Ham Stock

2 Quarts
100% would make this recipe for Ham Stock again.

Both the marrow from the bones and the dissolved collagen helps thicken your soups or sauces and adds richness. The smoked ham also adds a flavor that is rich and complex....a flavor that you just wont get out of a bottle of liquid smoke.

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Ham Stock Ingredients

4 quart cold water	3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
2 pounds smoked ham hocks or shanks (hocks have more fat and flavor, shanks have more meat)	small handful of black peppercorns
1 large onion, coarsely chopped	3 bay leaves
1 large bell pepper, coarsely chopped

Instructions for Ham Stock

Place the ham hocks or shanks in a large stock pot and pour enough cold water over to cover them. Place over a moderate heat. As liquid comes slowly to the simmer protein scum will start to rise. Remove it with a spoon, ladle or small sieve until it almost ceases to accumulate.

Add the remaining ingredients and pour in more water so that the liquid covers the ingredients by about 1-inch. When liquid is simmering again, skim as necessary and partially cover with lid, leaving a gap for steam to escape. Maintain the liquid at a very quiet simmer for 3 - 4 hours, skimming off accumulated fat and scum periodically. If liquid evaporates below the level of the ingredients, add boiling water.

After 3 - 4 hours pour stock through a fine sieve into a large pot. Pick through the ham bones for any meat you wish to reserve. For immediate use; let stock settle for 5 minutes and skim off the excess fat, or pass through a fat separator. For future use; let stock cool and place, uncovered, in the refrigerator until the fat has hardened on the surface and can be scraped off.

Before using the stock, taste for strength. If the flavor is too weak, boil it down (after stock has been gegreased it may be boiled with no ill effects) to evaporate some of the water content and concentrate the flavors. Correct the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste and the stock is ready for use or storage.

Yields: about 2 - 3 quarts.

Storage Notes:
When the stock has cooled to room temperature, cover and refrigerate or put into small tightly sealed containers to freeze. Stock kept in the refrigerator should be brought to the boil every 3-4 days to keep from spoiling.

Main Ingredient: StockCuisine: American-South

Ingredient Insight - look inside this recipe

Bay Leaves

Bell Pepper

Black pepper

Celery

Ham

Onion

Slow cook Advance Celery Bell Pepper Onion Ham Shank Ham Hock Stock Soup Sauces American-South

for flavor and categorization

Basic Stock Tips: When making stock never allow the liquid to boil (Fat and protien protein scum incorporate themselves into the stock if it boils, thus making it cloudy). Cooking of a stock can be stopped at any time and continued later. Never cover the kettle airtight until its contents have cooled completely or the stock will turn sour. The stock will have finished cooking when your taste convinces you that you have simmered the maximum flavor out of the ingredients. [I posted this recipe.]