Ginger beer ham hocks
- Published: 3 May 19
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Felicity Cloake slow-cooks ham hock in ginger beer until falling away from the bone before covering in a sticky mustard, sugar and honey glaze. Stick under a hot grill for 10 minutes to caramelise, then serve with salad and new potatoes.
Use up any leftovers in this green eggs and ham recipe made with lentils, kale and poached eggs.
Ingredients
For the ham hocks
- 2 x 600g British smoked or unsmoked free-range ham hocks (see tip)
- 750ml ginger beer
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 4cm piece root ginger, bashed with the flat of a knife blade
For the glaze
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp runny honey
Method
- Put the hocks in a saucepan just big enough to hold them with a little room around the sides (see tip). Add the ginger beer, bay leaf, peppercorns and root ginger and pour over enough cold water to just cover. Bring to the boil, skim away any froth or scum that forms on the surface, then turn down the heat, cover partially and simmer very gently for about 2½ hours until the meat is very tender and coming away from the bones. Let the hocks cool in the liquid.
- Pat the ham hocks dry with kitchen paper. Using a paring knife carve away the skin leaving as much fat behind as possible, then score the fat in a criss-cross pattern.
- Heat the grill to medium. Mix together the mustard, sugar and honey and brush all over the hams. Grill for about 10 minutes, turning so they brown evenly, and brushing on leftover glaze as you turn them. Once golden and bubbling, remove from the grill and allow to cool before wrapping for travelling or pulling the meat from the bones.
- Recipe from June 2018 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 244kcals
- Fat
- 7.2g (2.3g saturated)
- Protein
- 34.8g
- Carbohydrates
- 10g (9.8g sugars)
- Fibre
- 0.3g
- Salt
- 3.2g
delicious. tips
Check with your butcher if the ham hocks need to be soaked in a large bowl of cold water overnight. Traditionally cured meat used to need to be soaked overnight to reduce the lingering salty flavour from the curing process, but it’s not usually necessary these days.
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I was a bit dubious half way through but this went down a storm, I served it with crispy potato scallops and creamy coleslaw. I used a bit if the cooking juices left over for a little sauce by adding a tbsp soya sauce, and thickening with cornflour before stirring in a little creme fresh. Only comments I would make is that the pairing of rgr skin is tricky and I would be surprised if this served the amount if people suggested as a main as I used one 1kg hock which only just served two. I also put all if the shavings of rinse in a hot oven with a bit of salt, it made fab pork scratching! Many thanks, a good recipe
Anyone have any good ideas on what to make with the stock, its really tasty.