Pig legs: composition, properties and recipes

Having come to the market for meat, most housewives ignore such a by-product as pork legs, thinking that the only dish that can be made from them is brawn. And it is absolutely in vain: many interesting and appetizing dishes are made from pork legs - they are boiled, stewed, baked. They can be both part of the daily diet and decoration of the festive table. Let us dwell on the features of the preparation of this unusual meat product.

Nowadays, dishes from meaty pork legs are undeservedly forgotten, although our great-grandmothers have created so many of the most various snacks and savory main dishes. Even today, this product is universally represented in the national cuisine of various nations and countries, for example, the well-known Iceban - legs cooked in the oven with cabbage and smoked sausages, known far beyond Germany, and Italian Dzampons - legs filled with spices - are appreciated by gourmets worldwide.

In Ireland pubs everywhere they offer Krubins - legs that are boiled and then marinated; In Korea, Partegi remains one of the most favorite dishes of housewives - legs boiled with vegetables and spices.

Such popularity is simply explained - the legs are not only tasty, but also a very nutritious dish. Calorie cooked legs is 216 calories per 100 grams of product. The chemical composition speaks for itself - all B vitamins are present here, as well as tocopherol, niacin and nicotinic acid. In addition to vitamins, the legs are rich in trace elements that are necessary for any organism to maintain normal functioning - K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Se, Cu, Fe, Cl, S, I, F, Se, F and Ni are just some of the nutritional elements that are part of the legs and legs.

100 grams of boiled legs contain 22 grams of protein, 16 grams of fat; carbohydrates, as in any other meat product is not.

The unique composition determines the exceptional usefulness of pig feet.

They are recommended for inclusion in the normal diet for children and adults. Pig legs are very useful for people who have gone through a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, because the product has the ability to improve the condition of the joints and connective tissue of the musculoskeletal system. This is explained quite simply - by-product cartilage contains high concentrations of collagen, so the product is extremely useful for joints. In addition, this component helps to increase the strength and elasticity of muscle tissue, which also has a positive effect on the condition of ligaments. The product is often prescribed for arthritis and arthrosis.

In addition, people suffering from hair loss and brittle nails, will also be useful to prepare for their own and their loved ones pork legs.

With moderate use, pork legs have practically no contraindications. However, in some cases an individual intolerance of the product occurs - then it is better to limit its use or to exclude it altogether.

To turn pork legs into an appetizing and healthy dish, it is important to choose the right products and prepare them. Experienced cooks give a number of recommendations.

• Also, the store should focus on the general appearance of the legs and their smell. Quality goods must be cleaned, well washed, without traces of bristles. The peel should not have any visible defects, the color usually varies from milky white to pinkish, most often with a slight yellow tint. If you have a product with stained, bluish-gray skin tint, then most likely, before you stale goods, from its purchase it is better to immediately refuse.
• Separately inspect the place of the cut - it should be very clean and slightly damp; if it seems to you that in this area the meat is weathered or slightly solid, then you do not need to purchase them.
• You can conduct an express check - press a finger on the meaty part of the leg. The high quality product will immediately straighten the fossa, and the stale cavity will remain hollow for quite a long time.
• Surely smell meat: fresh legs have a pleasant and even sweetish aroma, and the presence of any foreign smell will indicate that the animal is actively chopped off with hormones and antibiotics for the fastest growth - such meat will be completely unhealthy.

It is not enough to buy quality legs, they still need to be very well prepared. To begin with, rinse the product under cool water, then always rub them with a sharp knife or a clean metal brush, and then rinse again.

Cleaned offal should be put in a large plate and pour a mixture of raw milk and filtered water (1: 1 ratio) and leave in this form for 7-9 hours in the refrigerator or in any other cool place. Usually left for the whole night - this is very convenient, because the legs are prepared for quite a long time and you can start cooking right in the morning.

The soaked feet are washed again and dried with a napkin. The preparatory stage is extremely important, because in this case the legs will require much less time to prepare them, and the taste will be much softer, juicy and incredibly tender.

Most of the recipes for dishes from fatty pork knuckles begin with their long boiling - the product is boiled, and then stewed, baked or fried. How you boil them and will depend on the taste and smell of the finished dish.

Cleaned and washed products should be placed in a pan and pour it with water so that it completely covers the shanks for 7-10 cm, after which the cooking vessel is set on fire and brought to a boil. At this point, active scaling begins - it should be immediately removed.

After boiling, you can reduce the heat a little and boil the product for another hour under a closed lid.

