Pork or ham hocks: how to be frugal

[happyaslarry 13]

The price of pork hocks (aka ham hocks or shanks) is such a steal, considering how much you can do with them. Here's my m.o. https://wp.me/p5wFIX-17P  

Who has any other suggestions?

[FIRETHORN1 58]

I like to make brawn from hocks and shanks. I just boil them down for a couple of hours with a lot of stock, and some chopped onions/carrots/celery & a bit of seasoning. Once cooled, I strip off the meat and cut into small cubes and put it in a pudding basin. I strain the stock, then boil it down until it's reduced to a sort of slightly viscous consistency, let it cool, then pour over the meat in the basin. Refrigerate overnight, take out of fridge half an hour or so before you're going to use it, then upturn the basin onto a plate. It's just load of nice tender pork, encased in savoury jelly. Really good on sandwich, with a bit of salad in it.

Edited March 11, 2019 by nikki-red

[Olive 10]

2 hours ago, FIRETHORN1 said:

I like to make brawn from hocks and shanks. I just boil them down for a couple of hours with a lot of stock, and some chopped onions/carrots/celery & a bit of seasoning. Once cooled, I strip off the meat and cut into small cubes and put it in a pudding basin. I strain the stock, then boil it down until it's reduced to a sort of slightly viscous consistency, let it cool, then pour over the meat in the basin. Refrigerate overnight, take out of fridge half an hour or so before you're going to use it, then upturn the basin onto a plate. It's just load of nice tender pork, encased in savoury jelly. Really good on sandwich, with a bit of salad in it.

That sounds tremendous.  Tempted to try cooking this in a pressure cooker, have you tried that?

[FIRETHORN1 58]

Never tried it in a pressure cooker - but I'm sure it would work just as well - and be a bit quicker than simmering on the hob in a saucepan for a couple of hours!

 

To be honest, I've never actually owned a pressure cooker. Not sure why, because I've got nowt against them. In fact, I remember my mum buying a pressure cooker in the late 70's, when they were relatively expensive and new-fangled kitchen items. She loved it - and was forever pot-roasting chickens and joints of brisket, making soups, stews, etc in super-quick times. Me? I'm just happy to simmer stuff, for ages,  on my stove-top!