Buying and lighting calculator · Pork
How much pork knuckle do I buy and when do I light?
The pork knuckle is the lower part of the pig's leg, just above the trotter: plenty of skin, bone and connective tissue that turns into silky, juicy meat when cooked slowly. In Spanish butchers it is sold fresh, skin-on and bone-in, in pieces of 1 to 1.2 kg, nearly always from the hind leg, which carries more meat. You get less than half of the purchased weight as meat, so for 200 g of clean meat you need about 440 g raw per person. On the kamado, with the deflector at 150 °C, it takes a little over three hours: the probe rules, aim for 85-92 °C. Dry the skin well before it goes in and do not wrap it while it rests, so it stays crisp.
How to ask for it
For 4 people: Ask for fresh hind knuckles, skin-on and bone-in, 1 to 1.2 kg each, 2.2 kg in total. Not brined and not pre-cooked.
Between bone, skin and fat a knuckle yields under half: for 200 g of meat on the plate you buy about 440 g. 85-92 °C in the centre; the meat gives way to the probe.
How we calculate it
We start from a reasonable cooked portion (about 200 g of meat on the plate, 170 g of cleaned fish) and convert it to raw weight using each cut's bone and trim loss. "Hungry" adds 25 %. We round up to what is actually sold: quarter kilos, whole pieces, units.
To the cook time (per kilo or per piece, at each method's temperature) we add the kamado's lighting and stabilising (20-45 min depending on the method, as on the recipe pages), the rest, and a margin for long cooks, which vary from one piece to the next. Times are approximate: your kamado, the wind and the charcoal decide; on big cuts, trust the probe.
Frequently asked questions
How much pork knuckle per person?
Plan on about 440 g of raw knuckle per person, a little under half a 1.1 kg knuckle. Between bone, skin and fat only around 45 % of the weight is usable, which leaves about 200 g of clean meat. With plenty of sides, one knuckle can feed two people.
How long does a pork knuckle take on a kamado?
At 150 °C with the deflector in, allow about 170 minutes per kilo with a minimum of just over three hours: a 1.1 kg knuckle takes around 3 h 10 min. Go by the probe, which should read 85-92 °C in the centre, and by the meat, which should give way easily.
Fresh or brined knuckle for roasting?
For roasting on the kamado, buy fresh: you control the salt and the skin crisps better. A brined knuckle is already cured, tastes saltier and is usually simmered first. If you buy it brined, add no salt and watch that it does not dry out.
Other Pork cuts
- Pork ribs (St. Louis and baby back)
- Pork shoulder (pulled pork)
- Pork collar (neck)
- Pork loin (roast)
- Fresh pork belly (skinless)
- Suckling pig (half, split and cleaned)
- Ibérico pork presa
Approximate figures. Sources and the portion rule are in "How we calculate it".