ham hock and pig hock bargain food!

davetaylor

Olliebeak, it was a huge success! So tasty and healthy! Loved it! My pea soup is cooking away as we speak!

Dave x

Olliebeak

Glad you enjoyed it, Dave .

cooking-mama

Ive a large ham shank in my slow cooker,its unsmoked,but ive also got a small smoked rib in there to add flavour..I was al lready to add the usual Lentils for lentil soup.but soooo bored with that,any other ideas?,could i make potato soup with it?any recipes for tattie soup.cheers.
PS/ideas other than soup also welcome,ive only ever made soup with ham houghs before.

rachbc

i use the ham for pies, in pasta bakes and sauces aswell in sarnies (shredded and mixed with a little mayo). The stock for a lovely minestrone style soup with veggies, canellini or borlotti beans and pasta and a little of the meat shredded in too

Trinny

Hi There

We boiled our ham shank on Boxing day - and then roasted it in the oven for about an hour. We had it with mashed spuds and onion sauce - it was lovely - carved carefully we had some largish slices off it - and there was enough for ham and mushroom pasta afterwards.

Trin

swampduck

Once the shank is cooked , shred it and put back in the pot, add cubed potato, grate carrots, finely chopped onion and lentils and carry on simmering. This is the kind of soup that tastes better each time you reheat it, add some water each time, still got loads of flavour and goes a long way.

swampy

meanmarie

OH brought home 2 ham hocks this morning when he went for the paper, for the sum of €2.98. They are both smoked so have brought them to boil in water, changed water, may change it again to make sure that they are not too salty. Will cook until meat is falling off the bone. I intend to serve with cabbage ( if we can get it out from under snow), potatoes, swede (mashed and finely chopped onion added). Am sure that there will be some left for to-morrow and sandwiches. They are quite meaty so I think that one would have done, but OH always believes in over-buying!

Marie

siamcat

Hi there
one of my favourite things to do with a ham shank is a caribbean recipe - Red Pea Soup. You need dried kidney beans, which you soak overnight. Rinse the beans, cover with cold water and boil rapidly for 20 minutes. Add the ham shank, a chopped onion, two bay leaves, and perhaps a finely chopped chilli. Top up water until about 4cm above the meat, then bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for several hours, until meat is cooked, remove skin, fat and bones, peel and cube potatoes and add to the soup, simmer until potatoes are cooked. At this stage, add salt to taste. As with many soups, this is better the next day.

Caterina

Boil with carrot, celery and onion for stock and then freeze the stock for future use in soups and stew. Before freezing, remove all meat that was on the bone and mince it together with the cooked veg, use it to make pork rissoles.

flaire

After boiling the hock, I usually remove the bones and skin and 're-construct' with butcher's string. I criss-cross the fat and cover with mustard and a thin layer of brown sugar. Next, I roast. Sometimes, I'll do full roast with roast potatoes and vegetables. Or, I'll roast and leave to cool and use in sandwiches.

With the ham stock, I normally make the traditional pea and ham with dried peas. Even with a full roast there's always a little left over to put into the soup.

My butcher normally sells me a hock for £1.25 - which for a soup I usually get four portions out of and an evening meal for two is rather good value.