Ham Hocks and Beans
This recipe uses dried beans. If you want to lower the cooking time you will need to soak them in advance. You have a couple of options. You can soak them overnight in a large bowl filled with water. Or you can boil a large pot of water on the stove. Once the temperature reaches boiling, remove the pot from heat and add the beans. Allow the beans to soak for at least one hour.
If you don’t soak the beans in advance, it will likely add a couple of hours to your cook time.
What Type of Meat to Use
Pork ham hocks aren’t very meaty. You should always look for the meatiest one you can find. It’s pork knuckle, where the foot was attached to the hog’s leg and is mostly fat and bone. It’s used frequently in bean recipes, red beans and rice, collard greens, black-eyed peas, etc. because of the delicious flavor it provides.
You can also use smoked turkey necks, smoked turkey wings, smoked turkey legs, salt pork, country ham, or even bacon.
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