What Exactly Is A Ham Hock And How Do You Cook With It?

If you've ever tucked into a delicious pot of red beans or a memorable split pea soup, the secret ingredient may have been a ham hock. This cut has been utilized for hundreds of years in cuisines throughout the world, including the United States, yet is often overlooked by home cooks. Savvy gourmands know that ham hocks provide a depth of flavor that is hard to beat. Alternatively known as pork knuckles, these sections of the leg have connective tissues, bone, skin, fat, and meat — all of which add up to create a complex savoriness.

Some may find this type of meat intimidating, as it is a far cry in appearance from more familiar pork cuts. But what ham hocks lack in neatness and ease of use, they make up for in tastiness, punching up any soups or stews they're added to. While it may be rare to see them packaged in major grocery stores, they shouldn't be too hard to find in your hometown if you know what to look for and who to ask. We're here to help you learn all you need to know about this flavorful cut of pork.

Almost every part of a pig is carved by a butcher before ending up in display cases and, eventually, in your kitchen. Many of us are familiar with everyday cuts like pork chops, shoulder, loin, tenderloin, spare ribs, ham, and everyone's favorite, bacon. But what about ham hocks? To the unacquainted, ham hocks are the lower portion of the pig's leg — essentially the ankle area and joint. They can oftentimes be confused for trotters, which are, if you haven't guessed already, the feet. While trotters and ham hocks may not be widely relied on in cooking, they both provide incredible flavor and a myriad of uses.

These cuts of meat are, on average, the size of a human fist and are cylindrical or triangular. They range in weight with different sized cuts available per the butcher's packing preference. Their appearance depends on how the hocks were prepared before packaging — typically sold raw or smoked. Raw hocks have pale, off-white skin and deep reddish-pink muscle. Smoked ham hocks appear fully cooked, with the meat taking on a rust-colored appearance. All parts of the hock are edible except for the bones.

When buying ham hocks you must first decide if you want smoked or fresh. For those who need a milder flavor, fresh cuts of raw hocks are ideal. But if you're looking for intense flavor that requires the least amount of effort, smoked hocks are the best way to go. Both raw and smoked ham hocks will vary in price depending on your region, but can be considered affordable cuts of meat that won't break the bank.

Grocery stores may sell ham hock in the meat department, but the best cuts will be found at your local butcher shop. There are pros and cons to sourcing your meat from each store, with grocery chains sometimes offering lower prices but butcher shops generally possessing more knowledge about specific cuts and sourcing. German or European delis will often carry good quality smoked hocks, and some smaller Asian markets usually stock fresh hocks at decent prices.

Look for healthy pink meat and skin that is intact when buying fresh — it should be firm and supple. Smoked hocks are typically even colored, with a good balance of meat to fat and skin. Fattier cuts can make broths greasy, while leaner hocks will render less fat but provide ample meat for your dish.  If you buy frozen, as with regular ham, you can always cook them right out of the freezer — perhaps in a slow cooker — as well as freezing leftovers for future use. Lastly, like any type of meat, ask your butcher about where the ham hocks were sourced and how the animals were raised — pasture-raised is usually the most sought-after.

No chef would say that one style of ham hock is better than another; rather, each has unique use cases and regional recipes. Availability is also a factor — go with what you can find if you're looking to experiment with this not-so-popular cut of meat. However, if your recipe specifies smoked ham hock, this cannot be substituted with raw, unfortunately.

Smoked ham hocks are brined in salt before being smoked. This ensures that the meat will remain moist during cooking. Other typical brine ingredients include sugar, bay leaf, juniper berries, garlic, and cloves. The hocks are then submerged in the brine for 12 to 48 hours, depending on how much salt and flavor is desired. The wet brine also tenderizes the meat by breaking down proteins. The hock is then air dried and sometimes further seasoned with more spices or glazed before being smoked. The smoking process itself is a low and slow cooking method, one that helps tougher meats become tender. With smoked ham hock, they are hung in a smoker for upwards of five hours. The cooking temperature is often around 200 degrees Fahrenheit., and the internal temperature of the meat should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Raw ham hocks don't bring as much flavor to the party, but they definitely serve their purpose. They are often added to stews at the beginning stages of cooking for a long, slow simmer to extract the pork flavor. The collagen and fats are broken down slowly, imparting texture and umami to stews and broths.

