In alt.religion.kibology, kerri9494@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> Drain the beans and add them to the vegetable mixture. Add several
> quarts of ham broth, or water plus a smoked ****k hock, and cook until
> everything is soft. If you used the hock, cut the meat off the bone
> and chop it up into the soup.
Just to resolve the ambiguity, here, cut the meat out of the hock and
chop (or tear) the meat up into the soup. The hock is the hind knee of
the pig, and is contains some pretty unpleasant bits of swine anatomy,
but the meat (figure half an ounce per hock-- very little) will be
wonderfully tender and astoni****ngly rich. It's really good meat, and
it's terrible that there's so little of it. Every time I make red beans
and rice, I have 2-3 ham hocks and no favorite child or beloved canine
companion to show favor to, nor any beautiful yet barely reluctant woman
to propel into ecstasy with this dense meaty ambrosia.
Seriously, it's great ham. Cut away the loathsome cartilage layer (and
for goodness sake, don't cut into that--you'll see things man was not
meant to see) and then start cutting everything off the bone until you
smell salty ham; it's almost easier to find the stuff by smell. There's
a skin of fat over it, tear that open and rejoice.
Also, while you do have to open it up while it's hot, remember that the
meat and bones will store heat just fine, and everything inside will be
200 degrees, so you really should pull it apart and let it cool before
sticking your fingers in there to search for God's Gift To People Who
Eat ****k (sorry Ted!).
I can't stress this enough: there's very little of this wonderful meat,
so if you don't think it'll add enough to the soup because you're making
lots, or else you're serving to people you don't like, better just eat
it yourself and no[o]ne'll be the wiser. If you do decide to give some
away, just remember that if it weren't for the wonderful flavor of this
delicious ham, it's likely that what you have seen inside the hock would
scar you emotionally, so don't miss your share.
-LAN3
It's Hock-it-to-me Time
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