRaucina]

Chef might stay off the pork for a few months so he stays alive to make this beautiful dish. True comfort food.

[@wayne2816wayne]

It looks delicious. sign me up.

[@edsalinas9996]

I would try Pork knuckle at any level, by any Chef who knows what they are doing.

[@ekspatriat]

One word...'Bland'. The grilled one looks good maybe with apple sauce and mustard.

[@mikebarton]

How do the pigs manage with that part of their legs removed?

[@traphimawari7760]

People would eat einsbein more if you deep fried it like Filipino crispy Pata.

[@mukunimulundika5359]

The lack of seasoning is killing me😂😂😂😂😂

[@MRLBRMNN]

The meat is such high quality that we do not need to put artificial, dried spices tobe able to eat it 😊

[@Martin_Priesthood]

🍻🍻👍

[@spatulaman2753]

I never get excited about boiled meat.

[@michaelpierce3264]

I think if they smoked it it would be delicious!

[@karelvvv]

Eisbein, also the color of German taxis

[@pawel8365]

My dad likes it, sometimes my mom used to cook it and the house stank of pork for a week.

[@supersmart671]

Spices in German dish?

[@Dahakra]

Golonko is the best !

[@gcvrsa]

Pork knuckle is of course very fatty and contains a lot of connective tissue, so the key to good pork knuckle is long cooking to render out the fat and tenderize the rest. Cuts like this are the most flavorful, but it takes time to do them justice, and unfortunately, some cooks try to get away with not cooking them long enough.

[@papagen00]

it needs to be stewed in soy sauce, five spice powder, ginger and scallion for 2 hours until the meat falls off the bone and all the fat is rendered out.

[@Jim-zr4ej]

absolutely wild to me curing salt isnt pink there, that seems hella dangerous lol

[@maily8388]

Knuckle from the South looks more interesting.

[@Willi.Rehmer]

Für mich gehört immer Erbspüree zum Eisbein. Ohne ist es nicht komplett.

[@carlitosleonidas3029]

0:30 I love how these 3 popular Berlin cuisines are Indian, Turkish and Swedish 😋

[@MattSuguisAsFondAsEverrr]

actually it's the opposite when i think of berliner food all that comes to mind is schweinshaxe and beer

[@user-yf4bx4zv5b]

嗯~! 清燉豬蹄膀呀!

[@AgentAO7]

Boiled Pork 😂

[@mangotreemafia6766]

Take me back to to cologne 😢

[@mutazila10]

Maybe with some _chiles serranos_ or at least _jalapeños_...