How to Cook Ham Hocks

This is how to cook ham hocks the best to get them tender and the meat to fall off the bone. Adds a ton of smoked flavor to any dish. Fork tender in a soup with beans is great, we will show you how to do that.

How to Cook with a Ham Hock

Let’s talk about this part of the pig: These come from the bottom of the pig’s leg (rear ankles). They need to simmer for a LONG time in order for the small bits of meat to fall off the bone. Even though there isn’t a lot of protein on each one, what does come off has TONS of flavor. You literally need no seasonings added into this dish to be great.

We made slow cooker ham and beans last year using dry beans, but that takes a long time. If you are in a hurry try this version. To make this done even quicker, you could even use leftover ham which we do often after the holidays.

What are Ham Hocks Used for?

You can use them to enhance the flavor of your dish, usually soup and add a bit of meat to it too. Mostly it works the best to add a smoky flavor to your meal. Here are a few we’ve made, or you could consider making with these. The only methods worth using would be a slow cooker, Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi.

Recipes

1. Instant Pot lentil soup with ham
2. Our Instant Pot black eyed peas and ham
3. Crockpot ham and potato soup
4. Pressure cooker barley soup
5. You could throw 1-2 into our homemade Instant Pot split pea soup

How Long to Cook Beans with Ham Hock in Crockpot

And then we made this one the other night. I found this package of smoked ham hocks that were under ten bucks, thought some Great Northern beans would work well with fresh produce. Carrots and celery are great choices too and in just about 6 hours (using soaked or canned beans) you’ll be set.

Since my husband was home that night I deleted the carrots here because he is a hard NO carrot lover. You could go beyond that though, the selections need to be of the firmer variety though. Fresh green beans would work, sliced onions of any kind of course are always fine, even quartered petite potatoes would work.

How to Make Ham Hock Soup in Slow Cooker

Put ham hocks with flat sides facing down into your slow cooker. If this is all you want to cook you will just want to add enough broth or water so they are submerged. This will get the protein so tender that it will pull away from the bone. They are better though with a few cans of beans and diced up vegetables to make a soup. This will take approximately 6 hours or until you can shred protein off easily with a fork.

Note: Do NOT add any salt into this at all. There is a ton already in the meat that will remain in there and seeps out into the broth when it cooks. Best is to use low sodium broth too.

Are ham hocks fully cooked?

Yes, in the store they are typically already smoked so you don’t need to worry about them coming to a safe internal temperature per say. The smoky flavor is why they are so great to add to dishes. With broth cooked low and slow those flavors will leach out into your dish and give it a ton of flavor and sodium you want.

At the end or 30 minutes before serving lift your cuts of pork out of your soup or stew and on to a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice meat off and discard bones, connective tissue, collagen and fat. These are typically sold in pairs or 4 like this one was.

Using 2 vs. 4 is up to you, just depends on how much meat you want in your dish. If making something like Instant Pot baked beans I might just use one or two since I’d want the sweeter sauce to really shine. In a larger pots of Instant Pot Pinto Beans or collard greens I would add 3-4 since those are rather bland and need all the help they can get.

If you were just wanting to make them tender, but brown and crispy on the outside I would skip the other ingredients. Add enough broth to submerge the thickest half to 3/4 of the way up. Use the same timing below and then you’d want to set your oven to broil for a few minutes. Add cuts of meat to baking sheet until browned.

How many hours do you boil ham hocks?

In a slow cooker I like to do it slowly on low heat for 6 hours. If you wanted to boil them in a pot it could take less time because the heat would likely be higher but if you ask me it is better the longer you allow these to sit since you want all of the flavor out of the meat and bone so the proteins peel right off.

Do you take skin off ham hock before making soup?

When making soup with ham hocks, it is generally not necessary to remove the skin before cooking. In fact, leaving the skin on can add extra flavor, richness, and body to it. When done it will just slide off so you can discard it but while cooking it will add flavor and moisture with the added fat.

Give our recipe below a whirl and then try a few more linked above too. Below we show you how to make one of our favorite Crockpot soup recipes with the smoked pork pieces.

Instant Pot Method

Pressure Cooker Ham and Beans has the directions for that pot. You can get the same end result in a fraction of the time, like 1 hour vs 6-8. Seriously you won’t be able to tell the difference either so try both and see for yourself.

Stove top Method

In a pot on the stovetop you would want to cover them with water or broth. If you are making a soup with beans out of it I would use the latter to give the dish more flavor overall. Set over medium heat so it is slowly boiling and cover. You still want a decent timing of 2 hours or so in order for the pork to pull away from the bones easily.

Are ham hocks and ham shanks the same?

No but many will refer to each interchangeably. I have used both of these and the cook time is the same. Only difference between the two is shanks will have more meat on them because they come from higher up on the leg. You will get the same smoky flavors with each. Cook time will not differ and either one will work just as well as the other.