The hock or shank of the pig is a large cut that is found on the pig's leg between the thigh used to make the ham and the trotter. You will usually be used to buying smoked pork shanks. This cut of pork can be cooked in many ways, discover some of the most common.
Ingrediants
Boiled pork hocks
"For 1 or 2 servings"
- 1 smoked pork hock
- 500 ml of water
Pork hocks with beans
"For 4 or 5 servings"
- 15 ml of vegetable oil
- 4 smoked hocks, about 115 g each
- 250 g chopped onions
- 225 g of dried beans: white, borlotti or from Spain
- 1 bay leaf
- 1250 ml of water
- Ground black pepper
- salt
Pork hocks with Savoy cabbage
"For 6 or 8 servings"
- 2 or 3 medium-sized smoked hocks
- 2250g of savoy cabbage
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- Waterfall
- Hot sauce (optional)
German-style pork hocks with sauerkraut
"For 4 or 6 servings"
- 675 g of smoked hocks
- 450 g of sauerkraut
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 3 allspice berries (or Jamaican pepper)
- 5 peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 teaspoons of salt
- 1, 5 L of water
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Method One: Boiled Pork Hocks
Step 1. Score the fat layer
Use a sharp kitchen knife to carve the hock fat in several places before cooking.
Carving the meat is useful for better cooking and to release the flavors better
Step 2. Place the hock in a large saucepan
Place the pork hock in a large, heavy saucepan and add 500ml of water to cover the meat to about 2.5cm.
Step 3. Bring the water to a boil
Let the water come to a boil over high heat. Once the water boils, cover the saucepan and continue cooking over medium heat. Continue to cook the hock over low heat for 1 to 2 hours.
- Check the meat every 30 minutes for the first hour. The hock is ready when the meat comes off the bone.
- The hock resists very long cooking because it is a tough cut of meat.
Step 4. Halve the liquid
Remove the hock from the water when ready. Turn the stove back on over high heat and boil the water for another 20 minutes or more, until the liquid is reduced by half.
- Leave the saucepan uncovered during this step.
- This process is used to prepare a rich and tasty broth that can be an excellent accompaniment to meat.
Step 5. Serve him
Let it cool slightly before serving it on plates. Before serving, wet it with a little broth.
You can also save the broth for another use by keeping it in the fridge in an airtight container, or you can add it to the water to prepare rice, beans or pasta to be served with the hock
Method 2 of 4: Method Two: Pork Hocks with Beans
Step 1. Soak the beans
Dried beans should be sorted, washed, and soaked before adding them to a recipe, including this one.
- Check the beans and remove any pebbles or other debris.
- Rinse the beans under running water.
- Soak the beans in 2 L of water in a large covered saucepan. Leave them to soak overnight in the refrigerator.
- When the necessary time has passed, drain the water and rinse them again.
Step 2. Put a medium-sized cast iron saucepan on the fire with some oil
Pour the vegetable oil into the saucepan and put it on a medium heat stove. Let it warm up for a few minutes.
- Once hot, the oil should appear shinier than normal and should spread around the pan even more easily.
- If you don't have a cast iron saucepan, a large saucepan with a lid will do just fine too.
Step 3. Brown the hocks
Add the hocks to the oil and brown them on all sides until the meat becomes darker. This should take approximately 4 to 6 minutes.
Remove the hocks when they are roasted and temporarily store them in a warm, clean place
Step 4. Sauté the onions
Add the chopped onions to the hot oil and a sprinkle, to taste, of ground black pepper. Sauté everything, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes.
- Once ready, the onions should have a translucent appearance and a more intense aroma.
- If you don't know how much pepper to use, start with a small amount like 0.6ml rather than putting in a lot.
Step 5. Add the beans and bay leaf
Stir the softened and dried beans in the cast iron saucepan along with the bay leaf. If you want, add more pepper. Cook for another minute.
Step 6. Put the pork hocks back and add the water
Return the hocks to the saucepan and add 1250ml of water. Bring to a boil.
Step 7. Cook over low heat for 2 hours
After the water has reached a boil, lower the heat and let it cook over low heat, covered, until the meat begins to detach from the bone and the beans become creamy.
- Once cooked, remove the bay leaf.
- Note that if you prefer an easier version of this recipe, you may want to put all the ingredients in a slow cooker as soon as you are done soaking and drying the beans. Cover and cook for 8 hours or more.
Step 8. Serve it when it is hot
Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and serve while still hot.
This dish is usually served as a soup, but you can also use a slotted spoon to just take out the meat and beans
Method 3 of 4: Method Three: Pork Hocks with Savoy Cabbage
Step 1. Boil the pork hocks in water
Put them in a 6 L capacity saucepan and fill 2/3 with water, making sure that the water completely covers the meat. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
Step 2. Let it boil for an hour and a half or two
Cook the hocks in the boiling water until the meat begins to detach from the bone.
- Add more water if you see that it reduces too much. The meat should remain completely submerged in water during the entire cooking process.
- Make sure the hocks are cooked to perfection before adding the kale.
Step 3. Prepare the cabbages
Separate the leaves and rinse them one by one under cold water. Arrange the leaves on top of each other and roll them together. Cut each roll into thin strips using a cutting board and large kitchen knife.
- If you use frozen cabbage instead of fresh, you may not need to separate the leaves, but you should defrost and dry them.
- Dry the leaves one at a time and not all together.
- Rolling the leaves and cutting them into strips will save you time.
Step 4. Add the cabbages in groups
Add as much cabbage as possible to the boiling water, until the saucepan is full. Cook them until they wilt.
Step 5. Add the rest of the cabbages in groups
Once the first bunch of cabbages wilt, you can add the others. Continue like this waiting for one group to wither to add the next.
Be careful, you do not have to remove the cabbages once they are placed in the pot, nor when they are wilted
Step 6. Season with salt and continue cooking
Put a pinch of salt in the water, mix and continue cooking for another 30 minutes over medium heat.
Mix the ingredients occasionally so that the flavor of the smoked hock spreads
Step 7. Serve it hot
Once cooked, drain the meat and cabbage and serve them together in the same dish.
For an extra touch, add a dash of hot sauce to the dish
Method 4 of 4: Method Four: German Pork Hocks with Sauerkraut
Step 1. Mix the ingredients
Put the pork hocks, sauerkraut, onion, carrot, allspice berries, peppercorns, bay leaf and salt in a large pot or in a cast iron saucepan. Pour the water to cover the ingredients, especially the meat.
Step 2. Bring to a boil
Put the saucepan on the stove over high heat until the water reaches a boil. Once this is achieved, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low heat.
Do not cover the saucepan while you boil or simmer the ingredients
Step 3. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 hours
Let the ingredients cook continuously over low heat for an hour or more, until the meat is soft and begins to detach from the bone.
- When the water level begins to drop, add more to keep the ingredients completely submerged.
- Once cooking is optimized, remove the bay leaf.
Step 4. Serve it while it is still hot
As soon as the meat finishes cooking, plate the stewed sauerkraut on individual plates. Then lay the meat on top, and enjoy your meal!
- This dish is often accompanied by potatoes.
- Mustard, horseradish sauce or mustard with horseradish is often served as an accompaniment to meat.
