Smoked Ham Hocks For Split Pea Soup

[Rover]

It's been such a while since I made split pea soup that I can't recall if I simmered the hocks before using them in the soup. I wondered if anyone had thoughts on this.

Thanks!

Rover

[Dave the Cook]

I simmer them for an hour or two, then remove them before adding the peas. When the soup is almost done, I remove the meat and throw it back into the pot.

[Redsugar]

After softening the vegetables in butter, I add the smoked ham hock along with the split peas, water, beer, and seasonings and simmer the whole shebang until the ham & peas are ideally tender, at which point the meat is removed from the bone and returned to the pot.

A robustly fortifying soup to serve with a freshly baked country rye loaf in the dead of winter.

[gourmande]

I do what redsugar does... minus the beer, but I like that variation... must try!

And if you can only get your hands on a fresh hock, I'd suggest roasting it well first.

[Carrot Top]

Usually make a stock from the ham hocks (or sometimes a whole small shank end, they are very inexpensive and meaty) in cold water with aromatics and herbs raised slowly to simmering for several hours, allow to chill overnight, remove fat then continue with recipe using the stock as base for the soup.

[LaurieB]

I do just what Redsugar does, too. At the end, add a bit of sherry -- it finishes it off very nicely.

Laurie

[russ parsons]

i made this this week: made a stock from a hamhock and chicken stock (plus a half-onion and a couple of cloves). simmered it for an hour or two, strained it and added the stock to the split peas, some chopped carrots, a chopped celery stalk, some bay leaves. cooked that until done. when the hock was cool, i peeled the skin, chopped the meat and added it to the soup along with a little chopped skin. when ready to serve, topped it with chives. served it with cheese toasts (ok, mde from some stravecchio parmigiano that i had left over). nice dinner to watch the yankees lose.

[Jinmyo]

I simmer first so that the hocks can be peeled and pulled comfortably while the mire poix and peas cook.

I often use proscuitto shanks which can be very inexpensive.

And I usually add some lardons when serving.

[Rover]

Thanks so much, everyone ... all of these are terrific ideas. My recipe uses the usual mirepoix, plus leeks and chiffonade of spinach in a chicken stock base. Tarragon and Italian parsley plus more chiff. of spinach with a hearty splash of sherry to finish. It's simmering away at the moment with about 30 mins to go before fishing out the hocks to peel and shred the meat. I may do some croutons (small ones) and serve with a glass of sherry on the side to sip or add to the soup as preferred.

I love the idea of proscuitto shanks... must check into that. Lardons - YES!

Rover

[eunny jang]

Hmm. Usually I sear the meat end of the hocks in butter, start the fat rendering a little, then take the meat out of the pot and cook my onions and carrots. Peas, stirred to get coated in fat, water. That's it. After an hour, I throw the meat back in. An hour after that, I take the meat out, trim, and reassemble the soup. Tons of pepper and a few rosemary croutons, and you're set.

[Dave the Cook]

The point of giving the hocks a long head start is to have a well-developed stock before you put the peas in. Yeah, it's a longer recipe, but it's unattended time, and I think it gives a heartier result.

[Jinmyo]

A side question: Does anyone ever top their split pea soup with lardons, croutons, and a poached egg?

I don't always do this but I like serving it. But then I just love eggs.

[Dave the Cook]

In my experience, nearly everything is better with an egg on top.

[lovebenton0]

I make stock with the ham hocks first also, start early -- then cook the onions, carrots and little garlic in butter, stir in the peas. Add to the stock with lemon thyme, bay leaves and 1/2 cup beer, remove hocks for stripping and return to soup near finish with black pepper.

Large croutes and long cuts of garlic chive on top.

Never tried serving with a poached egg on top, but OMG that sounds good.

[Redsugar]

Small ham hocks weighing under 1 lb. (variously called “country ham hocks” or “smoked ham hocks”) are not a good buy – esp. if taken from the hind shank, as they are almost all bone & fat and little meat. Purchase fore shanks; the bones give an excellent flavor that’s particularly good for vegetable casseroles & soups.

