Ham hock suitable as a pizza topping?

Cafe Society
1

I do not do much cooking - it isn’t usually my department. This question will probably make this eminently clear. But I have in my posession something called “ham hock” which says on it that it has been gently cooked for 10 hours. I bought it thinking it looked like nice pieces of ham to put on pizza, hence the next statement:

I am unfamiliar with ham hock in that I have never knowingly eaten it although I have no problem with it in theory.

So can I put this on a pepperoni pizza I have bought as an additional topping, and if so will it be nice? I also intend to add some onion to the pizza as well. **Edit:**Oh, that’s a point which I just realised. The pizza is fresh (so cooks for around 12 minutes at a guess) - can I put frozen onion on it?

My culinary skills are not quite as awful as this thread may make them sound, but then they are not much better.

Thank you and welcome to the first of two threads I have promised to start tonight!

2

Why not? Ham on pizza is great!

As far as frozen onions, unless they are humongous chunks, they should defrost quickly. Maybe too quickly. I usually put more cheese on top of onions slices on my pizza, or they dry out and shrivel up before the pie is cooked.

3

Hey, as long as pineapple qualifies, and anchovy, why not ham hocks? I doubt if I’ll be asking for them on my pizza next order, but I’m sure there are aficionados who will!

See, I did reply, even if it’s not all that worthy.

4

I wasn’t sure if ham hock tastes like ham. I guess that’s a large part of my question!

5

My own familiarity with is is that it’s used to flavor boiled vegetables like peas and beens and greens of various sorts. It’s a lot like greasy bacon and not as much like ham, for my tastes. Fatback is similar.

6

I’m curious what form this “ham hock” is in. Is it in a jar or a can?

I ask because a whole ham hock is mostly skin, bone, and fat. Not really much meat to be had off of one.

7

A ham hock is full of skin, bone, and connective tissue. It is usually used for its flavor in soups and stews, like split pea soup. There is a lot of good meat in a ham hock and if it has been cooked for ten hours you should be able to get it out with little problem. It will take a lot of digging around with a knife and separating meat from tissue to get good pizza toppings.

8

I would use the ham hock to flavor a soup and then you can easily get the meat off after it’s been cooking for hours to use on your pizza.

Also, are the frozen onions raw? If so, I would thaw them first so they cook some. Better yet, I would thaw and then caramelize them. Caramelized onions and smoky ham would be awesome on pizza!

9

Oh, I’m glad someone brought up how hard, fatty and bony a hock is. If you could get the meat out of the hock without boiling it for hours, the meat would be hammy but hard.

10

The ham hock is in a plastic container. This is obviously not my particular ham hock, but it is the same product: http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Cooks-Ingredients-Pulled-Ham-Hock-Waitrose/58650011

P.S. I bought it from neither Waitrose nor Ocado. Feel free to ask me how, in my thread about the Isle of Man cough

11

I see. In that case then I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t put it on a pizza. It tastes essentially just like ham, if not a bit, um, ham-ier.

12

If the meat has already been pulled, like in your link, you will be fine.

Frozen onions have a lot of water in them, the fastest way to use them for pizza would be to defrost them in the microwave wrapped in a couple of paper towels.

13

Pineapple is not a suitable pizza topping.

14

Yes it is that specific product. How long in the microwave? Should it be on defrost setting or full power? The microwave is 900W

Edit: The frozen onion is already diced, which I assume is relevant

15

That’s neat meat! Is it smoked?

16

I hear you. Nevertheless it’s offered at many pizza joints around here. I just don’t indulge. Google “ham and pineapple pizza” for evidence there are those who will eat it.

17

You’re just trying to pull out the bulk of the water. I would get a bowl, lay down a couple of layers of paper towel in the bottom, then pour in the amount of frozen onions you think you will need (remember they will shrink). I’d microwave a minute and check, then repeat until they are thawed but not hot/cooked. Then I would use the paper towel to gently squeeze out some more water without crushing the onions.

I live on an island in Alaska myself.

I know frozen onions are great for a lot of things, but the amount of water in them can be a pain, like for pizza and scrambled eggs.

18

For the benefit of anyone reading this at some time in the future as much as myself, I note the onion bits defrosted in 30 seconds pretty easily. I will not be making the pizza for a little bit, so will decide then if I am using them or frozen bits, as these ones have kind of gone a bit slimey.

Not your fault stichy, I do appreciate the help - I am pretty incompetent :slight_smile:

19

Update #2:

First off, re: onion - I put all the defrosted onion on. And I put some frozen onion on too

Secondly, the hock. My god - it’s DELICIOUS. I ate some as I was putting it on the pizza. From now on, Mr. Crumpet’s ham sandwiches are going to be having an new ingredient. And this stuff is so much cheaper than normal ham?!? Insane.

So the pizza is in the oven now. I will update once it is finished.

20

My only concern is that it might be a bit on the salty side. But if you like that, sure, there’s no reason not to.

Although a ham hock’s true calling is in flavoring a big pot of beans.