Then it is necessary to add onions, carrots, bay leaves, black pepper and one or two tablespoons of mustard to the pan - so the meat is cooked for another 50 minutes, then add salt and leave on the fire for about an hour. Only after that you can turn off the burner, however, the legs should not be removed - they should cool down in the broth, so they will absorb more nutrients and taste.

Pork legs according to the ancient Carpathian recipe come out incredibly tasty. To begin, they should be boiled until fully cooked, remove the vegetables with herbs and drain the resulting broth, leaving quite a bit so that it covers the legs slightly.

Add some garlic to the cooking pot and let it stand for about 1 hour, then mix half a cup of sour cream, a spoonful of tomato paste, some spices to your taste - as a rule, marjoram is used, as well as paprika, cumin and red pepper.

The legs should be moved to a baking dish and poured with the prepared sauce, then sent to the oven for 30-40 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius. The dish is served at the dinner table with boiled potatoes and fresh vegetable salad.

The legs are often baked together with mushrooms or wild mushrooms and potatoes. In this case, a rather tasty full-fledged main dish comes out.For him, the legs should be boiled and then cooled in the finished broth, and while they are cooled, the onion should be cut into rings, sliced ​​potatoes and mushrooms.

All prepared products put in the form for the oven, sprinkle with salt, pour a little broth, pour in a pinch of dry cumin and nutmeg, as well as a couple of garlic cloves.

The product is baked until the final readiness of the potatoes, usually it takes about an hour.

Of course, we cannot but dwell on the peculiarities of cooking this popular German national dish.

It is not particularly difficult to cook it: boiled legs should be placed in a deep dish, sprinkled with chopped garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Seasoning should be rubbed a little into pieces of meat, after which it should be removed for 10-12 hours in a cold place - cooking can be done only after the meat has absorbed the smell of garlic.

Fry the onion, tomato and sliced ​​hunting sausages in a pan; when the vegetables are browned, add finely chopped cabbage to them and stew for about 5-7 minutes with constant stirring, then add an equal amount of sauerkraut, dill seeds, thyme and some marjoram herb.

All cooked foods - both vegetables and meat - are laid out in a mold, wrapped in food foil and immediately after that put in the oven for an hour and a half, setting the temperature to 200 degrees. Baked products are served hot.

This dish is exceptionally tasty and savory, you can cook it for a regular dinner and decorate it with a festive table. Cooking technology step by step looks like.

• To begin with, you should mince 500 g of pork belly and neck, add some sugar, salt, dry mustard and pepper to taste, and you can also season with cumin, marjoram and ground nutmeg. Mix everything well and give the stuffing to "breathe."
• With pork legs should be removed with a stocking, leave only a little near the hoof, bones with joints should be removed, carefully wielding a sharp thin knife. The prepared peel should be stuffed with minced meat, sewn along the edges with a thick thread and tied to avoid deformation.
• In a voluminous cooking pot should pour a saturated broth, add salt, laurel and bring to the boiling stage; as soon as the bubbles seem - immediately put the stuffed blanks inside and cook on low heat for about 3-4 hours.
• Before serving, such meat is cut into pieces and generously sprinkled with herbs.

This is a traditional Armenian dish, which is considered an excellent spicy snack and is called Mozhzh.

To make it, you should boil offal, and while they are preparing, you need to prepare the marinade: take 3 ounces of water with 200 ml of high-quality wine vinegar, 4 spoons of salt, 8-12 cloves of garlic, a few sprigs of dill, peas. When the legs are finally ready, they are immediately shifted to the pickle and left for 8-12 hours.

Roasted legs are also quite tasty, but very calorie and heavy for the digestive system.

Quite an appetizing main dish comes out in aerogrill. The technology here is elementary - the legs are washed and cleaned, then they are smeared with salt and ground red pepper and stuffed with garlic. Salted and pepper legs smeared with sunflower or olive oil and sent to the convection oven until final readiness.

While the dish is baking, it is necessary to prepare a sauce of honey, butter and mustard. During frying, the baked legs should be watered from time to time with this composition.

If you do not have time for long cooking legs and you need to get a ready meal quickly, it makes sense to use a pressure cooker. The prepared by-product is salted, peppered, seasoned with carrots, onions, covered with water and boiled for about 2 hours.

The finished legs are peeled from the skin and bones, the pulp is cut into portions and served with horseradish and mustard.

The recipe for cooking pork legs with sauces see below.