To make a ham stock, simply use the usual vegetable trimmings and strip bake the skin from the hock, cut off the meat for another use, add the herbs, but no salt. Simmer slowly for 1½ to 2 hours. Four knuckles will make 3 pints of finished (i.e., skimmed & strained) stock of highly estimable quality.

Incidentally, I add a shank-end hambone along with beef rib bones when making a Beef Stock. I very much like how the hambone rounds out the flavour of the stock.

[Ellie]

I've always first simmered the ham hocks to make a broth. But years ago I stopped bothering with taking the meat off because I found that it really had very little flavor left after the simmer. Has anyone else found that to be the case? Now I chop up a ham steak for good ham flavor. You still get the smokiness from the ham hock, too.

[Dave the Cook]

I've always first simmered the ham hocks to make a broth.  But years ago I stopped bothering with taking the meat off because I found that it really had very little flavor left after the simmer.  Has anyone else found that to be the case?  Now I chop up a ham steak for good ham flavor.  You still get the smokiness from the ham hock, too.

I've done this. I've also used smoked sausage, or a combination of ham and sausage.

Small ham hocks weighing under 1 lb. (variously called “country ham hocks” or “smoked ham hocks”) are not a good buy – esp. if taken from the hind shank, as they are almost all bone & fat and little meat. Purchase fore shanks; the bones give an excellent flavor that’s particularly good for vegetable casseroles & soups.

I've never seen anything other than these small hocks. They do a decent job for the task at hand, and they're so cheap that I never really considered the value proposition. But the real question is, where do you find foreshanks? I want to try this.

[petite tête de chou]

I use smoked shanks as well. Meaty, smoky goodness.

Brown them well in whatever fat floats your boat. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme. Scrape them around in the pan with the shanks until soft and kinda gooey (!), add about 16 cups of cold water. Bring nearly to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until about 8-10 cups of liquid remain. Periodically skim off the foam and scummy stuff. Strain. Cool-refrigerate-skim fat. Reserve shanks-cool-cover tightly-refrigerate.

I use this method for preparing the stock for green/yellow split pea, black-eyed pea and white bean soups. When I'm ready to make the soup, I begin my vegetables of choice in the pan with some butter and evoo. If I'm using dried herbs I add them at this point. If I'm using fresh herbs I add them to the soup during the last 1/2 hour or hour of cooking. Add beans, meat stripped from the shanks and stock. Simmer until done to your liking. A few shots of Franks, Crystal or Tabasco is usually included somewhere in there, too. A pat of butter and black pepper before serving.

[Redsugar]

...the real question is, where do you find foreshanks? I want to try this.

I buy my pork products from a rural Pork Shop. Herr Mueller, the proprietor, produces the most delectable ham. His authentic Black Forest Ham takes the leading role in a great pumpernickle sandwich w/ Kühne sweet Bavarian mustard; and his traditional roasts -- man, how different they are from the mass-produced, chemical-laced, bland-flavored, ready-to-eat supermarket hams! The proprietor bones his hams and then marinates them in a brine based on red wine fro a local winery. They are then left to dry for a day or two and somiked over rock-maple sawdust. During the smoking, the ham reaches an internal temperature of 170° – which makes it safe for immediate comsumption so that they need only to be baked until heated through to 130°. This takes about 15 minutes/lb. for the pork shop variety, as it is boned and so very dense. A bone-in ham will require about 10 minutes/lb. because the bone will conduct heat to the center.

Re the foreshanks: I call the butcher to place an order before driving out to his shop. (He sometimes includes a couple of trotters as a bonus in a purchased order. Another satisfied customer, indeed)

[AmbrosiaFood]

The point of giving the hocks a long head start is to have a well-developed stock before you put the peas in. Yeah, it's a longer recipe, but it's unattended time, and I think it gives a heartier result.

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Very true!