Cooking with a stock adds depth and flavor to any recipe that you won't get from cooking with water. This stock, made with smoked Ham Hocks, vegetables, and herbs, is well suited to many dishes, including beans, greens, Gumbos, Soups, and Bisques. Easy to make in large batches and freeze until needed, Ham Hock Stock will infuse a restaurant-quality flavor to your cooking.
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Essentials of A Good Stock
I am on a seemingly never-ending quest to make the perfect stock. Remember you are making an ingredient for other recipes, not the final dish. Here's what I'm learning:
- Start with quality ingredients. This is key: a stock pot is not a garbage disposal. When making a stock with meat, use fresh bones with ample meat and connective tissue. This will provide gelatin, which adds richness.
- Use fresh onions, celery, and carrots. You can save leftover pieces from your mise en place, but don't use brown or blemished veggies.
- Use fresh herbs and spices to produce a subtle flavor base: fresh parsley, fresh thyme, and bay leaves with black peppercorns. Avoid dominant flavors like star anise, cabbage, or broccoli (just to name a few) because these tend to dominate the flavor profile. If you are making a stock for a specific recipe, you can tailor the herbs and spices to match the desired flavor profile of that recipe.
- Don't add salt when making a stock because I will salt the final dish. If you salt the stick, use a minimal amount.
- Use cold water to start. Flavors from your ingredients will be extracted gradually as it warms, building a stronger base. Bring the water up to temperature slowly.
- Avoid boiling the stock, but maintain a very low simmer until the liquid has reduced.
- Skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the top, usually over the first 30 minutes. frothy, grayish-white or brownish foam that forms when the stock begins to simmer. It consists of proteins (like albumin), blood, and other soluble compounds released from the bones, meat, and connective tissues
- Do not stir the stock, which mixes these impurities back.
- When finished, remove all the solids, then strain your stock. You should cool the stock quickly. Set the stock in the fridge. Any fat will solidify on the surface and can be removed easily.
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Here’s What You Need
These are the key ingredients used in this recipe. A complete list, with quantities, is included in the printable recipe card at the end of this article.
Ingredient Notes
- Ham Hocks: This recipe was developed using smoked ham hocks. Fresh ham hocks will also work, but will need to be cleaned and roasted before using.
- Onion/Celery/Carrots: This is the French mirepoix and provides a mild flavor foundation for the stock.
- Fresh Herbs: Parsley and thyme provide a mild, floral foundation. Oregano, basil, marjoram, and tarragon are also options, but may provide too sharp of a flavor.
- Optional: Add a head of garlic, sliced in half, and seared with the onions.
Cookware
To properly prepare this stick, use a large stockpot. To use the bouquet garni, you will need some butcher's twine. These garni bags are great for holding peppercorns and other spices, and a skimmer is the perfect tool to handle the sum.
Hints and Tips (FAQ)
Carrots provide a mild, natural sweetness that balances the savory, smoky umami of ham hocks. They enhance depth without overpowering the stock, making it versatile for dishes like collard greens or split pea soup. Bell peppers have a distinct, sometimes sharp or vegetal flavor (especially green ones) that can dominate and impart a specific taste, reducing the stock’s adaptability. This makes the stock less suitable for neutral or broadly applicable uses.
Roasting is standard when you want a rich, robust stock with deep, caramelized, and smoky notes. It’s particularly effective for smoked or fresh ham hocks to intensify their natural flavors. If you’re aiming for a milder, less intense stock (e.g., for a delicate soup or sauce), you can skip roasting and simmer raw hocks directly. This preserves a cleaner, less caramelized flavor but sacrifices depth. If you are in a time crunch, you can sear the ham hocks and vegetables in the stockpot before adding the other ingredients.
A cloudy stock is likely due to boiling the stock as opposed to a low simmer. It also may be a due to not skimming the scum off the top, but rather stirring it into the stock as it cooks. It may be a combination of things, including starting with hot, as opposed to cold water.
A frothy, grayish-white or brownish foam that forms when the stock begins to simmer. It consists of proteins, blood, and other soluble compounds released from the bones, meat, and connective tissues of the ham hocks. If left in the stock, this foam can cloud the liquid, impart a slightly bitter or off-flavor, and create a gritty texture. Skimming ensures clarity and a refined taste, especially important for versatile stocks used in clear soups or sauces. Impurities are most prominent in the first 20–30 minutes of simmering, as the stock comes to a gentle boil. Continue skimming intermittently for up to an hour if foam persists. Use a slotted spoon, ladle, or fine-mesh skimmer to gently remove the foam and floating impurities from the surface. Avoid stirring the stock, as this can mix impurities back into the liquid.
Here’s What You Do
First...you have a beer. A stock is extremely easy to make, but does benefit from preparation. Sip a beer while you read the recipe all the way through, so that you know what ingredients and equipment you need and how to prepare the ingredients. Then, perform your mise en place, and most of the work is done.
