Very few things can bring joy to the heart of a Southern cook, even one who happens to live in Alaska, like the words “Smoked Ham Hocks.” When making a braised dish or a stew, even bacon and butter can’t hold a candle to a good hock. While both of the latter give a lot of flavor to a dish (just ask the French about butter), the smoky, salty, purely porcine assault of flavors from a good smoked ham hock is absolutely beyond compare.
For those who have never used a ham hock, it is basically a pig’s ankle joint. A hock is mostly connective tissue, fatty skin and, in the cases of the larger examples, a bit of extremely tough meat. Most cooks use hocks in the same way that they would use soup bones, cooking them with vegetables or beans to add flavor and then removing the hock before serving.
Hocks are generally sold in packages of two to four. In my case, I got four hocks for just under four dollars and made enough soup to feed a family of five with leftovers for the next day.
In Southern cooking derived from areas hit hard by constantly poor times or from the dust-bowl era, the meat is separated from the hock and added back to the dish before serving. It is a subsistence food generally overlooked by most cooks, which tends to make it an ideal choice for low cost cooking.
As for flavor, a smoked hock is cured in much the same way bacon is. Hocks are salt cured and smoked, which gives them an incredibly long shelf life. (They will last nearly indefinitely in the freezer if packaged properly.)
Though made in the same process, ham hocks are meatier than bacon. They are chock-full of collagen and connective tissues, which not only changes the flavor, but deepens and concentrates the very nature of everything done with them. If bacon is a gateway protein, then hocks are where the gateway leads.
Hocks are inexpensive, overlooked and come from very humble beginnings. All of those things tie deeply into my family history, but none of them are the reason I buy smoked hocks when I see them. I buy them because they remind me of home. Because their flavor is unmistakable. Because they are comfort food, soul food and love, all in one place at one time.
I’m a southern boy, and I love me some hocks.
If you’ve never tried them, never seen them or even if you have never heard of them you have to see if you can find some and make a batch of this soup, greens, or just toss them in a stew pot for a pork stock like you have never imagined before. I think you’ll find that you have something special on your hands.
This was a perfect dish for a freezing cold winter evening. My wife agreed, though the kids found it to be a little much. (They aren’t huge bean fans.) For me, this was a near-perfect finish to a long, cold day. One that I would be happy to serve to family and friends at any time. I hope you agree.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced (Depending on your tastes)
- 2 to 4 smoked ham hocks, depending on size and amount of meat on the bone)
- 32 ounces chicken stock
- 64 ounces cold water
- 1 - 20 oz package 15 bean soup mix (Just the beans, toss the flavor packet)
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 -14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Sweat onions with a small pinch of salt in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until just translucent. Add garlic and continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes. Add ham hocks to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken stock, water and beans to pot. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir, making sure all beans are in the liquid. Add bay leaves and thyme. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until beans are just tender. Add tomatoes and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove bay leaves and discard. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. (Warning, hocks can be VERY salty, so go light on the salt until you've tasted the soup!)
- Remove hocks and shred meat from bone. Place a few pieces of the ham meat in the bottom of a serving bowl. Ladle soup over and around ham pieces. serve immediately.
- Share and Enjoy!
What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:
Watch the salt! Hocks are salt cured. The addition of four made for a salty dish. (It also would have cause my Grandmothers’ eyes to roll, if it didn’t make her faint. Four hocks in a pot is something she would have considered an extreme luxury.)
Links to other recipes like this:
- Red Beans and Rice, from the good Dr. Biggles at MeatHenge
- White Bean and Ham Soup Recipe, from the lovely Elise at Simply Recipes
- 15 Bean Soup, from Columbus Foodie
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
Jerry, the soup looks fab and I buy smoked ribs and hamhocks for similar dishes. Pass a bowl along with the Beano!
Will do Peter! I just recently found that i can buy soup bones and smoked neck bones locally, so i will be trying those very soon. I haven’t seen any smoked ribs yet, but will very happily dive into them if I do.
I have found that adding a quarter cup of lemon or lime juice, lets you forget the Beano, You won’t be needing it. I put the juice in every pound of beans I cook. Sorry, it doesn’t work with canned beans which are already cooked. I got hooked on hocks at an early age because we were a poor family and hocks and neck bones were given away free by the local butcher. And, ham hocks are good with any kind of beans. I have a real good recipe for home made chili if anyone wants it.
I used to buy ham hocks to cook with garbanzos, but haven’t done so in a while. For some reason, they fell off my radar. Thanks for reminding me.
Hope all is going well in Alaska. That’s the stop we’re doing next week on my Culinary Tour. Why don’t you join us?
I rarely make a bean soup without ham hocks! You just can’t beat the flavor.
The only time I make beans without hocks is if I’m using shanks or bacon. I just gotta have some pork-y love in there!
