Homemade Smoked Hocks (Pressure Cooker)
Homemade Smoked Hocks (Pressure Cooker)
In Thailand, I have never seen smoked ham hocks, but uncooked hocks are widely available. These are called pork side leg or pork leg in Tesco, and are quite large, bonus is they are cut through the bone in several places on the large hocks. This recipe produces smoked hocks using liquid smoke and a pressure cooker, not a smoker. I will use my 9 liter (9½ quart) stove top pressure cooker with a pressure of 80 kPa (12 psi), so this will work with a electric pressure cooker as well. Follow all safety precautions for your model of pressure cooker.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1-2 kilos pork side legs, (2-4 lb)
- 2 quarts water, (8 cups)
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, heaping
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
- Place a rack in your pressure if you have one. Add the hocks on top of the rack. (For this I used just over 2 kilo (4+ lb) with 4 thick side leg pieces and 1½ feet which were already cut in half.)
- Add the water, peppercorns, and liquid smoke.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker and lock in place, add the weight to the lid. Place on high heat.
- When the weight (jiggler) starts to vent pressure and move a little, reduce heat to low or medium low, but maintain the pressure venting and movement on the jiggler. Set your timer for 35 minutes.
- When 35 minutes have passed, turn off the heat and move the cooker to an unused burner. Allow a natural pressure release, meaning you don't need to do anything, just let the pressure cooker cool until all pressure has vented, and the lid lock device indicates that zero pressure remains inside the cooker.
- When no pressure is in the cooker, keep your face pointed generally away from the cooker and open the lid.
- Scoop out the hocks and any meat that may have fallen off the bones. (This is the side leg pieces, the feet halves were placed on another plate.)
- For the broth, drain through several layers of cheesecloth into a pot, then pour into 1-2 quart jars. Allow to cool to room temperature, cover and place in the fridge. When chilled, remove most of the fat from the top. Now you have pork broth to use for making a pot of beans. This may keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Serve the hocks as is with side dishes of your choice, or use as an ingredient in a hocks and beans recipe of your choice.
Notes
Pork side leg in Tesco will cost about 61 Baht/kilo or $1/pound, basically low cost per serving and you get pork broth for use in other recipes.
I made this on 5 Dec 2021 to test out the recipe and I will say this is an excellent way to prepare smoked hocks, your kitchen will smell delightful. These are not attractive by any means but the flavor is excellent. I am going to use these as an ingredient in a pot of beans. This will be a regular method for me now.