Porter Road · The cut itself
Buy Schweinshaxe from a butcher who cuts it
Dry-aged and cut to order by a US butcher — this is the cut itself, not a search result.
Pork shank (Schweinshaxe)
Buy Schweinshaxe · Porter Road
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission.
Schweinshaxe is known in English as Pork knuckle (Bavarian).
Also called
🇺🇸Pork knuckle (Bavarian)🇲🇽🇦🇷Codillo de cerdo a la bávara🇫🇷Jarret de porc rôti à la bavaroise🇪🇸Codillo bávaro🇵🇹Joelho de porco assado🇧🇷Joelho de porco bávaro🇮🇹Stinco di maiale alla bavarese🇫🇷Jambonneau↗🇬🇧Pork knuckle↗
Erich Ferdinand, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — 00ane_Haxen.jpg
The Bavarian beer-hall pork knuckle — the rear hock (Hinterhaxe), roasted at high heat until the skin develops a hard, glassy crackling and the interior is meltingly tender. Served whole with the bone, traditionally accompanied by Sauerkraut, Kartoffelknödel (potato dumplings), and a stein of lager. Anatomically the same cut as Berlin's Eisbein (which is cured and boiled), but the Bavarian roasted preparation gives it a completely different identity. Front hocks are sold as 'Vorderhaxe' and are smaller and meatier; the rear hock is the iconic version.
Names by country
| Country | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Pork knuckle (Bavarian) | Sometimes 'roasted pork knuckle' or the German loanword 'Schweinshaxe' on US menus. |
| 🇲🇽Mexico | Codillo de cerdo a la bávara | |
| 🇦🇷Argentina | Codillo de cerdo a la bávara | |
| 🇫🇷France | Jarret de porc rôti à la bavaroise | Sometimes the German loanword 'Schweinshaxe' on French menus. |
| 🇪🇸Spain | Codillo bávaro | German loanword 'Schweinshaxe' is widely used in Spanish-speaking specialty restaurants. |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Joelho de porco assado | |
| 🇧🇷Brazil | Joelho de porco bávaro | German loanword 'Schweinshaxe' is widely used in São Paulo's German-Brazilian community. |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Stinco di maiale alla bavarese | |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Schweinshaxeprimary | Bavarian primary; the front-leg version is 'Vorderhaxe', the iconic rear leg is 'Hinterhaxe' or simply 'Schweinshaxe'. |
What to ask for
Shopping outside the tradition Schweinshaxe comes from?
Source this cut
Select a primal to see its cuts
Could you place a cut on this diagram?
That's one of the five questions in today's puzzle.
Play today’s puzzle →Classic recipe
Get this cut right
$$ · roasts, smokers, and long cooks
Track a brisket overnight without opening the lid
Monitoring large cuts where opening the smoker or oven would cost heat.
ThermoPro TP20 Wireless Meat Thermometer
$$ · steak and roast doneness without guesswork
Pull the steak at the exact moment it's done
Checking steaks, roasts, chops, and thick cuts quickly.
ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE
Affiliate links — CarneAtlas may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.See all recommended gear
Want one useful cut guide each week?
Every Thursday: one cut like Schweinshaxe, its names around the world, the best substitute, one dish, and one useful tool.
Free. No password. Unsubscribe anytime.
