Smoked Ham Hock And Cabbage Soup Recipes

SMOCKED HAM HOCK BEAN CABBAGE SOUP (GARBURE)

Steps:

• The day before, add the dried beans to a bowl and cover with water. Let soak overnight, or at least 12 hours.
• Make the broth - poke the cloves into the whole peeled onion. Add the onion, celeri branch, bay leaves, thyme and ham hock into a large pot over high-medium heat. Add about 4.5 litres (18cups) of water or enough to cover the ham hock. Bring the water to a bowl, lower the temperature to low and simmer for 1 hour, covered.
• In a large frying pan, melt the duck fat over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, carrots, turnips and leek. Cook for about 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until the leek is translucent (but not caramelized yet).
• After the one hour, add the vegetables and drained beans to the broth. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for one hour, covered.
• In the meantime, blanch the cabbage - heat up a medium pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Add the shredded cabbage and cook for 3 minutes until the leaves slightly soften. They should keep their vibrant color. Immediately transfer the cabbage to a colander and pass under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside to drain.
• After the one hour, add the blanched cabbage to the soup and simmer for 30 minutes, covered. Add the potatoes to the soup and simmer for 30 more minutes, covered.
• Remove the ham hock from the pot and transfer it onto a cutting board. Discard off the skin and excess fat and shred the meat with a fork; at this point the meat should fall off the bones easily. Return the shredded meat to the pot. Remove the clove-spiked onion, celeri and herbs from the pot. Discard the cloves and herbs, chop up the onion and celeri and place them back in the soup.
• Cook for 15 more minutes with no lid and adjust seasoning if needed. To test the thickness of the soup, stick a soup ladle in the pot: if it stands upright on its own, it's ready. It not, continue simmering the soup until it thickens more.
• Serve in individual bowls with a light sprinkle of red pepper flakes and big slices of bread on the side.

SMOKED HAM HOCK AND CABBAGE SOUP

Steps:

• Remove skin from smoked ham hocks.
• In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute carrots, onions, chopped celery, oregano. thyme, bay leaf, and ham hocks until carrots are tender-about 10 minutes.
• Add the cabbage, garlic, and black pepper, and saute 5 minutes longer or until cabbage is tender.
• Add all the liquid and the whole stalk of celery and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Discard stalk of celery and bay leaf.
• Skim some or all fat.
• Remove meat from cooled ham hocks and add back into the soup.
• Add brown sugar. Salt very carefully. Allow to heat fully and serve.
• If you want it a little sweeter, add a little more brown sugar.