Ham hock cooked ... what to do with the meat

R

Roger Burton

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Hi chaps, I often buy a ham hock, excellent value, I slow cook it with the regular aromatics so I end up with some nice tender meat and excellent broth. To be honest I get a bit bored with it, I find the meat a bit ... hammy ... I’m really struggling here to find a word to describe the taste experience, pleasant but bland, tender but soggy, I’m so sorry for being so vague. Anyway, after the slow cook, taking off the skin and roasting helps a bit, adds that fatty bacony taste but it neds more, maybe something spicy ... the nearest I’ve found searching is Spanish Fabada where some spiciness from the chorizo and paprika takes some of the cloying taste away. I thought someone here might suggest something please ?
 
I use ham hocks for two things - ham-and-bean soup and cooked with green beans-and-potatoes. That's all I ever do with them.
 
Cloves often find a use with ham. But there is no reason to count out glazes - honey, maple syrup, etc. A pork Better Than Buillon (BTB) glaze is another thing worth looking at, as well.

Getting back to spices, my favorite trio, thyme, marjoram and rosemary are great with pork - and sage too. You can go the way of cumin, paprika, garlic and even chili powder too.

If you strip the meat off the bone, you can make soups and other pork dishes. Put it over mixed rice with a cream gravy. Combine with beans and so forth. And let's not forget that you've got some great meat for sandwiches on rolls or buns with any number of trimmings and condiments.

A ham hock, like any other source of meat, is wide open to inventive creativity. Just do it.
 
Do you mean a fresh hock Like the ones we bought not long ago? Or a full ham?
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We used 1 of them to make Schweinshaxe.
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It was braised, then roasted. The skin didn't get like i wanted it to be. So I ended up taking it off and torching the fat to crisp it up nicely. Next time. I'll probably take the skin off after the braise, then rub the fat with baking soda (I think, could have been powder ) and salt like I do with pork belly.

It came out like a fattyish pork roast. It needed the red cabbage to cut the fattiness, so I would serve a hock with some kind of a dish like that.

The 2 of us ate from 1 of the 2 and didn't have a whole lot leftover.
 
If it's a whole ham, my mother was gifted a bottle of Chambord once. She didn't drink but wanted to use it up. She made a glaze for a fresh ham using it and it came out fantastic.

Have you ever tried just roasting it? That would definitely help with the sogginess.

You might also consider breaking it down and cooking it different ways. We do that quite often with various cuts. This week I'm going to cook a rack of ribs 2 different ways, American BBQ and Chinese. Won't get bored if you do it that way.
 
These & the broth help provide excellent smokey flavor for greens, dried beans & the like. But to cut down on so much fat, I use turkey wings or legs. A little less smokey flavor, but it still does the job!! :whistling:
 
I love them, when I can get them . . . the butcher has off-on good sized, the supermarkets like miniature pig size....

I boil them, cool/chill, then reheat 2nd day. the meat is essentially "salt pork" but cured.

I think the trick is to use the meat as a flavor element, not the main portion of the dish.
any legumes
split green pea soup
white bean
read beans
lentils
bean casseroles of all kind

or
heavy mushroom soup/stew
hearty onion soup

my approach is to create a super "vegetarian" base, then use the smoke hock meat to add flavor to the dish.

or mince for omelets
how about a savory crepe?
 
As Emeril always says, they are like a pillow!! You put it under your pillow at night & smell the smokey flavor!! You probably wouldn't do that with one. But they ARE one of the kitchen treasures that often makes food smell & taste so good!! :whistling:
 
Roger Burton said:
Hi chaps, I often buy a ham hock, excellent value, I slow cook it with the regular aromatics so I end up with some nice tender meat and excellent broth. To be honest I get a bit bored with it, I find the meat a bit ... hammy ... I’m really struggling here to find a word to describe the taste experience, pleasant but bland, tender but soggy, I’m so sorry for being so vague. Anyway, after the slow cook, taking off the skin and roasting helps a bit, adds that fatty bacony taste but it neds more, maybe something spicy ... the nearest I’ve found searching is Spanish Fabada where some spiciness from the chorizo and paprika takes some of the cloying taste away. I thought someone here might suggest something please ?
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean about the taste and texture. That is especially true if you simmer it in water/broth for a long time.

Like TR, I only use it for ham and been soup, only I use white beens (cannellini or great Northern). With the small pieces of meat, the texture isn't as noticeable.

IIRC, there are some good traditional German recipes for ham hock. You might look in that direction with an online search.

CD
 
So many good ideas and suggestions, you chaps are so good. I’ve stripped the meat, vut some and added it to some veg with some of the broth and the bits are small enough not to produce a too big lump of meat in the mouth, some of the larger pieces I’ll try frying off to add a bit of colour and as suggest try with few different herbs and/or spices and see how things go, good of you all thanks ...
 
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