2 totally unrelated questions

brokenwings

Dear fellow OSers

two things i need to ask - sorry that theyre totally unrelated to each other.

a) i want to try and do a ham hock in the slow cooker - for a ham and pea thingy. Ive never bought a hock before but i think ive seen them - are they already cooked when you get them? do they need to be soaked to get rid of the saltiness?


b) do any of you, or have you, used the drawstring bread bags that lakeland sell?

see here

if so would you recommend them? do they really keep the bread fresh?

thanks in advance ffor any help/info

x

Ticklemouse

I have a similar type of bag for my bread - they do work (but I doubt you'll find anything that keeps HM bread that fresh for a week :rotfl: I got mine from Betterware - much cheaper.

Ham - I think I'd be tempted to soak mine anyway. I've never bought a ham hock, but I always soak any hams I get as I don't like too much salt in anything. I would assume that they are uncooked. Where are you getting it from? A butcher should be able to tell you all you need to know about a piece of meat, if that's where you're getting it from.

brokenwings

yes it will be from the butchers TM

thanks for the tip regarding bettaware - ill have to open the next catalogue i get instead of leaving it out on the doorstep in the rain for four days lol

Bennifred

Can't help with the ham question, but I do have one of those bags from Lakeland for my home-made bread - I think it's great! The bread doesn't generally last more than a couple of days before it's all been scoffed, but it is as fresh then as when it was put in the bag. Before I had the bag the bread wasn't as nice the day after it had been made as it was when just made (hope that makes sense! ) So I would say it's definitely worth the money.

HTH.

jaybee

I had one of the Lakeland bread bad thingies but ended up giving it away. Now I've got one of their clip-top plastic box things and find it much better (not to mention easier to clean!

pawpurrs

Ham hocks are bough uncooked and are very cheap I pay 99p from the butcher.
No need to soak, and is delicous in a ham and pea soup, you get a surprsing amount of ham off it too.

A lot of butchers that make their own sausages use the hocks for this, so may not sell them to you.

TurnaroundSue

My OH makes a wicked pea and ham soup - used hock last week, which gives a much better flavour than gammon and is alot cheaper - just bunged it in the pan, filled with water and then cooked slowly - delicious!!

Swan_2

Lidl sell small vacuum packed pieces of smoked ham which are perfect for soup. I made pea & ham a couple of days ago in my SC & still have some left after 3 meals for the family & freezing some for my mum

I only used half of the ham & have the other half in the freezer for my next pot of soup. much better value than hock or ribs as there's absolutely no waste

brokenwings

thanks everyone
will try the soup both ways and see which works out best

as for bread storage what i really want is an enamelware bread tin but £30 is a but OTT for my budget these days.

Will see what i can find at lakeland today as they have a nice sale on... anything will be better than the tescos carrier bags i am currently using : )

researcher

I'm always making pea and ham soup. This is what I do:

Cover hock with lots of water in a big pan. (I've no SC). Add a few peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves. Simmer it gently for 2 - 3 hours until the meat is very well cooked, and then let it cool in the stock. Remove ham and skim stock for any fat (easier to do if left overnight).

To make the soup - saute an onion, carrot and celery stick in a little oil, when slightly softened add the stock and if your using dried split peas add them now (usually about 1/2 a pack) - no need to soak. Cook for about an hour - stir occassionally -and then blitz or mash to get a smooth soup - add pieces of ham just befor serving. If you have no dried peas, use fresh or frozen, but add when the carrots and vegetables are cooked in the stock and only cook for a few minutes. No salt added at all but I do add dried or fresh mint - but that's a personal thing as I think mint and peas work really well together.

You can use this method for any type of soup.

Just a point for those of you buying cooked hocks - don't throw away the bone - cover with a couple of pints of water and simmer for a few hours and you'll get a delicious stock.

mirakl

I find wrapping the loaf in a cotton tea towel works just as well.