What to do with hocks?

When you have a pig slaughtered, there are some parts that you just don't want. Fatback, lard, liver, kidneys, heart, etc. all fall into these categories for me. However, hocks I have kept. I've never eaten hocks nor cooked them until last night.

While last evening's dinner was pretty basic, I think it turned out pretty good although a bit fattier than I would have liked. It certainly felt like comfort food for me. I think the beans more than make up for the small amount of meat in the dish. The bread was delicious too and went well with the meal.


Hocks & Beans

4 large hocks
1 lb. dried beans (navy works well)
2 c. chopped Italian green beans (these were the last from my garden)
~1 c. frozen spinach
rosemary
thyme
minced garlic
minced onion
red pepper flakes
oregano
salt
pepper

Place the hocks into a crock pot. Mine were frozen solid so I cooked them on high. Add garlic, onion, rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt & pepper over the top. Add 1/2 c. boiling water. Cover and let cook for about 4-5 hours. I did turn mine over a couple of times during the cooking process.

During the cooking time, prep your beans. Because I don't ever make menus, I am always using the quick soak method for the beans. I don't find the difference from the overnight soak noticeable at all.

When the beans are done soaking, add them into a stockpot with more onion, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes. Add boiling water and simmer them with the lid partially on until almost cooked. Add in the green beans & spinach. When beans are complete, remove the hocks from the crockpot and add them into the beans. Strain the juices at the bottom of the crock (try and get as much fat out as possible) and add them to the beans. Right before serving, remove the hocks and cut out the meat, dice it and add it back into the beans.

This recipe likely could serve about 8 adults. We had some leftovers, but the 4 youngest kids def. ate kid sized portions and didn't take seconds (they liked the taste - no complaining, but all have issues when foods are all mixed together in one pot).

Harvest Bread

1 1/3 c. milk
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. butter, cut up
3 1/3 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2/3 c. toasted wheat germ
1/4 c. brown sugar (I used 1/4 c. of molasses & honey instead - ratio about 1/2 & 1/2)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast

Heat the milk until warm. Add the eggs & cut up butter. Mix together the flours, wheat germ, salt & yeast. Add in the sugar (or molasses & honey). Slowly add the milk mixture and knead, adding flour if necessary. Place into a well oiled bowl and cover. Let rise for about 45 mins. Punch down and form - cover while preheating the oven to 350. Bake for about 40 mins.

Yields one large loaf.

Jack Daniels meets Porky the Ham

So we have a ham. I'm not a big ham lover. I am making ham because frankly I need to get to the store and stock up on the stuff I like (primarily poultry...it's my favorite) and well, when you slaughter a pig, you have a lot of meat stored in your freezer that you eventually have to eat even if it isn't your favorite.

I have a small bottle of Jack Daniels in my spice cabinet for the times I make Filet Mignon with a whiskey peppercorn sauce. I like Jack because he is sweet and goes so well with different meats. Tonight I decided that he was going to meet Porky the Ham. I mixed him up with some brown sugar, some pineapple juice, cayenne pepper, just a little bit of honey and some freshly ground black pepper. I baked the ham slowly, glazing every hour or so.

I served the Jack'ed up Ham with some red smashed garlic potatoes, smashed cauliflower and broccoli. I also served the pineapple tidbits from the can that I opened to get the juice from. All in all, a decent meal. I still don't like ham, but the glaze was really good as were the potatoes and veggies.

Jack'ed up Glaze

1/4 c. Jack Daniels
1/4 c. pineapple juice
2/3 c. tightly packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. honey
Few shakes of the cayenne pepper (probably 1/8 tsp.)
3-4 grinds of the pepper mill

Mix together and baste meat while baking. If grilling meat, I would likely wait until the last few minutes of cooking time so that you don't have charred outsides.


Smashed Garlic Red Potatoes

10 small/med. red potatoes
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/4 c. diced yellow onion
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 c. plain yogurt
3 oz. grated cheese (your choice)
salt & pepper

Wash potatoes well, cut in half and place in large pot. Cover with water and add garlic, onion & a good pinch of salt. Boil until fork tender. Drain water. Add in butter, yogurt, grated cheese and pepper. Smash with a potato masher. Add salt and/or pepper according to taste.

Cook's Notes:

I primarily use dried minced garlic for this recipe because I always have it on hand. This last time I used Dubliner imported cheese (a very tangy cheddar type from Ireland). It really works very well because it is strong and you don't have to use so much. Parmesan, Romano or Feta work well too.


I pretty much cooked the cauliflower the same way as the potatoes, less the garlic and yogurt & with a bit less water, and added in a couple grates of the Dubliner cheese while mashing. The kids all tried one small spoonful and LOVED it. I will be adding fresh cauliflower to our shopping list each week. Perhaps I might even serving the cauliflower instead of potatoes.

Dessert was dubbed "Baby Ruth Bars". I found the recipe at AllRecipes.com. I followed it loosely. This is my way of making these bars. Feel free to look up the "right" way.

No Bake Chocolate PB Bars

1 c. smooth peanut butter
1/2 c. crunchy peanut butter
1 c. corn syrup
6 c. corn flakes
1 c. choc. chips (6 oz.)

Melt the peanut butter & corn syrup in a large pan. Remove from heat. Quickly add in the cornflakes & chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan. Allow to cool to room temp and then cut into bars.

Cooks Notes:

We all LOVED these. Seriously. The pan is more than 1/2 gone already. Even Thomas, who can be very picky about textures & tastes, thought these were the bomb. The cornflakes stay relatively crispy while the pb & chocolate mixture is smooth.