Ham hock is sourced from the foot/hand of the pig, more precisely the knuckle and is mostly used in making soups and stocks. It’s an affordable cut that consists mostly of bone, fat and a little meat. Not to be mistaken with trotters, the cut is sourced from just above the trotter, where the meat yields an intense flavour.
As we mentioned, ham hock is great for use in soups and stock. Simmering the hock in water for a long period of time allows the water to adopt the intense pork flavour. Not only that, the meat will become so tender that it will easily fall of the bone, making it great for use in lentil and pea based soups, along with the stock made during simmering.
The meat can also be collected together after boiling and put to good use in a terrine or a served on the bone with sides such as sauerkraut. Although there is little meat to be had, the pork on ham hock is rich and full of flavour.
How long does it take to cook ham hock? As a rough guideline, cooking ham hock for 2-3 hours yields the best results.
Ham hock from Campbells
As leading online butchers in Scotland, we have a range of Scotch Pork sourced from Quality Meat Scotland Certified Farm Assured farms. This range includes fresh, unsmoked ham hock, that’s ideal for making mouth-watering stocks and soup. Also, smoked ham hock is ideal for slow cooking.
Buy ham hock online today from Campbells Meat, and get it delivered quickly and freshly to your doorstep.
A ham hock (or hough) or pork knuckle is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the hog's leg. It is the portion of the leg that is neither part of the ham proper nor the ankle or foot (trotter), but rather the extreme shank end of the leg bone.
in water for a long period of time allows the water to adopt the intense pork flavour. Not only that, the meat will become so tender that it will easily fall of the bone, making it great for use in lentil and pea based soups, along with the stock made during simmering.
You can braise a ham hock, trim it up and serve it as a meat course. But most commonly it is used as a flavoring ingredient. That is why so many hearty winter soups and stews call for the ham hock as an essential part of the dish. When I'm making soups with ham hocks I take the time to score the thick skin of the hock.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine ham hocks, onions, garlic, and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook at a bare simmer until hocks are very tender, 2 to 3 hours. Remove ham hocks from liquid, transfer to a cutting board, and pull bones from meaty and fatty parts.
Ham hocks are inexpensive, thick cuts of leg meat that can be cooked and used in a variety of ways. You can smoke ham hocks on a smoker for a moist and flavorful option, roast them in the oven until crispy and browned, or boil them on the stove.
Look for skinless: Using ham hocks from skinless cuts will give you a smoother texture and sometimes more meat. Crisp up the skin: If you prefer ham hocks with the skin on, try frying or boiling the ham hocks after you braise them to get a crisp blistered skin.
Unlike bacon or pancetta, hocks are not especially meaty, which is why they're a great addition to long-cooked things—soups, of course, but also pots of beans, braised greens, and beef or poultry stocks. They need all of that time to get nice and tender.
Because this cut of meat is from the joint on the trotter, or foot of the pig, it is tough, with most of the ham hock comprised of skin, bone, fat, and collagen.
Also known as a ham hock, coming from the hindquarter shank, it's cured and cut to form this ideal on the bone joint for one or two to share. An easy to cook, simple joint of tastefulness – just how grandma used to make.
Hocks have a good amount of meat attached to bone, so perfect for slow cooking to release the collagen. Because the hock is a joint, there's a lot of connective tissue, which needs to be cooked low & slow to tenderize. The moist, tender meat is covered in a tasty layer of fat & skin.
While a leftover ham bone from your holiday dinner and a ham hock are two different pig parts, you can often use them interchangeably. Hocks are typically cured with salt and smoked and will impart a bacony flavor when adding it to whatever you cook.
Ham hock is high in protein, but also brings with it a share of fat, saturated fat, so should therefore be eaten in moderation. In terms of minerals, ham hock also contains sodium and potassium.
(The rind will stop the ham from drying out.) Score the fat in a diamond pattern, about 1cm deep. Take care not to cut through to the meat – the fat shrinks during cooking, so a deep cut may expose the meat and spoil the appearance of the ham.
Now that you know what a ham hock is, let's talk about how you can use it. Ham hocks, consisting mainly of skin, tendons, and ligaments, are primarily used to flavor dishes, although many people enjoy braising or slow-roasting hocks and eating them as a main course.
Ham hocks can be cooked separately or braised in the dish provided enough time is allotted for the connective tissue to break down. The meat can then be picked off the bones and removed from the skin, but the skin is delicious too, if cooked long enough.
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