Ham Hocks? Ham Hocks!

When I was a kid, ham hocks brought forth the image of these very scary-looking pickled pigs feet that the Dominick's at the west end of Northbrook would stock at the deli counter... but nobody in that very-Jewish neighborhood ever bought.

But inspired by offal-lovers like Bourdain and whossname from Scotland, I decided to go authentic on Red Beans and Rice I'm including in our annual holiday party tomorrow (sorry, if I get to know a few of you better, maybe you'll get on the list next year). This year's theme is two-of-a-kind, and RB&R is paired with steamed red bean buns (the other pairs are lamb manti and a greek lamb sandwich wrap; potato pancakes and a truffaunt; wasabi deviled eggs and bisteeya; russian cheese biscuits and a mozzarella pie).

Ham hocks made me a little nervous, but I picked up some smoked and some raw ones and they really, really made my broth for the beans!

It's thick, rich, full of porky and smoky flavors. The recipe calls for the hocks to be served on the plate, but that's hard to divide up as party fare (and likely to scare a few vegetarians too). So I decided to strip whatever meat could be gotten off of them after they were well cooked. With 3 pounds of hocks, there's only about 1/4-1/2 lb of edible meat that can be pulled off: the rest is gelatinizing tendon, cartilige, rind and bone. Dog got some rind, the rest is getting put in the trash far far away from the dog.

My only mistake may be in buying only one kind of beans for the two dishes: azuki: I thought smaller beans might be more approachable at a buffet, but they azuki's don't seem to absorb as much broth before falling apart. What was supposed to get 16 cups of water absorbed an boiled off is only the original 10, and it's still soupy while my beans are beginning to dissolve.

I have given up on ham hocks in the area. The ham to grizzle/bone/tendon/fat ratio is far too small. I have switched over the smoked neck bomes which is meaty, you get about 1.5# out of 4 in meat and the meat is pretty tasty.

jlawrence01 wrote:I have given up on ham hocks in the area. The ham to grizzle/bone/tendon/fat ratio is far too small. I have switched over the smoked neck bomes which is meaty, you get about 1.5# out of 4 in meat and the meat is pretty tasty.

Jlawrence01,

Last Friday, I made a pot of "heirloom red hominy" and used a pork shank. It bore the Burger's label (Burger's, if you don't know the company, is a mid-range pork products distributor that issues an annual catalog with lascivious layouts of piggy products); I got the shank from Billy's on Madison in Oak Park. The shank was around half a pound in weight and probably had less than 2 ounces of meat on it, but the smoky skin, bone, marrow, etc., was easily enough to impart a deep and perfume-y porcine richness to about six cups or so of cooked hominy and maybe two quarts of water. What I'm saying is, when going with hock, etc., I'm less interested in the meat than the overall flavor impact of letting the thing cook for a while to render its richness (in the case of the shank in hominy, I cooked it slow for 10 hours).

Hammond

Or wou can use the neck bones and get the flavor and the bits of ham throughout the beans.

David,

I've enjoyed Burger's Ozark ham for years. Salt cured, about 1/3 to 1/2 way between a typical pink grocery store ham (which Burger's refers to as a city ham) and a Smithfield type (which they call a country ham).

Recently, from the Grateful Palate, the firm that runs the Bacon of the Month Club, I ordered four different one pound packages of smoked bacon and jowl including a pound of jowl from Burger's. Haven't tried it yet.

I recently discovered a very unique smoked pork hock at Gepperth's Meat Market on Halstead. It's more heavily smoked than your normal grocery store hock and includes almost half of the foot as well,probably ten or more inches long resulting in an even more silky and luxurious pot of beans/greens/whatever.

I worked for a Swiss chef who always included a 30# box of pig's feet in with the 200# of veal bones for his demi-glace. The pork flavor was just barely detectable and the result was an even richer product than without.

By the way, where did you find that heirloom hominy? One of my favorite late night snacks when nothing else seems to satisfy, is to drain a can of Bush's hominy and saute it in a little butter and bacon fat.

jlawrence01,

I do hear what you're saying about the locally available ham hocks. I knew it wasn't my imagination. And I hear what you're saying about the neckbones being more meaty in general than hocks, but too me, the added richness imparted by the rind, tendon, etc...is what I'm after. Besides, the rind and fat are Scooby Snacks for the cook, an added bonus, to be powered down with a sprinkle of salt, a sliver of raw onion, and a shake of hot sauce.

Evil Ronnie wrote:By the way, where did you find that heirloom hominy? One of my favorite late night snacks when nothing else seems to satisfy, is to drain a can of Bush's hominy and saute it in a little butter and bacon fat.

Evil,

I bought a bag of the red Osage heirloom hominy at the Pow Wow at UIC last month. It's Ha-pah-shu-tse brand, and you can buy it online at http://www.redcorn.com/hominy_products.asp

I had never actually "made" hominy from a dry product before (usually I just pop a can), but after ten hours of cooking with a pork shank, the result was pleasing, with a lot more texture than the canned variety, though still very soft and flavorful.

It doesn't seem like I make many dishes that are appropriate for hominy, but my kids and I always put several cans in our homemade chili.

Hammond

Evil Ronnie wrote:I recently discovered a very unique smoked pork hock at Gepperth's Meat Market on Halstead. It's more heavily smoked than your normal grocery store hock and includes almost half of the foot as well,probably ten or more inches long resulting in an even more silky and luxurious pot of beans/greens/whatever.

Hi Evil Ronnie!

This ham hock proportions are quite similar to the braised pork hocks we have had at Moon Palace. I don't know if they were smoked, I don't think so, though they were were cooked for a long time in five-spice powder, soy sauce and whatever.

I made Crowder Peas using ham hocks from Jewel last February. Someone helped with the finishing and immediately tossed the fatty, loose skin. CrazyC and I were surprised since we both thought some of the best stuff just evaporated.

Sometimes we need a fat appreciation society.

Regards,

For hominy fans, Edna Lewis has a really simple recipe in one of her books for a chicken baked with hominy. It is sublime.

In response to the ever growing challenge to use up what I bought, I rummaged through the pantry and gathered up the half dozen open bags of beans that were all over the shelves. Tossed them into the slow cooker with celery, carrots, and onions. Cooked for 8-10 hours until real soft. Added ground black pepper and refrigerated over night.

Bought some androuille sausage at Valli's Produce on Saturday. Sliced into medallions and rendered it for a couple of minutes. Added the beans. A very nice dish with a nice kick. That was some wicked sausage. I will use about half as much sausage the next time however. Served it with some mustard greens.