Need a Ham Hock How-to...

I did a search on the whole forum and got 6 hits. Here is just 1.

http://forum.cookshackamerica.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cg...f=13;t=000075#000000

bob

Nick,
Go to your store where you and butcher are on first name basis.Buy a whole already smoked ham.Take it home,resmoke it about 4hrs @ 180 wwith hickory.Remove and chill. Take it back to your butcher friend and ask him to show you how to bone a whole ham.Here is the deal,there are 3 bones in a whole ham,the eache(H) bone the main long bone and the hock.All of these are great to cook with,and they freeze very well,so I think your getting more bang for the buck this way. bones for seasoning,and a twice smoked ham for eating.How can you go wrong.I prefer the Eache(H) bone to the hock,I'm sure you'll see why once you get your hands on one.Good luck,
Papa Shaka

How salty do you want them to be? If not too salty, you could try a brine cure like this:

per 2lb meat:
3 oz room temperature water
1 tsp phosphate (optional - I use Con Yeager Curaphos, their product 1287)
1/8 tsp sodium erythorbate (also optional, also from Con Yeager)
3/8 tsp pink curing salt: 6.25% nitrite
1 Tbsp kosher salt
or substitute 1Tbsp TenderQuick for kosher salt and curing salt
2Tbsp dextrose or sugar
injecting as much as possible and then soaking in the remainder

or for saltier hocks, you could use a dry cure like one of the mixtures mentioned for curing bacon.

To get them quite smokey, I'd smoke for around 8 hours at 125F, then crank up to 200F until done. If you want to really drip off some fat, you might want to make that 250F, but they might start to fall apart by the time very much of the fat is gone.

Admittedly, I haven't done this with hocks, but have used the brine method on pork loin and picnic. I usually cook only to 160F, but that leaves some fat in the meat.

I have simply used a Tender Quick brine on fresh pork hocks for up to four hours, then rinsed and dried them prior to smoking in my smokette. They turn out just fine, and I then put them into a slow cooker with saur kraut for eight or nine hours. I have also tried to simply smoke fresh hocks without a brine, and was disappointed. Good luck, and I think you will just need to experiment. I would appreciate hearing how it all turns out.