Mise En Place
- Quarter the yellow onion, chop the celery and carrots into approximately 4-inch sticks.
- Tie the parsley and herbs into a bouquet garni.
- Place the bay leaves and peppercorns in a garni bag.
Lagniappe Tip: A bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs tied together with kitchen twine whilke a garni bag is A garni bag (often called a sachet d’épices) is a small bundle of herbs and spices tied together in a cheesecloth or muslin bag, used to infuse flavor into stocks, soups, or stews. These allow for easy removal of the aromatics after cooking, preventing unwanted bits in the final dish.
Slight Sear to Start
What happens in this step? A slight sear will brighten the ingredient flavors, which translates to a tastier stock.
- Place a large stock pot over medium-high heat. When the stockpot is hot, add the onions and carrots, cut side down, and sear slightly.
- Add the ham hock; put a slight sear on all sides; stir well.
Lagniappe Tip: Optionally, you can roast the ham hocks and vegetables in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Make sure to deglaze the roasting pan and add everything to the stockpot. Roasting or searing will deepen the flavor of the stock.
Add the Remaining Ingredients and Water
What happens in the step? The aromatics are added, then all the ingredients are covered in water to simmer.
- Next, add the celery, bouquet garni, and the garni bag. Turn the heat to high. Move the ingredients with your spoon to make sure they are all separated.
- Add 16 cups of cold water to cover the ingredients. As the water is about to boil, turn the heat down to achieve a slight simmer. Skim off the scum that as it floats to the top.
Lagniappe Tip: Once the water begins to simmer, maintain the heat so that the stock will simmer very slowly. Do not let the water boil, and do not stir the stock.
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Slight Simmer Until Finished
What happens in this step? This is a critical stage that, if done properly, will produce a rich stock.
- Maintain a very low (lowest possible) simmer for about 3 to 4 hours until the liquid has reduced by about half. Do not stir.
- When the liquid has reduced, remove the stock pot from the heat. Pull out the ham hocks, vegetables, and herbs with a tong or a slotted spoon.
- Strain the remaining liquid into a bowl and cool quickly.
- Remove the fat that rises to the top, then pour the stock into storage containers and refrigerate.
Check out Sweet Daddy D's other recipes for Homemade Stocks.
Serving Suggestions
Use Ham Hock Stock, Red Beans or White Beans, Blackeyed Peas, Turnip, Collards, or other Greens, Smothered Cabbage, and soups such as Split Peas, Ham and Bean.
Storage Tips
- Cool the strained stock quickly. If necessary, set the bowl of strained stock in a larger bowl with ice. When it has cooled considerably, refrigerate. When cold, skim off any accumulated fat. Store the stock in freezer-safe containers that are air-tight and intact to prevent freezer burn.
- Freeze stock in small portions (1 cup, 2 cups, and 4 cups) to eliminate waste by defrosting only what you need.
- Stock will maintain its quality in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 6 months. Leave enough headroom to accommodate expansion when freezing.
To Thaw
- Thaw frozen stock in the fridge or a bowl of cold water.
- Fridge defrosting will take about 12 to 24 hours for a pint and 24 to 48 hours for a quart.
- Make sure to place the container on a baking sheet in the fridge in case of leakage.
- Defrosting in cold water is much quicker, at 1 to 2 hours for a pint and 2 to 4 hours for a quart.
- Make sure to change the water often enough to maintain cold (about 40 degrees Fahrenheit) water.
- Do not defrost at room temperature, as this will increase the risk of bacterial growth.
- If time is an issue, you can use partially defrosted stock in your recipe, and it will finish defrosting as you cook.
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Recipe
Ham Hock Stock
Here's What You Need
- 2 pounds smoked ham hock about 5 to 6 ham hocks
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 sticks celery with leaves
- 3 carrots
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 3 sprigs fresh oregano
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 whole peppercorns
- 12 to 16 cups Cold water.
Here's What You Do
- Quarter the yellow onion, chopped the celery and carrots into approximately 4 inch sticks. Tie the parsley and herbs into a bouquet garni. Place the bay leaves and peppercorns in a garni bag.
- Place a large stock pot over medium high heat.
- When hot, add a 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and when hot, add the the ham hocks, onions and carrots and sear slightly.
- Add the celery and the bouquet garni and the garni bag; stir well.
- Add 16 cps of cold water covering the ingredients.
- Gently stir the stockpot only once to separate all the ingredients.
- As the water is about to boil, turn the heat down to achieve a slight simmer. Do not let the water boil.
- After 15 to 30 minutes, skim off the scum that has floated to the top. Check back periodically to skim more.
- Maintain a very low (lowest possible) for about 3 to 4 hours until the liquid has reduced by about half. Do not stir.
- When the liquid has reduced, remove the stockpot from the heat. Pull out the ham hocks, vegetables, and herbs with a tong or a slotted spoon.
- Strain the remaining liquid into a bowl and allow it to cool.
- Pour the stock into storage containers and refrigerate.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Estimate
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