Honestly, I don't know what comes close to a slow roasted pot of pork hocks and feet for its sheer yumminess. By slow roasting, you end up with incredibly tender, moist meat. The gelatin released from this yummy dish, is incredibly beneficial for bones and joint health. My farmer friends assured me that this dish was to die-for. I'll admit that when I first cooked pig's feet, I was a little apprehensive. Um, they're feet. But, one bite and any apprehension was gone. And, yes indeed, my kid's love this dish, too.
It couldn't be easier to make either. Just slow roast hocks and/or feet with some butter or some bacon fat that you have on reserve, some salt, and a couple of glugs of wine or homemade red wine vinegar. Let it roast in a 250 degree oven for approximately 10 hours. We like to eat ours with cauliflower rice because it does a great job of soaking up all of the wonderful drippings.
It shouldn't be too difficult to find pork hocks and feet. While I wouldn't use commercial sources, local farmers may have some for sale. We always make sure we ask the butcher to include all these juicy bits when we are giving our cutting instructions.
Hi Tara,
ReplyDeleteJust wondering where you get your pork from? Is it pastured and soy-free?
Thanks!
Thanks Tara! Just wanted to let you know that Green Being Farms does use soy in their feed.
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog today and am enjoying it. I'm hoping you can answer a question for me. I know that feeding beef pretty much any quantity of grain eliminates most of the CLA and throws off the Omega 3/Omega 6 balance. What about pigs? We have several farmers who pasture their pigs, but also feed them grain and/or pig nuts. Do they retain their CLA and their Omega 3/Omega 6 balance? I guess what I'm asking is whether there is a nutritional advantage to eating pastured pork if the animals get a significant amount of their food from grain or pig nuts. (Other than the fact that the pork I get from my favorite farmer tastes fantastic!)
ReplyDeleteThanks.
I think that's a great question. You're right about pork and how they are commonly fed grain. However, there are farmers that are raising pigs without the grain using seeds, nuts, traditional farmhouse scraps, whey from raw milk processing, allowing the pigs to forage for roots and other goodies etc.
ReplyDeleteYou're not likely to find a farmer that has grain-free pork easily. It has a lot to do with genetics and the breed the farmer is raising. My advice would be to seek out a farmer raising the older breeds that are hard to come by now (like 'large black'). These traditional breeds were meant to be more economical for the farmer. So, they may grow slower than steroid pig, but they didn't require the farmer to truck in large amounts of grain (being so cost prohibitive).
We have access to both pastured, organic pigs that have been supplemented with some grain and a grain-free version. I much prefer the grain-free version, but that's not really a fair comparison as I have a pretty strong bias. :)
I hope you can find some around your area. Good luck!
Hi, I have been reading your blog and I love it :) I really want to try this recipe but I was wondering, do you roast the hocks with the lid on your cast iron enamel pot or do you leave the lid off? Also, do you drizzle the baconfat ontop of the meat or do you just put it in the bottom of the pot?
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm glad you love it :)
ReplyDeleteI leave the lid on so it braises. Anytime I cook anything low and slow I keep the lid on so it all stays moist (all the tough roasts and things with a lot of sinew like hocks, feet, or shanks). I don't think it would matter how you put on the bacon fat, but I usually put a few generous blobs in the bottom and then put the pan in the over for a few seconds for it to melt. Then I put in the meat and roll it all around.
I've bought both smoked and fresh hocks. If you're using the smoked ones, you don't need the bacon fat, that smokey flavour is already there. I really don't think you could go wrong with whatever you do. It's one of those foods that's just inherently delicious. It's incredibly tender and succulent when it's cooked like this - it's too easy, but everyone is convinced you're a genius! ;)