Recipes for lamb hocks?

December 27, 2011 9:01 AM

I've come into possession of a number of lamb hocks. I have no idea what to make with them and I'm having difficulty finding recipes that call for hocks rather than shanks or ribs or roasts. What does one do with lamb hocks? Can one substitute hocks for some other cut of meat? I'm a good cook but at a loss regarding how to use these.
posted by Wisco72 to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Instead of trying to figure out how to substitute hocks for another cut of meat, try figuring out how to substitute your lamb hocks in the multitude of recipes that call for ham hocks.
posted by deanc at 9:08 AM on December 27, 2011

Ham hocks are cured and smoked, which calls for quite a different flavor profile than (presumably fresh) lamb hocks. Maybe try recipes that call for braising lamb.
posted by ottereroticist at 9:22 AM on December 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I've never done a lamb hock, but echoing ottereroticist, I would brown them and put them in the slow cooker or French oven in a low oven with some red wine, chicken stock, tons of garlic, and a boquet garni (heavy on the rosemary of course) and cook for many hours. That will be a tendon-heavy cut and will probably want the low, slow and wet approach. But as I said I've never done it. Good luck!
posted by CheeseLouise at 9:30 AM on December 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

Ham hocks do two things — they add salt and smoke flavor, but they also contribute a lot of gelatin to anything you stew them in, which makes for thicker and richer broth.

You couldn't just replace ham hocks with lamb hocks and get the same exact result, because of the flavor differences. But some of the stuff ham hocks are used for — cooking 'em with beans to add flavor and richness, for instance — would probably work well with the ones you've got too.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:06 AM on December 27, 2011

Best answer: Lamb hocks are sinewy and tough. They will only respond to long, slow, moist cooking. Don't try roasting -- they will come out like rubber. My approach would be to take any recipe for lamb shanks and plan on increasing the cooking time. Braising/stewing in red wine with rosemary and garlic is the kind of thing I'd do. It has worked for me before.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:43 AM on December 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Some of them would also make a lovely lamb stock. Lentils cooked in lamb stock is wonderful.
posted by cyndigo at 10:55 AM on December 27, 2011

Best answer: The hock is just the very distal end of the shank, so cooking them like a shank should work out fine. Slow and moist as i_am_joe's_spleen suggests. Braising in wine or cooking them with legumes sounds delicious. Depending on the size there may not be much meat on them.
posted by TedW at 12:15 PM on December 27, 2011