Pork Hocks and Crackling Query.

[Tribeless]

I've looked through but can't immediately find a recipe for pork hocks.

Anyone with experience cooking these? One theory would be long and slow to keep the meat tender, however, and here's my confusion with pork, full stop, to get the crackling to 'crackle' requires an initial cook under very high temperatures?

[mguerra]

Re: Pork Hocks and Crackling Query.

I used to work for a butcher. We sold fresh and smoked hocks, and cracklings. But they are not the same part of the pig. Dave Ziers may wish to chime in here, but so far as I recollect, the cracklings were fried, made from skin and subcutaneous fat. Which there isn't much of on the hocks! You can do an internet search on both to find the details. Most of our customers boiled the hocks with their beans, then created "pulled hock" which went back in the bean pot. But I'm sure there are lots of other preps/ uses. We also sold hocks that were slow smoked in a smokehouse. I think they found their way in to beans also, but I guess you could just gnaw on them!

[Tribeless]

Re: Pork Hocks and Crackling Query.

Thanks for reply Michael.

I've been cooking hocks under high heat on my old charcoal bucket BBQ - I had to do everything hot and quick on it because that's all it ever did. I could get some of it to crackle, like a pork belly but other bits not, so your reply answers to that.

By the look of it, I reckon I'm best to try slow smoking and see what they come up like. Will let you know.

Same query though for pork belly. I see recipes here for soaking in brine then slow cooking, but in my mind that wouldn't create crackling? Crackling only forms by an initial burst of high heat. On my gas BBQ I would cook top temperature for 20 minutes, then turn it down to a medium temperature to slowly cook the meat. On the KK it won't be so easy to throttle temperature back, so I've got a fair bit of experimenting to do. Will try some of the recipes on this thread also.

[slu]

Re: Pork Hocks and Crackling Query.

You can get the skin of the pig to "crackling stage" by cooking your ham or picnic ham at 325 for about two hours. So, I suggest low and slow, then take it up to 325 to finish.

[Tribeless]

Re: Pork Hocks and Crackling Query.

That's a great bit of advice. Thanks slu - I'm going to give that a go over the weekend.

[primeats]

Re: Pork Hocks and Crackling Query.

in the states the hock is defined as the "ankle" portion of the hog, just above the hooves. Nearly no meat, only bone and skin, a bit further up is the shank, more like the calf of the back leg or the fore arm of the front leg, much more meaty and a twice the size. I've found the fore shank, from the front leg, to have skin to produce cracklins, the hind shanks are nearly void of skin, but not always. I usually smoke them but there is a link somewhere here on the preparation of them . http://komodokamado.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=559 ; viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3778&p=35143&hilit=pork+shanks#p35143 Hope this helps!

[Tribeless]

Re: Pork Hocks and Crackling Query.

Thanks primeats. The hocks we buy from the supermarket here are the bit above the hooves but also the lower part of the shank, which makes them a bit of a challenge. The two I have for the weekend are brined. I'll have a good look through that thread you linked to.

(I just want to try some cheap hocks to see how they go before I move to pork belly, and ribs. We've got a lot of those, including some wild boar but I don't want to be experimenting with them to the point of ruining. The wild boar is a lot tougher than farmed pork so definitely a very long, low heat cook/smoke for that.)