, literally ice leg/bone, is the German name for a culinary dish involving the pickled ham hock

Ham hock

A ham hock or hough is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot, where the foot was attached to the hog's leg...

, usually boiled.

Eisbein is heavily marbled meat

Marbled meat

Marbled meat is meat, especially red meat, which contains various amounts of intramuscular fat, giving it an appearance similar to a marble pattern.- Selective breeding :Marbling can be influenced by selective breeding...

 covered with a thick layer of fat. The meat is tender and aromatic, but must be cooked or braised for a long time. Usually it is sold already cured

Curing (food preservation)

Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...

 and sometimes smoked, and then used in simple, hefty dishes, for example in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 served with pease pudding

Pease pudding

Pease pudding, sometimes known as pease pottage or pease porridge, is a boiled vegetable product, which mainly consists of split yellow or Carlin peas, water, salt, and spices, often cooked with a bacon or ham joint...

. This can be an alarming experience for the unwary tourist, as it is a huge portion and the skin is left soft, not crisp (It is meant to be peeled off and not eaten.), because the dish is merely boiled. In Germany, Eisbein is very commonly served with boiled or mashed potatoes or sauerkraut

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut , directly translated from German: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid...

, and with mustard

Mustard (condiment)

Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...

.