Pork hock aka knuckle aka goodness

[ChrisTaylor]

I've been scoping out local weekend markets recently and stumbled upon a place that deals in fancy pants pork. I have a piece of belly in the water bath at the moment. I'm now looking for suggestions on what to do with the hocks. I have two: one at 624g and the other just shy of 950g.

 

I've cooked hocks, in their unsmoked form, before. My go-to recipe is the one in Keller's Bouchon. Photos of that dish can be found here. Similar recipes appear elsewhere, although unsurprisingly it's the garnish--not the construction of the 'pucks'--that changes. That is one option that has occurred to me. Another option is something like this this: I have a cold smoker and a hot smoker, so something that's lightly smoked is a possibility. I want to avoid applying a lot of smoke to it, turning it into the kind of thing you'd make red beans and rice with.

 

Any other suggestions? Only once have I had German-style roast pork knuckle. I really, really, really liked it. I have no idea where to begin on that front, though, and whether my best bet would be slow-roasting or some kind of sous vide/roasting combo. 

[Okanagancook]

Nigella has a recipe where you put the scored hock on a bed of beer, apple and onion. It is baked at high temp to start, then at a lower temp until tender. To really crispen the skin the final temp is high. I would prepare the skin with boiling water shower, rub with salt and brush with vodka then in the fridge over night uncovered

[Paul Kierstead]

I recently used a hock (fresh) in a pot of cassoulet. It definitely added something. I think just about any braisd/stewed dish with pork that calls for shoulder can use it as a supplement or possibly the primary pork bit.

[Anna N]

You might want to give this topic a glance especially posts #9 and 15

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/148874-cooking-pork-shank/?hl=hock#entry1975975

[Paul Bacino]

Well..I think only a good Pozole...could benefit from a little knuckle and spine

Edited January 19, 2015 by Paul Bacino (log)

[huiray]

Some suggestions:

(The whole pork hock can be done in the pot the same way as shown in the following links.  Or slice it up)

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/146914-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2014/page-17#entry1993619

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/148424-dinner-2014-part-3/page-9#entry1972484(scroll down)

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144211-breakfast-2013/page-9#entry1926303

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143989-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2012%E2%80%932014/page-11#entry1922716

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144603-dinner-2013-part-2/page-14#entry1915978

There are any number of other recipes using pork hocks with this-and-that sauces and spices done in an E/SE Asian way (easily looked up on the web), if you care to cook that kind of food.  You can also use the pork belly you got in many of these recipes instead of the pork hock.

[Mendel C-k]

From the lovely Maeve :

 

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/pork-knuckle-potato-dumplings-and-braised-red-cabbage

[annachan]

Do a search for crispy pata - Filipino style crispy pork hock

[CatPoet]

We brine or cure  Ham hock and  then cook it for soups,  lovely salty broth with  pea or lentil soup.  I also love it in  Rutabaga mash. Yum.

[BKEats]

I made a soup yesterday with smoked ham hock.. very delicious.  a few carrots, some celery, onions and a few hand full for garlic cloves.. half a can of tomatoes, water, wine, bay leaves, thyme, potatoes.  i also took my two last strips of this smokey bacon and thew them in, diced. 

 

few handfuls of spinach at the end of maybe a 45 minutes cook.   it was absolutely delicious..  i made a big pot of it.. like, what always happens.. i get a phone call that 5 people are coming for dinner in the next hour or so.  they are bringing steaks and potatoes. it was a perfect starter.

 

 

[ChrisTaylor]

This is where I ended up.

 

 

I followed the recipe Mendel C-k linked to without actually following it. The apples made their way into an apple sauce (a couple of Granny Smith apples, some sugar, some cinnamon, a pinch of salt/82C/60 minutes) and the water took the form of a superior liquid, namely beer. The sauce came out a little thick when I pureed it so, hey, that was a nice excuse to drop a glug of Laird's apple brandy in there. The carrots and beets were cooked sous vide--40 and 60 minutes respectively, both at 82C. The pickles were homemade. 

 

It took longer than the two and a half hours the recipe says--closer to three. Note that if you want to follow the recipe, there are a couple of differences between the recipe as it's written and the recipe as it appears in the video. I cranked the temperature up to 200C when I had about a hour remaining as I wasn't getting very far re: crispy skin. I think next time I'd try some of the techniques for crisp-skinned roast pork belly from that classic eG thread.

[Katie Meadow]

Question: what's the advantage of using a smoked ham hock vs a smoked ham shank? Way more meat on the shank and flavor wise the resulting stock from the shank is at least as good. I always tell the butcher to cut twice through the bone in each shank so the marrow is exposed. Perhaps smoked shanks used to be less available than they are now?

[annachan]

This makes really great crispy skin: http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/12/the-food-lab-ultra-crisp-skinned-slow-roasted-pork-shoulder.html

That's what I make for NYE.

[ChrisTaylor]

You're a star, Anna.

 

EDIT

 

I also know where I'm booked in for NYE '15.