Ham hocks are hard to beat in terms of flavor and are regularly used to add depth to broth and stews than as the center of a dish. In this capacity, they are unique when compared to other cuts of pork. The closest approximation would be trotters, which are cousins to ham hocks in terms of uses and flavor. Trotters have much less meat than ham hocks, but are similarly sought after for their collagen, which helps yield a thick, gelatinous broth. Pork shank (foreleg) produces a similar meat texture to hocks, with less fat, while other cuts like belly and shoulder provide more versatility.

Smoked hocks immediately bring to mind the flavor of bacon and the myriad of other cuts of smoky ham available, but the appearance and texture is quite different. If a recipe calls for bacon, it wouldn't be out of the question to use a smoked ham hock, but it would require some precise knife skills. For those who are sensitive to preservatives often found in sliced and packaged meats, it is best to ask your butcher if the ham hocks they sell contain additives like sodium nitrates. Unlike prepared meats, hocks require some work when it comes to eating them as the meat is tightly packed amidst tendons. Eating a ham hock as the main component of a meal may seem unusual, but in many types of cuisine, it's not uncommon.

Ham hocks run deep in American cooking — some might say it's inextricably linked to the flavors and lore of Southern cuisine. Food in Southern America often features pork — recipes like Hoppin' John (Carolina peas and rice), collard greens, black-eyed peas, slow cooker split pea soup, Brunswick stew, gumbo, and many more benefit from the addition of ham hock. Each Southern state has dishes that rely on pork's deep flavors, with BBQ being a pop-culture standout. But it's the subtle background notes of a slow braised ham hock that should be embraced, sharing the limelight with veggies like potatoes or legumes like black-eyed peas.

It may be cliche, but the pace of life in the South is a bit slower. As such, many recipes call for long braises and slow and low cooking methods, yielding maximum flavor. Soups and stews that need a backbone and depth of flavor to complement legumes are foundational in the American South. Even a slow-cooked pot of beans — whether white navy, red, or black — soak up tons of delicious smoky flavor from hocks.

Outside of the U.S., ham hocks are also used affectionately in many countries. While each region might have a different word for this cut of meat, the same appreciation for its flavor is shared across the globe. Schweinshaxe is a traditional German dish that uses whole, uncured, non-smoked ham hocks. The meat is boiled first, then crisped up nicely under the broiler before being served with a potato salad and sauerkraut. Other European examples include bigos (hunter's stew) from Poland, petit salé aux lentilles from France, and zuppa di fagioli (bean soup) from Italy. These dishes are humble and filling, with a cold weather emphasis on comfort and dense calories.

In China, recipes like hong shao ti pang employ fresh ham hocks, which can be used interchangeably with trotters, as the main protein source. They get braised for a few hours, stewing in a mix of soy sauce, rice wine, and aromatics, until the meat falls off the bone. Similarly, jokbal is a classic braised trotter dish from Korea where you could easily substitute ham hocks. And much like the aforementioned cuisine of the American South, in Hawaii locals make a dish called Portuguese bean soup which combines legumes and ham hocks beautifully, with a tomato base to balance out the richness of the broth.

After bringing home a fresh ham hock, make sure it goes directly into your fridge. It is recommended to use it within three to five days, so plan your recipes accordingly. Once cooked, it can last in the fridge for as long as four days, but always use caution. If you're unsure about the state of the meat, there are ways to tell if it has gone bad.

Freezing the hocks is always an option — and a wise one for those who like to cook with them, as they can take up valuable fridge space. Ensure that the hocks are stored in an air-tight container or freezer bag before long-term storage. Raw ham hocks can last as long as six months before freezer burn, while smoked and cooked cuts should be used within three months, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Don't forget to label your containers so you know with some precision how long your ham hocks have been frozen. The other side of the coin is when it's time to thaw the meat. Transferring the frozen ham hocks to the fridge overnight is the best way to ensure safe and even thawing. Cooking the meat from frozen requires some extra steps but can yield very similar results to using fresh ham hock.

Salty cuts of ham are far from being considered healthy foods. However, ham does include a wide nutritional profile, with protein, fats, and a variety of minerals and vitamins. Eating pork in moderation should be fine for most meat eaters, and it has been enjoyed for centuries. But when cooking with ham hock, it's important to consider the salt content. Cured ham and smoked ham are brined in salt and, therefore, will impart saltiness to any dish it's added to — something to keep in mind, particularly if you're watching your sodium intake.

When preparing a recipe that includes ham hocks, be conservative about adding salt during the cooking process — usually it's best to wait until the very end. You can always add more salt, but it's next to impossible to lower the sodium content of a dish after the fact. If you're looking to cut down on the salt content of the ham hock itself before using it, then try the water-soak fix. This method will allow home cooks to dial in the salt levels before starting a recipe.