Jerry, it looks so delicious! Great photos. After much hunting I finally found smoked ham shanks at one specific Stater Bros. Market! Only $1.99/lb.! Am making tomorrow’s dinner tonight, using your Braised Ham Shank recipe. Made it once before and it was amazing! Figure if it sits in the fridge overnight, all the flavors will meld even more. Thanks again for the recipe and your help. Now I’ll have to try this recipe. Hope you’re all staying warm up there!
Chris,
Glad you found some! Let us know how it turns out
I’m not a Southern cook, and I love me some hocks, too! You already know I love beans :). Great info — I don’t know that I ever considered what joint a hock came from. A big pot o’beans sounds like a great thing for a lazy Sunday.
Hocks and beans are a perfect pair. Hope your Sunday is wonderful, warm and lazy!
I HAVE MADE 15 BEAN SOUP FOREVER..MINE DID NOT HOLD A CANDLE TO THIS ONE!!! IT WAS GREAT AND IS NOW (MY) OFFICIAL BEAN SOUP RECIPE..
THANKS
So glad you liked it. It’s a favorite in our house too.
This is the first bean soup recipe that wasn’t a flop for me! Only personal twists that I put on it was: 16 bean soup mix (didn’t find 15), 1 tbls. stone ground dijon, 1 teas. each of white pepper and cheynne, 1 tbls Emeril’s Essence, and made a bouquet of bay leaves, thyme sprigs, dill sprigs. I followed the method, except put everything in my slow cooker after 1 hour because I needed my big pot to make the Thick & Creamy Potato Soup you feature. The saltiness was just right for me, but my husband added a few grinds of sea salt to each bowl he tried. There are only 2 of us, but next time I have to double the recipe! Thank you so much and this is the best site…I am really lovin it!
And don’t forget to make a pan of good cornbread to go with this dish….
I grew up in west Texas eating pinto beans and cornbread, found the 15 bean soup ages ago and have been making it ever since.
Looks yummy! I love bean soup! Try this tip…beans benefit tremendously from a splash of cider vinegar stirred into the bowl upon serving. (Alternately, if you like, use a few drops of Tobasco with the vinegary heat to punch things up.) This tiny splash of acid really wakes up and brings out the best in the beans. Thanks for a great recipe!
Loved This recipe!!! I made a smaller version though, Only used one ham hock :)
What I would suggest is adding wash the beans thoroughly, soak the beans overnight with baking soda, then wash the beans thoroughly again. I’ve never had hocks before because I usually use a ham bone. I basically do the same recipe but I also use lima beans, the bigger the better. I hope they turn out good!
Forgot, soaking it overnight in a few tablespoons of baking soda makes it so you don’t get gas.
I swore, “Onions” before I started making this soup, but it didn’t seem to make a difference in the flavor (see first line of directions : ). Seriously, thanks for a wonderful recipe. Never used ham hocks before, but will look for them, now. I suspect that they are also what gave the greens we ate in a restaurant in Charleston, that fabulous flavor.
Thanks for pointing out my typo! Fixed. And yes, the hocks are what adds the extra rich flavors like tose you find in greens.
This soup is fantastic! I made it with out tomatoes because I’m allergic and it is still amazing. I was cooking for two, so my husband and I ate it for a week and NEVER got tired of it! I’m making my second pot now! Thanks so much for posting.
I’m so glad that you both liked it. It’s an adaptation of a very old family recipe and one of my favorite dishes ever.
I found out when you soak your beans over night do the same to your ham hocks it helps to balance the salt out to be less salty soup
I’d only do that if you’re soaking in the fridge. Preserved or not, there’s a chance for bacterial growth.
i make my bean soup with left over ham bones , from a spiral cut ham much better than ham hocks and less salty . plus you can also add left over spiral ham
Funny you should mention that, as I’m about to post a recipe for this soup made with leftover ham!
Hi, This sounds delicious. I am hoping you can tell me how to utilize this recipe
using a crock pot….I must be gone all day and would like it ready around 5 pm.
Thanks!
Making this soup with the leftover Christmas ham. I add kale in the last 30 minutes and then serve the soup with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream and a tablespoon of sherry or marsala wine. Love your recipe.
Great post! I’m simmering my first hocks-n-beans soup (largely following your recipe) right now! I love that it smells just like my grandma’s house. :)
So your photo looks like a nice creamy kind of thick soup and mine is rather thin, like a broth, i followed the recipe, any ideas??
Danny,
If yours came out more soupy, just simmer for a while uncovered to let some of the liquid evaporate. Most likely your pot seals more tightly than ours, so less liquid was lost. Also, give the soup a good stir to break down some of the softer beans. the starches inside will help to thicken the soup as well.
Terrific recipe, thank you. I put a slice of ham, diced, in the micro to heat. Put in the bottom of the bowl before adding the soup. My husband likes ham, but I like the hock flavor, no ham. I didn’t see the pot should be covered.
It’s Short Sunday. We just turned our clocks ahead an hour, so it will make a short day. I started soaking my beans last night. What a great recipe! I also have made beans and failed terribly before. I am not from the south (Michigan) but always envied those women who could scratch up grub such as this! Now at almost age 50, I can too! Thanks Jerry!
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