Eisbein mit Erbspüree und Sauerkraut

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy stockpot, 6 to 8 liters
• •Fine skimmer
• •Potato masher or immersion blender

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse the knuckles

   Rinse the cured pork knuckles under cold water and sit them in a large pot. If your butcher's cure is very salty, soak them in cold water for 30 minutes first, then drain. You are controlling the salt before the cooking starts, because once the broth reduces, the cure only gets louder.

   Ask for cured Eisbein, not a fresh roasting hock. Fresh hock belongs to a different dish, and no amount of simmering will give it the same pink, seasoned meat.
2. 2

   Start cold

   Cover the knuckles with cold water by 3cm, then add the halved onions, carrots, leek, celeriac, 2 bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper, and marjoram. Bring the pot up slowly, because cold water warms the cured meat evenly and draws flavour into the broth instead of sealing it on the surface.

3. 3

   Simmer gently

   Skim the surface, lower the heat, and keep the pot at a quiet simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the meat loosens from the bone and a small knife slides through the rind without force. Do not boil it hard. Hard boiling tightens cured pork, bursts the skin, and turns the cooking liquor cloudy; a trembling pot melts the collagen and keeps the meat soft.

4. 4

   Cook the peas

   While the Eisbein cooks, soften the finely chopped onion in 30g butter or pork fat until sweet but not brown. Stir in the rinsed yellow split peas and 600ml of the pork cooking liquor, then simmer until the peas collapse, 45 to 60 minutes. Use the pork liquor because it carries the bone, rind, and cure into the puree. Weggeworfen wird nichts.

5. 5

   Mash the puree

   Mash or blend the peas to a thick, spoonable puree, loosening with more cooking liquor as needed. Keep it softer than mashed potatoes, because it firms as it stands. Taste before adding salt; the liquor has already done half the seasoning.

6. 6

   Braise the kraut

   Sweat the sliced onion in pork fat or butter, then add the sauerkraut, grated apple, 1 bay leaf, caraway, and white wine or pork cooking liquor. Cover and cook gently for 30 to 40 minutes. Do not rinse the kraut. Its acidity is why it stands up to the pork, and the apple rounds the sharp edge without turning it sweet.

7. 7

   Serve the plate

   Lift the Eisbein from the broth and let it rest 10 minutes so the juices settle in the meat instead of running out on the board. Spoon pea puree onto warm plates, set the knuckle beside it, and pile sauerkraut where it can cut the fat. Finish with black pepper and mustard. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss.

Chef Tips

• •Buy from a butcher who cures in house if you can, and ask how salty the cure is. A very salty knuckle gets a short soak; a mild one only needs a rinse.
• •Keep every cup of the cooking liquor. It loosens the pea puree, moistens leftovers, and gives you the base for a bean or lentil soup the next day.
• •Yellow split peas are right here. Green peas taste fresh and sweet; this plate wants the dry, earthy pea that belongs to the winter larder.
• •Mustard is not garnish. Put a proper sharp German mustard on the table, because the pork needs that bite.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauerkraut can be cooked a day ahead and reheated gently; kraut settles overnight and tastes better for it.
• •The pea puree can be made several hours ahead. Reheat it with a ladle of pork cooking liquor, because it thickens as it cools.
• •Cooked Eisbein keeps well in its strained cooking liquor for 2 days in the refrigerator. Reheat it gently in the liquor, never at a boil, or the cured meat tightens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 750g)