Ham hocks are a super cheap but a really tasty cut if they're done right! The ones I used here I bought for £2 each, and for very little love just a lot of time the result was delicious falling off the bone loveliness to generously feed 4 people! The hock is the cut from the ankle/calf region, it comes completely covered in skin and there's a lot of bone involved... But that all adds to the flavour! Slow and low is definately the way forward, and to add even more flavour I popped mine in the slow cooker with full fat coke, onions and bay leaves! Then on the side I served maple roast chantenay carrots, roasted beetroots, buttery British asparagus and homemade parsley sauce. Here's how to do all of this yourselves!...
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
For the ham...
2 ham hocks totalling 2kg
2 small onions
6 dried bay leaves
1 litre full fat coke
For the sauce...
25g butter
25g plain flour
1 pint full fat milk
1 tsp English mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Pinch ground black pepper
Handful fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
For the veg...
20 stalks asparagus
4 large beetroots
500g chantenay carrots
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
20g butter
Salt and pepper to season
Method
1. Quarter the onions and pop into a slow cooker with the bay leaves and ham hocks, then cover with coke. Put it on a medium heat and leave it for around 6 hours. Longer won't hurt if you want to leave it whilst your out or at work all day!
2. Put the carrots in a saucepan and cover with cold water, then bring to the boil. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200C fan.
3. As soon as the carrots come to the boil, drain them, and pop them in a roasting tin. Drizzle over 2tbsp oil and the maple syrup and season, then toss all together to coat.
4. Prep the whole beetroots by just chopping off some of the stalks so you're left with just over an inch, and give them a wash. Pop in a roasting tin just as they are.
5. Pop the veggies in the oven for 45 minutes.
6. Chop off the woody ends of the asparagus.
Holly's Hints- if you bend the stalks they should snap at just the right point between the nice part and the woody part.
Pop them in a large frying pan and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Set aside.
7. Remove the ham hocks from the slow cooker and pop into a chopping board. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions and pop them in the oven along with the carrots... Waste not want not!
Using a small sharp knife, cut away the skin and fat from the ham hocks and discard, then the meat will just pull off the bone with a fork. Pop the meat back in the juices in the slow cooker until ready to serve.
8. To make the parsley sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low-medium heat, add the flour and stir to create a roux. Continue to stir the roux to cook it out for a minute or two, then stiring constantly with a whisk, slowly add the milk a little at a time to prevent lumps. Stir constantly until thickened, this may take around 10minutes. Add the ground black pepper, mustard and vinegar, then chopped parsley, and stir through.
9. Drain the asparagus and set aside whilst you heat the frying pan to a high heat. With the butter and 1 tbsp oil to stop the butter burning. Add the asparagus back to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until just charred and still firm.
10. Remove the beetroots from the oven first, and wearing a pair of clean washing up gloves, peel away the skin and chop off the tops and roots.
11. Serve the rest of the veggies, meat and a good helping of parsley sauce, and dig in!
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