Ham hock - wikipedia Ham hock Ham hock position A ham hock ( or hough ) or 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. Uses Since this piece generally consists of much skin, tendons and ligaments, it requires long cooking through stewing or braising 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. 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 and other forms of American Southern country cooking. 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. Eisbein is the name of the joint in north German, and at the same time the name of a dish of roasted ham hock, called Schweinshaxe in Bavaria, Stelze in Austria and Wädli in Switzerland. Golonka is a very popular Polish barbecued dish using this cut. Ham hocks are also popular when boiled with escarole, more commonly called endives, in Italian - American cuisine. Fläsklägg med rotmos is a Swedish dish consisting of cured ham hocks and a mash of rutabaga and potatoes, served with sweet mustard. 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 Chinese - style ham hock with bok choy in gravy Schweinshaxe served with roasted potatoes ( Bratkartoffeln ) and Sauerkraut at a Bavarian restaurant in Chiang Mai, Thailand Roasted Austrian style Stelze Pickled Eisbein, with Sauerkraut Ham hocks stewed in soy sauce and five - spice powder at a street stall in Chiang Mai, Thailand Ham hock ( golonka ) with grilled oscypek, horseradish and a slice of beetroot in Poland See also Food portal List of ham dishes -- also includes ham hock dishes List of smoked foods References Jump up ^ Wang, Chichi ( 8 May 2012 ). `` The Nasty Bits : Ham Hock ''. Serious Eats. Retrieved 8 February 2014. External links Media related to Pork knuckle at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of ham hock at Wiktionary Pigs Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Mammalia Order Artiodactyla Suborder Suina Family Suidae Subfamily Suinae Genus Sus Domestic Breeding Shows Farming Intensive farming Sty Pannage Toilet Hog oiler Gestation crate Cross-fostering Swineherd As food Bacon Ham Lard Pork Scalder Slaughter Suckling Blood Religious restrictions Scottish pork taboo Cuts Back bacon Boston butt Fatback Ham hock Pig 's trotters Pork belly Pork chop Pork jowl Loin Tenderloin Ribs Spare ribs Pork rind Pork steak Ear Tail Other uses Bladder Racing War Wrestling Truffling Wild and Feral Wild boar Heraldry Hunting In the Philippines Razorback Pigs in culture Iron Age pig Flitch of bacon custom Miss Piggy Pigs in Space Porky Pig Piglet `` The Three Little Pigs '' Animal Farm Old Major Napoleon Snowball Squealer Babe Babe : Pig in the City Bad Piggies My Brother the Pig Charlotte 's Web The Sheep - Pig Peppa Pig Super Pig Fair, then Partly Piggy Jakers ! The Adventures of Piggley Winks Olivia ( character TV series ) Pink Floyd pigs Pinky and Perky Preston Pig Rasher Porco Rosso Spider - Ham Spider pig The Tale of Little Pig Robinson The Tale of Pigling Bland `` This Little Piggy '' Huxley Pig Wibbly Pig Zhu Bajie Other List of pigs List of fictional pigs Piganino Pigasus ( politics ) `` When pigs fly '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ham_hock&oldid=832440361 '' Categories : Cuisine of the Southern United States Soul food Cuts of pork German cuisine Swedish cuisine Ham Chinese cuisine Smoked meat Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2017 Commons category with local link different than on Wikidata Talk About Wikipedia Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Čeština Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Italiano Lëtzebuergesch Polski Ripoarisch Русский Svenska 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 26 March 2018, at 01 : 19. 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Question: what part of a pig is the hock
Answer: 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