Ham shank (not hock) and dried beans in the Instant Pot?
October 9, 2022 9:09 PM Subscribe
Not sure how to cook them both together in the Instant Pot for maximum flavor. I’d like to add some creole seasonings and “holy trinity” (green pepper, celery, onion) as well. I usually follow Instant Pot directions verbatim, how would you do this? Can’t seem to find a helpful recipe online.
As above— I’ve found a few recipes for dried beans and ham hocks, but I’m using a precooked shank (and some chopped veggies and spices, as mentioned above). Any suggestions for how to time it all, if anything needs to be cooked in advance, etc.? Should I chop the shank or shred it after cooking? Etc.
The dried beans we use usually take about 30-35 min in the Instant Pot if cooked with broth. I don’t mind some extra steps to make it all yummy (I assume I will need to sauté the veg first, for instance). If it’s better to cook the beans in the pot separately, then combine, I’m open to those suggestions too. I have all day to check on things, I’d just rather not cook the beans over the stove for hours and hours… but I could if it’s really necessary for solid flavor/texture. Also, any creole / Cajun spice blend suggestions are welcome— we have a very well stocked spice rack.
I am cooking with meat again after almost 5 years of vegetarianism and never really learned to cook meat in the first place, so feel free to ELI5!
As above— I’ve found a few recipes for dried beans and ham hocks, but I’m using a precooked shank (and some chopped veggies and spices, as mentioned above). Any suggestions for how to time it all, if anything needs to be cooked in advance, etc.? Should I chop the shank or shred it after cooking? Etc.
The dried beans we use usually take about 30-35 min in the Instant Pot if cooked with broth. I don’t mind some extra steps to make it all yummy (I assume I will need to sauté the veg first, for instance). If it’s better to cook the beans in the pot separately, then combine, I’m open to those suggestions too. I have all day to check on things, I’d just rather not cook the beans over the stove for hours and hours… but I could if it’s really necessary for solid flavor/texture. Also, any creole / Cajun spice blend suggestions are welcome— we have a very well stocked spice rack.
I am cooking with meat again after almost 5 years of vegetarianism and never really learned to cook meat in the first place, so feel free to ELI5!
Personally, I find this kind of combination underwhelming when cooked together. You get lots of ham goodness in the broth and beans, but the ham itself always ends up losing a lot a of flavour. Eating semi-flavourless ham is no fun.
What I do is cut most of the meaty looking ham off of the bone, then toss the bone and any tougher looking bits in with the beans, and then toss the cut up bits of ham in for about 30 minutes of simmering before eating. If your shank has tough skin, toss the cut up skin in at the start too.
You really can't go to wrong with this, but here's a rough outline: soak your beans overnight. Sauté your veg until softened or to taste. Add in your beans, bone, skin, salt and some chicken, veg or pork stock if you have it, water if not (you just need enough to cover the beans if they are well soaked). If you're keeping it simple, I'd add a little bay leaf and a small amount of black pepper, but you could add other seasonings. Slow cook in the Instant Pot for however long you need until your beans are done. Add ham and simmer, then serve with a little parsley or cilantro.
If you prefer, you can do the same but just toss the whole shank in and shred it after cooking.
I wouldn't worry too much about the difference between hock and shank, which are not that different in this context.
posted by ssg at 9:41 PM on October 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
What I do is cut most of the meaty looking ham off of the bone, then toss the bone and any tougher looking bits in with the beans, and then toss the cut up bits of ham in for about 30 minutes of simmering before eating. If your shank has tough skin, toss the cut up skin in at the start too.
You really can't go to wrong with this, but here's a rough outline: soak your beans overnight. Sauté your veg until softened or to taste. Add in your beans, bone, skin, salt and some chicken, veg or pork stock if you have it, water if not (you just need enough to cover the beans if they are well soaked). If you're keeping it simple, I'd add a little bay leaf and a small amount of black pepper, but you could add other seasonings. Slow cook in the Instant Pot for however long you need until your beans are done. Add ham and simmer, then serve with a little parsley or cilantro.
If you prefer, you can do the same but just toss the whole shank in and shred it after cooking.
I wouldn't worry too much about the difference between hock and shank, which are not that different in this context.
posted by ssg at 9:41 PM on October 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
I think the main difference with a shank is there'll be more meat at the end to shred. They'll both have enough collagen & flavor.
Something like this recipe should do the trick, swapping out spices & modifying vegetables to match.
