Description
What is Pork knuckle?
Pork Knuckle is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals 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 proper nor the ankle or foot (trotter), but rather the extreme shank end of the leg bone.
It contains a lot of connective tissue which when it melts add great flavor and texture to the meat. It’s a relatively cheap cut of meat. Pork knuckle is not a delicate cut: it is a fatty football of meat and tendon, and its sawed-off protruding leg bone gives it a look of Teutonic barbarity, appropriate for consumption in a restaurant lit by torches and staffed by waiters smeared with woad.
Some may be salt-cured, resulting in a deep reddish color. The knuckle can be either from the front or back legs – there is no different in taste. The back knuckles are usually meatier and work well for roasting or grilling. The meat is very tender, flavorful, and aromatic, and make for a hearty meal.
