How long do I boil hamhocks? until they are done and falling off the bone.?!
Thanks! :)
Answers: I want to use the water as a soup base as well as use the ham bits in a salad later. I usually boil chicken breasts about 20 min,but these ham hocks are bone-in
Thanks! :)
Well, Iiiiiiii'llll BE! I thought us young 'uns down here in Thu South fixed vittles like that! Whacha doin' cookin' that thare?
A ham hock
2 carrots
1 onion, red or white
6 or so peppercorns
6 or so juniper berries if you have them
A couple of bay leaves
A bouquet garni if you have it
Celery, leeks, whatever veg you have in except for brassicas like cabbage, broccoli or spouts. They can rather overpower the stock.
Water
No salt – the ham is salty enough itself.
The Cooking
You don’t need to peal anything, just wash the veg, cut the bulkier items in half and then bung all the ingredients in a large pan. Pour in cold water slowly. The reason you do it slowly is that you don’t want to disturb the fat on the ham too much – if the fat gets jostled and dislodged, bits of it will float around in the water and this is what makes stock cloudy and greasy. The water should just cover the ingredients.
Put it on a low to medium heat on the hob (stovetop). The aim is for the fat and scum to rise to the surface as intact as possible so you can skim it off easily and the stock stays clear.
Once it’s come to a gentle simmer, skim off any fat and scum that has risen to the surface with a spoon. Turn down the heat even more. You want the barest of simmering going on – the occasional “bloop” from a bubble every few seconds. This is so that the collagen in the meat softens and dissolves, which flavours the stock and means the meat doesn’t dry out.
For the first half an hour or so, check back and skim off any further rubbish that’s risen to the surface. After this time it will probably have all risen. You can do now go off and do your own thing for a few hours. I give it a stir every hour or so to make sure there’s no ingredients poking out of the top of the water and drying up.
The liquid will reduce a bit, which is a good thing. The flavours are getting concentrated. After 4 hours it should be nearly ready. Have a taste. If it’s full of flavour, it’s ready.
Strain the stock through a fine mesh colander into a suitable container and leave it to cool. You now have stock:
To make a good tasty stock, usually 4 to 6 hrs at a simmer... of course add bouquet garni, and mirepoix... strain in a chinoix when it's done. Should be great!
I often boil ham hocks with dried navy beans or split peas, but I have boiled them for a basic stock for other types of soup as you want to do. The hock stock comes out best for me best if I slowly simmer the hocks in water for at least an hour and a half, or until the meat falls off the bone. If you cook them too long then the meat looses a lot of its flavor... I found slow cooking is best... I loose a lot of volume in the stock if I hard boil the hocks. When I cook them for a soup base I usually add salt taste and pepper to taste, and sometimes a bay leaf depending on which type of soup I am going to use the stock for. All and all ham hocks make a great stock.
I boil mine in water with some salt, pepper, garlic, onion and bellpepper. I boil mine until the began to bust open..that's when I know they're almost done...but sometimes i cook longer until they're coming off the bone.