All posts tagged: Happy in the Kitchen

Pork from the Farm

Our friend farmer Patti Popp of Sport Hill Farm asked how we cook pork hocks. Patti raises pigs and sells excellent pork. We got this pork hock from Sport Hill Farm. Pork hocks like to be cooked in moist heat. So first, I put the hock in a pot of cold water and brought it to a boil. Then I removed the hock, rinsed it, dumped out the water and rinsed out the pot. Then I put the hock back in the clean pot, added cold water, a bay leaf, a couple peppercorns, and some salt.  After it simmered for about three hours, and the meat was tender, I removed the hock, cut everything off the bones — meat, skin and the white blubbery-looing stuff — and chopped it up. This has to be done while the meat is still warm.  Note: Don’t throw out the cooking liquid. You’ll need some for the hocks and you can cook  a delicious green pea or bean soup in the broth. Then, I added a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, a …