Ham Stock Recipe
Add ham stock to your homemade stock repertoire with this easy recipe. Use leftover ham bone, ham shanks, or ham hocks to flavor your ham stock recipe.
No matter when you take a gander in my pantry, I will have several jars of homemade stock in there. Chicken stock is the one we use the most, followed by beef stock and vegetable stock. But ham stock also has a place in my pantry. It is the staple for this bean soup. In fact, ham stock is natural with any type of beans. Use it in place of water or chicken stock in your favorite split pea soup or potato soup.
This ham stock is one of the main ingredients in my White Bean Soup with Ham and Vegetables.
sodium nitrate and sodium nitrate
I’m always striving to avoid added and unnecessary chemicals to my food and body. Two of the chemicals I avoid are Sodium Nitrates and Sodium Nitrites. Unfortunately, it is darned hard to find smoked ham or ham hocks without sodium nitrates or nitrites. Whole Foods does sell cured ham hocks without nitrates/nitrites, but they aren’t necessarily smoked.
I didn’t have a ham bone in my freezer but did have ham shanks and cured ham hocks (both nitrate & nitrite free). Those are the cuts that I used for this stock.
make your stock budget friendly
I keep a ziplock bag in my freezer with bits and bobs of vegetables. I regularly go through my produce drawers when I’m on my game, especially when we are getting ready to travel.
If you are proactive and keep a bag of meat bones and a bag of vegetables that are frozen before they go past their prime, you can make your stock virtually for free! And it is so much better tasting and healthier than anything you can buy in the store because you control what goes in it.
Ham Stock
A very easy recipe for ham stock made from ham bone, ham shank or ham hocks.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts of cold water
- Approximately 2.5 pounds of ham bones, shanks, or hocks
- 1 onion, cut into quarters
- 3 - 4 carrots
- 3 - 4 stalks of celery
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 4-8 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
STOVETOP
Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot.
Bring the contents to a slow simmer. You can turn the heat to high but watch it. You don't want it to start boiling...just simmer.
Reduce the heat to low and keep the pot at a low simmer. You may see a bubble or two, but no more than that.
Place the pot lid on the pot.
Resist the urge to stir the stock while it cooks.
Ideally, simmer for 6-8 hours, but at least 3 hours. The longer, the better.
Once done, strain the broth through a mesh sieve or cheesecloth.
Remove the fat with a Gravy Separator. Alternately, chill the stock and then scrape the fat off the top of the chilled stock.
Store your stock. You can pressure can it for pantry storage. I have the directions to do that in this post.
If canning is not your jam, you will need to freeze it. If you freeze in glass jars, make sure to leave a minimum of 1" headspace for expansion as the liquid freezes. Another option I regularly use that takes less space in your freezer is these Food Storage Trays. I use the 1 cup, 1/2 cup, and 2 tablespoon trays. If I didn't can my stock, then I think the 2 cup tray would be very useful. Once the food freezes in the tray, I take the food out of the tray and store it in either a reusable bag or glass container in the freezer.
CROCK POT OR SLOW COOKER
Combine all ingredients in a crockpot or slow cooker, a minimum of 5 quarts.
Set low and let simmer for 12 to 24 hours.
Once done, strain the broth through a mesh sieve or cheesecloth.
Remove the fat with a Gravy Separator. Alternately, chill the stock and then scrape the fat off the top of the chilled stock.
Store your stock. You can pressure can it for pantry storage. I have the directions to do that in this post.
If canning is not your jam, you will need to freeze it. If you freeze in glass jars, make sure to leave a minimum of 1" headspace for expansion as the liquid freezes. Another option I regularly use that takes less space in your freezer is these Food Storage Trays. I use the 1 cup, 1/2 cup, and 2 tablespoon trays. If I didn't can my stock, then I think the 2 cup tray would be very useful. Once the food freezes in the tray, I take the food out of the tray and store it in either a reusable bag or a glass container in the freezer.
how to store your ham stock after you make it
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You have options!
- I can my stock using my dial gauge canner. I have detailed the step-by-step instructions for canning meat stocks and broths in this post about how to can chicken stock. The instructions for canning pork stock, chicken stock, and beef stock are the same. I’d love for you to give it a whirl, and I am here fo you if you have questions. I’ve been canning for 15 years and have never had an issue.
- If canning is not your jam (and I can’t convince you otherwise😣), then you need to freeze it. You can freeze it in jars, but make sure to leave at least an inch of headspace in your jar to prevent the jars from cracking. Another option is these freezer pods. I have the 2 T pods (which I use for tomato paste and chipotle in adobe), the 1/2 cup (which I use for precooked beans & taco meat), and the 1 cup (handy for freezing soup and stew portions).
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