soup stock

Primrose

A plea to all home made soup stock makers!

I always save the liquid in which I simmer my ham hocks. It makes lovely stock for soup but despite always soaking the ham joint over night first in cold water first and then refreshing the water for cooking, the stock still remains saltier than I would like.

Is there any way of getting over this problem? Thanks.

retiredlady

Hen you are making the soup put in a few large pieces of potato. They should absorb a lot of the salt. Take them out when you’re done. You could use them next time you make mash.

buildersdaughter

I have tried retiredlady's method, but still find ham hock stock both salty and actually not very tasty. I am a fanatical stock maker, and keep a freezer drawer just for the makings, but I don't use ham hocks. Sorry!

bouicca21

I always boil the gammon or ham hock for couple of minutes and then discard the water before boiling in fresh water. This gets rid of the salt.

YorksLass

I use all these suggestions - soak overnight, rinse, boil for a couple of minutes and change water, add potato - and it usually works OK. Oh, and smoked gammons/hocks are always much saltier so I tend to buy the plain ones.

suki1964

I find also where you buy the raw product from makes a big difference

I have never had a salty gammon from Lidl for instance ( but thats Lidl NI which has different suppliers to England )

So for me what I do if I buy a salty hock, I reduce it down till I have a very rich ( albeit salty ) stock and freeze in smaller portions and just use that with loads of water till its to the acquired taste

its the same with all stocks I think. just reduce down and treat as a stock pot if need be