Leonard Lehew wrote:

>
> Ham is not the same as a flavoring agent as plain pork. I often use
> ham hock to flavor vegetables and soups. When I use the term, stock, I
> mean the liquid produced by several hours of simmering bones of some
> type of meat along with aromatic vegetables and herbs. How do you make
> your ham stock?
>

I typically use a 1 pound ham hock, medium onion, large carrot, stalk of
celery and a dozen or so whole peppercorns in about 6 quarts of water.
Bring to a boil, skim off the top, cover and simmer for at least four
hours, sometimes overnight. I try to reduce it to 4 quarts before using it.

If it simmered for a short period of time (4-6 hours) and I need to use
it, I will fish out the hock and take the meat off the bones for later
introduction into the finished soup. If it simmered overnight, the
remaining meat has the flavor of cardboard, but the stock is much better
for it.

--
Matthew

I'm a contractor. If you want an opinion, I'll sell you one.
Which one do you want?