pork hocks, what are they good for?

[Toby L.]

I used a new (to me) butcher this year and he sent me home with the pork hocks. There smoked and besides soup, I was wondeing what else can I do with these. They've been in my frezzer for 4 months now and I need to make room. Can I just slice them up and cook them like bacon? Or bake them like little hams? I alway's thought that pork hocks were the feet, but these are the leg cut from the elbo to 6 inches up. I'm not even sure if there is any meat on these, or if there just bone, fat, and tendons. Maybe I'm just stuck with making bean and pea soup with them. Were not much of soup people.

 

[ga. prime]

I don't think you'll get very far slicing them because of the bone factor. Boil them with butterbeans, peas, lima beans, and things like that. Or just boil them and eat them like ham. Baking might work as well as boiling but i've never tried it. Fresh, not smoked, ham hocks are very good barbqued.

 

[MO_cows]

They will add flavor to whatever you cook them with, and you will get a little bit of meat off them. We make a pot of beans with them, prefer navy or pinto beans at our house. And don't forget the cornbread!

 

[hillsdown]

I do mine like I would a ham ,they are very good. The left overs I make split pea soup with.

 

[mnmtranching]

Hard boil 1 pound of Great Northern Beans 5 min. drain and throw in the crockpot.
Cut up 1 onion.
1/2 cup Log Cabin syrup [maple is fine]
4 stalks of celery
2 tablespoons of molasses.
mix in with about 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Throw er all in the pot with as many of the hocks that you can make fit, cover and cook all day.

When is dinner?

 

[angie1]

The recipe mnmt suggested sounds fantastic! :clap: When I was growing up, we would just heat them up, like boil them, then snack on them while we were watching TV. Kind of Neanderthal, but the meat on them is second to none. :nod:

 

[grannysoo]

Good for seasoning. Turkey necks are good for this too.

Cook 'em with the beans or whatever and nibble the meat off when you're done. Good stuff!

 

[Toby L.]

My wife has a couple pounds of beans already boiled up and in the frezzer from a last week. So I think I'll pull out the hocks this morning, get them thawed out and boil them for a couple hours, throw in the ingediants that mnmt. suggested and boil for an other hour. This should be good enough huh? Dinner should be around 5 o'clock. Mnmt. if you drive fast you can be here in a hour.

 

[mnmtranching]

I forgot, squirt a little mustard in there. Do the hocks have the skin on? I like to buy the ones with the skin on. Yup, a store in town has smoked pork hocks with the skin on.
I will gobble up the skin to and I get it all. BL and the girls think its disgusting. :roll: :lol2:

Now I got to go to town, time for me a pot of beans. :cowboy:

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

They will add flavor to whatever you cook them with, and you will get a little bit of meat off them. We make a pot of beans with them, prefer navy or pinto beans at our house. And don't forget the cornbread!

:nod:

 

[Toby L.]

It's gonna have to wait till tomarro, I got home to late to start it so it's Papa Murphy's tonight.

 

[Jogeephus]

Cook them with greens too.

 

[Toby L.]

Well, I blew it. I got the hocks boiling in 6 cups of water, added the beans, and other ingrdients at 2:30. It turns out that the beans were fully cooked and there was 2 pounds. So when I get home after hauling corn at 5:00, they were moosh. They were still good but very dry, guess I shoud've used 8 cups of water, and added the beans right before supper time. Oh, well. The syrup I put in really went well with the smokyness of the hocks. I think next week I will try split pea soup.

 

[donnaIL]

We always had hamhocks and sauerkraut. Pressure cooked the hocks until done then add sauerkraut and small potatoes.

 

[Auburn_Ag]

Almost to seen a fight between two guys one time at a little restaurant in Abbeville, AL They were both trying to get the hams hocks out of the beans!

When I was at Auburn working at the meats lab, we would smoke ham hocks and neck bones!! Now that was some good eating!

 

[terra8186]

I am probably a little late for this thread. My friend makes baked beans using his hocks. It was some of the best baked beans I have had.

 

[Toby L.]

I think threads like this can go on forever. Thanks for your input. I still have 3 or 4 left, I was thinking of split pea soup next, but haven't gotten that far yet. With easter comming up I'll have a ham bone waiting to be boiled up for something.