Prosciutto stock?

[helenas]

I wonder if somebody can suggest an appropriate ratio of meat to water for a prosciutto stock? I found something like 1/4 lb for 1 quart. Does it sound right?

Also is a bone preferable or a boneless piece will do?

Thank you.

(fresh cranberry beans with escarole stew in the making )

[fiftydollars]

you want the bone. sometimes you can get them to cut you a deal on the end of the shank, which should have quite a bit of meat along with a lot of bone.

[emsny]

At least in NYC, you can buy prosciutto "ends" - as fiftydollars said, the shank end - at stores like Agata and Valentina, for a quarter of the price of nice neat slices.

[Kevin72]

Try to get some of the skin as well. You won't need much but it gives the soup a great porky flavor (perfect with cranberry beans) and viscosity.

Is there prosciutto available with the bone in? I had thought the US wouldn't allow import of bone-in prosciutto . . .

[Tonyy13]

Yah, in America, you can't get the bone in kind, although, it is a pain in teh ass if you do get it in. Bone out is the only way to get it here, but if you can somehow get a bone on the black market, it should do the trick. If you can't find that, try getting an unsmoked hock bone. If you can.

[emsny]

In Chinese butchers, you can generally get shank ends, bone in, of US dry cured hams of the Smithfield type (or, for that matter, thick slices cut straight across the leg). Not the same, of course, but if the bone is important to you, you might try it.