In short:
* Sauté the veggies in some oil in the Instant Pot, then deglaze the pot with some stock. Go ahead & throw your spices in here
* Add the ham shank. I like to cut into the meat without removing it from the bone, just some slices to help it all mix together better when it's cooking
* Add the beans & cook as you normally like to do
* When it's done, scrape what meat doesn't fall off the bone off & back into the pot
* If it's more watery than you'd like, you can simmer it with the lid open for a bit, or take a cup of the beans & blend them with a stick-blender or the like & fold it back in
Per above, shaving off some of the ham at the beginning to re-introduce at the end is a good move.
posted by CrystalDave at 9:43 PM on October 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Something like this recipe should do the trick, swapping out spices & modifying vegetables to match.
In short:
* Sauté the veggies in some oil in the Instant Pot, then deglaze the pot with some stock. Go ahead & throw your spices in here
* Add the ham shank. I like to cut into the meat without removing it from the bone, just some slices to help it all mix together better when it's cooking
* Add the beans & cook as you normally like to do
* When it's done, scrape what meat doesn't fall off the bone off & back into the pot
* If it's more watery than you'd like, you can simmer it with the lid open for a bit, or take a cup of the beans & blend them with a stick-blender or the like & fold it back in
Per above, shaving off some of the ham at the beginning to re-introduce at the end is a good move.
posted by CrystalDave at 9:43 PM on October 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
One of my favourite spices is black pepper. It's underrated because it's such a commonplace, but it's a really really good spice.
I keep mine as whole seeds in a screw top jar and grind quantities with mortar and pestle as required. One of the nicest things about black pepper is just how easily it does grind with mortar and pestle; it's not as fibrous as e.g. coriander or cumin so when I use it by itself it grinds really quickly.
Quite a lot of things I cook involve starting with quite a lot of freshly fine-ground black pepper - "too much" is my general quantity guideline - added very early. That way, the heady volatiles that would otherwise make the pepper flavour so instantly recognizable get a lot of time to cook off, and most of what's left manifests as a deep and satisfying warmth that doesn't instantly come howling after you with swords and axes the way the capsaicin family of heats so often do.
Ham and beans have a subtle interplay of umami flavours that it's easy to overpower with spices, and when I'm making things with those I often will choose to use black pepper as my only spice and get it into the cook at the earliest available stage.
posted by flabdablet at 11:03 PM on October 9, 2022 [7 favorites]
I keep mine as whole seeds in a screw top jar and grind quantities with mortar and pestle as required. One of the nicest things about black pepper is just how easily it does grind with mortar and pestle; it's not as fibrous as e.g. coriander or cumin so when I use it by itself it grinds really quickly.
Quite a lot of things I cook involve starting with quite a lot of freshly fine-ground black pepper - "too much" is my general quantity guideline - added very early. That way, the heady volatiles that would otherwise make the pepper flavour so instantly recognizable get a lot of time to cook off, and most of what's left manifests as a deep and satisfying warmth that doesn't instantly come howling after you with swords and axes the way the capsaicin family of heats so often do.
Ham and beans have a subtle interplay of umami flavours that it's easy to overpower with spices, and when I'm making things with those I often will choose to use black pepper as my only spice and get it into the cook at the earliest available stage.
posted by flabdablet at 11:03 PM on October 9, 2022 [7 favorites]
Since you are inexperienced with meat, just to make sure, is your shank ham, as in, it’s brined and cured and ready to eat, or is it pork, in that it’s not edible as-is? The difference is that there is a whole lot more salt and flavor in ham right away, but when it’s cooked low and slow to extract all that flavor out into what it’s cooking in, the texture will be kind of meh and the meat itself will be a bit tasteless in the end. However, a pork shank will need lots of additional salt and flavorings, but it will have better texture and flavor at the end of a long cook, while still contributing meatiness to the rest of the dish.
If it’s ham, I would suggest cutting off a tiny piece and tasting it to see how salty it is, and what other flavors it has, like smoke or sweetness or heat. That will help you know what to do with your additional ingredients. For example, if it has some sweetness, I would either add more bitter and sour flavors (like extra green bell pepper, black pepper, and vinegar) to balance it, or add extra sweet flavors to emphasize it (like honey or maple syrup), depending on what else I’m serving with it or my whims in general. The suggestion above to reserve some ham and add bits in the end is smart. You could also not bother with that but chop and fry up a few slices of bacon or pork belly to add as garnish if you have any for maximum crispy porkiness. (You could crush some pork rinds and sprinkle on top last minute if you want to go, excuse me, hog wild.)
