I love being the clearing house for all things bean-oriented!
I received this message from a fellow member of one of the big food boards:
Anyway, after finishing the GMStallards, today I soaked and began a
soup with my Yelloweyes. I glanced at a recipe, but basically winged
it. Two stalks celery, one large carrot, one onion, two cloves garlic
and a jalapeno, finely chopped, plus some crushed red pepper flakes —
all sauteed in olive oil.Added two ham hocks and the beans,
plus a good bit more water (I like brothy soups). I boiled then
simmered maybe two hours in a covered La Creuset, then turned it off
when I left for work around 5:30 p.m. I’m going to have my wife turn it
back on low about an hour before I get off.
When I left, the
beans were pretty tender (I salted then), but the only thing I’m
disappointed by is that the hocks were still tough. If they haven’t
broken down tonight I’m going to pull them and re-use them for more
gelatin in a batch of your black beans later in the week.I also wish I had a source for hocks of less unknown origin. Cleaner hocks, as it were.
Is it possible the beans are so much fresher than the hocks? To the point that they’d take so much longer to cook? Being from California, the ham hock thing wasn’t really done much. We always had Rosirita refrieds that my father would "doctor up", as he called it. The times I’ve cooked with a smoked ham hock, I got it from my friends at The Fatted Calf. Any advice on the ham hocks that might be older than last season’s beans?
Won’t help this time, but pre-boil the hamhocks for 30 minutes or so before adding the beans. Actually, this time he could remove the hocks from the beans, boil in water for a while, then stick back in the beans when tender.
Ugh. No boil meat, flavors go in to water, not beans. Roast hocks, roasty flavors. But for best meat, cut meat in to smaller chunks. Use sawzall or have meat person make smaller. Make meat to 1 to 2 inch chunks. Large meat make Grog wait. Small meat make Grog eat soon. Ask meat person if hocks have been “cracked” (cut). “CRACK HOCKS” says Grog.
Grog never boil pork ribs for fire, boiling bad. Boil meat for boiled meat dishes only.
Grog
Aha! I solved both quality and size today with a trip to our new Amish farmer’s market in Easton, Md. They had some nice, clean-looking ham hocks under the meat case for $1-something a pound, and I had a guy saw several into smaller chunks. I’ll use some this week, freeze more, and restock as necessary.
Crack hocks good.