Cuban mojo ham hock

By: Samantha Evans, Shauna Guinn
From: The Hang Fire Cookbook
Serves: 6-8

Much like a lamb shank, a ham hock has the leg bone running through it, and it takes a slow and low cook beautifully. It’s an often forgotten cut of the pig, but give this recipe go – you’ll love the Latino flavours and it makes a fantastic alternative to regular ham hock recipe. Not to mention that ham hocks are pretty good value, too. You can get fairly small hocks that make up one large portion, and these look great on the plate when served. Ask your butcher to give you ‘uncured’ hocks, and to remove the skins for you; the skins can be used to make pork crackling. Plan ahead with this dish if you get pre-cured hocks, as you’ll need to remove the saline in the hocks overnight before using them (see below).

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
4	rindless ham hocks, preferably uncured

For the Mojo Marinade

Quantity	Ingredient
250ml	fresh orange juice
120ml	freshly squeezed lime juice
1	garlic head, cloves separated, peeled and finely sliced
1 tablespoon	toasted cumin seeds, ground
1 tablespoon	dried oregano
1 tablespoon	sea salt flakes
1 tablespoon	paprika
1 teaspoon	freshly cracked black pepper

For the glaze

Quantity	Ingredient
100g	soft light brown sugar
50g	honey
100ml	cider vinegar

Method

Start by mixing the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place the ham hocks in a ziplock bag large enough to accommodate the hocks and marinade. Pour over the marinade and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, ideally 48 hours.
To smoke the hocks, set up your grill for indirect heat at 108°C. The hocks will take around 4 hours to reach 72°C. Rest the hocks in a foil tent for 10–15 minutes before serving.
If you want to roast the ham hocks in the oven, preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the hocks in a medium-sized roasting tin (about 25 x 30cm), cover with foil and cook for 3½ hours, or until the meat is deliciously tender and falling off the bone. Turn the hocks two or three times during cooking to baste with the juices and get all those beautiful flavours into the meat.
These ham hocks go wonderfully with some Pineapple Chow-Chow, Maque Choux and a bowl of Hush Puppies.

Cooking methods

Indirect Grilling/Smoking or Oven

Salty Hocks

For this recipe, it is best to use uncured hocks, however, they are often sold precured. If using cured ham hocks, simply put them in a bowl with plenty of water. Add half a potato (to speed up the osmosis a little) and leave to soak overnight before using.

It’s also worth cooking an extra ham hock to use in other dishes. Take the meat off and freeze in a ziplock bag. You can then make a delicious mid-week pot of Hoppin’ John.

Tags:: barbecue; BBQ; Southern; America; Deep South

Cuban mojo ham hock

Ingredients

For the Mojo Marinade

For the glaze

Method

Cooking methods

Salty Hocks

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