If it’s pork, definitely brown it first to get that flavor into the pot, and sauté your vegetables in it. You will need to add a bunch more salt and be sure to toast your other spices so they flavor the fat and can get back into the shank as it cooks. It’s much more of a blank slate, so it can be both easier and harder to work with, depending on your habits and blind spots.
Either way, the collagen and ligaments and bones and all will provide a pleasing richness if it’s cooked at the right temperature for the right time. I don’t do instant pots so I don’t know how to be sure about that, sorry. But I personally suggest having a fairly light hand with most spices, and adding them at the beginning so they have the chance to meld and mellow. Beans and ham or pork are classic combinations and have a good interplay. If you go with vegetarian-level spices you will probably overwhelm the dish. When I first started making vegetarian dishes that were as satisfying as meat dishes I had to practically double the amount of herbs and spices I often used. Not to say that meat dishes are bad with a ton of spices (lamb curry would like to have a word with me) but it’s easier to go overboard and lose the meat’s flavor, and in that case, why bother eating it?
posted by Mizu at 12:26 AM on October 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
If it’s ham, I would suggest cutting off a tiny piece and tasting it to see how salty it is, and what other flavors it has, like smoke or sweetness or heat. That will help you know what to do with your additional ingredients. For example, if it has some sweetness, I would either add more bitter and sour flavors (like extra green bell pepper, black pepper, and vinegar) to balance it, or add extra sweet flavors to emphasize it (like honey or maple syrup), depending on what else I’m serving with it or my whims in general. The suggestion above to reserve some ham and add bits in the end is smart. You could also not bother with that but chop and fry up a few slices of bacon or pork belly to add as garnish if you have any for maximum crispy porkiness. (You could crush some pork rinds and sprinkle on top last minute if you want to go, excuse me, hog wild.)
If it’s pork, definitely brown it first to get that flavor into the pot, and sauté your vegetables in it. You will need to add a bunch more salt and be sure to toast your other spices so they flavor the fat and can get back into the shank as it cooks. It’s much more of a blank slate, so it can be both easier and harder to work with, depending on your habits and blind spots.
Either way, the collagen and ligaments and bones and all will provide a pleasing richness if it’s cooked at the right temperature for the right time. I don’t do instant pots so I don’t know how to be sure about that, sorry. But I personally suggest having a fairly light hand with most spices, and adding them at the beginning so they have the chance to meld and mellow. Beans and ham or pork are classic combinations and have a good interplay. If you go with vegetarian-level spices you will probably overwhelm the dish. When I first started making vegetarian dishes that were as satisfying as meat dishes I had to practically double the amount of herbs and spices I often used. Not to say that meat dishes are bad with a ton of spices (lamb curry would like to have a word with me) but it’s easier to go overboard and lose the meat’s flavor, and in that case, why bother eating it?
posted by Mizu at 12:26 AM on October 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
Hocks and shanks are interchangeable in this context. A ham hock is more or less an ankle whereas the shank is the part of the leg between the shank and the ham (ham lower shins, more or less). The main difference is that the shank is larger and has a higher ratio of meat to tendons and other connective tissues compared to a hock. This will make conceptual sense if you look at your own ankle compared to the part from your ankle to mid-calf area. Pretty clear that the ankle is full of gnarly bits, whereas the piece above is meatier and less gnarly.
Both hocks and shanks are used in cooking beans and greens, etc. Very often they are smoked, which needless to say also contributes a smoky flavor in addition to porky flavors from the meat and silky gelatin from the abundant collagen.
posted by slkinsey at 6:06 AM on October 10, 2022
Both hocks and shanks are used in cooking beans and greens, etc. Very often they are smoked, which needless to say also contributes a smoky flavor in addition to porky flavors from the meat and silky gelatin from the abundant collagen.
posted by slkinsey at 6:06 AM on October 10, 2022
Agree that hocks and shanks are interchangable. I do my (dried, soaked overnight) red beans in the crock pot and put the shank in from the start, whole. I've never browned it, honestly it would not have ever occured to me to brown an already cured shank. I do sautee down my vegetables first, though. The meat shreds off on its own over the course of the five or six hours of cooking and at the end I just remove the bare bone. In my experience the meat doesn't lose flavor. But everyone makes their red beans differently, I'm not sure there's a canonical right answer here.
posted by CheeseLouise at 9:13 AM on October 10, 2022
posted by CheeseLouise at 9:13 AM on October 10, 2022
Here's a recipe for a similar soup using the instant pot.
posted by banshee at 9:14 AM on October 11, 2022
posted by banshee at 9:14 AM on October 11, 2022
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posted by Ultracrepidarian at 9:31 PM on October 9, 2022