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Substitute bacon for ham hock???

Has anyone ever substituted bacon in place of a ham hock while cooking pinto beans?  Thoughts....suggestions.....

Comments

  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Almost always. Usually just a tablespoon of bacon grease though, not the bacon. Though if I don't have any grease, I'll cook 3-4 slices of bacon, crumble it up and leave it there with the grease.

    Never seem to have a ham hock. Just bought a few the other day. Still to be  smoked though.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    I use bacon in pinto beans. 
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,125
    I normally buy a ham steak and cube it. 
  • JohnEggGio
    JohnEggGio Posts: 1,430
    I would stick with the smoked hock - I like to cook ‘em till they nearly disintegrate.  Pull
    out the skin and be sure to get all the bones.  I don’t think the bacon would impart as much flavor and “silkiness” to the beans, and the bacon would end up rubbery.
    Maryland, 1 LBGE
  • bucky925
    bucky925 Posts: 2,029
    For me, a ham hock is just too salty.  Grainted I/we don't use a lot of salt in our meals.  I do salt my salad if that's weird.  

    Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.

  • The_Stache
    The_Stache Posts: 1,153
    Bacon, yes.  Jowl, yes.  Hock's, yes.... They each work and add a different texture/taste to the dish
    Kirkland, TN
    2 LBGE, 1 MM


  • gamason
    gamason Posts: 406
    Try some smoked turkey wings in those pintos. You'll never regret it.

    Snellville,Ga.

    LBGE

    Minimax

  • Acn
    Acn Posts: 4,424
    bucky925 said:
    For me, a ham hock is just too salty.  Grainted I/we don't use a lot of salt in our meals.  I do salt my salad if that's weird.  
    Ask at your grocery store, I know that I can get fresh hocks at Wegmans, and then brine/smoke them myself to control the salt.

    LBGE

    Pikesville, MD

  • 20stone
    20stone Posts: 1,961
    Tasso is also a great "condiment meat" for beans.

    A lot of stores will have frozen smoked hocks, which work great.  The hock has a ton of collagen in the bones which make gellatin, and and a great texture that bacon or bacon fat will not.
    (now only 16 stone)

    Joule SV
    GE induction stove
    Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
    Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
    Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
    Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
    Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
    Prosciuttos in an undisclosed location

    Austin, TX
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    always used a half pound salt pork to a pound of beans, no bacon here
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Why would anyone even hesitate to add bacon to ... well, almost anything?
    Cincinnati, Ohio. Large BGE since 2011. Still learning.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    OhioEgger said:
    Why would anyone even hesitate to add bacon to ... well, almost anything?
    salt pork has more silky goodness (fat) than bacon
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
    OhioEgger said:
    Why would anyone even hesitate to add bacon to ... well, almost anything?
    salt pork has more silky goodness (fat) than bacon
    Fat back is an essential product to have in your fridge.  

    I always save my ham bones and shoulder/butt bones from the Egg.  Wrap them well with aluminum foil and then zip lock to use for later items.  
    ------------------------------
    Thomasville, NC
    My YouTube Channel - The Hungry Hussey
    Instagram
    Facebook
    My Photography Site
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    OhioEgger said:
    Why would anyone even hesitate to add bacon to ... well, almost anything?
    salt pork has more silky goodness (fat) than bacon
    Fat back is an essential product to have in your fridge.  

    I always save my ham bones and shoulder/butt bones from the Egg.  Wrap them well with aluminum foil and then zip lock to use for later items.  
    @tarheelmatt, what do you do with the blade bone from a butt? That's the cut I usually buy and have never thought to keep the bone.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
    OhioEgger said:
    Why would anyone even hesitate to add bacon to ... well, almost anything?
    salt pork has more silky goodness (fat) than bacon
    Fat back is an essential product to have in your fridge.  

    I always save my ham bones and shoulder/butt bones from the Egg.  Wrap them well with aluminum foil and then zip lock to use for later items.  
    @tarheelmatt, what do you do with the blade bone from a butt? That's the cut I usually buy and have never thought to keep the bone.
    I save them too, try to leave some meat on them if possible.  Most times they come out clean.  I like doing whole shoulders, instead of just a butt though.  

    You can take many, and make a stock out of it.  Then use that stock for what you will.  Cabbage, green beans, crowder peas, etc.  

    For my Butt Blast dish last year, I used bone stock with my SV cabbage rolls.  I added bacon too for added flavor.  


    ------------------------------
    Thomasville, NC
    My YouTube Channel - The Hungry Hussey
    Instagram
    Facebook
    My Photography Site
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    @tarheelmatt, gotcha. Thanks.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    Not only use hocks over bacon in beans i smoke my own hocks. 

    smoked hocks

    350 indirect (I do so few indirect cooks). I like a mix of cherry and sugar maple wood. Use both with and w/o bones. Vac & Freeze. No rubs, no S&P, no nothing except smoke.  Just like I do my hams. 




    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • GoldenQ
    GoldenQ Posts: 565
    I use 2 strips thick bacon plus cubed smoked ham      ham hocks get too much grease in the beans for me.
    I XL  and 1 Weber Kettle  And 1 Weber Q220       Outside Alvin, TX-- South of Houston
  • 20stone
    20stone Posts: 1,961
    GoldenQ said:
    ham hocks get too much grease in the beans for me.
    Maybe you could trim them down before smoking, but the gelatin in the bones is transformative to a pot of beans. 

    Mickey said:
    Not only use hocks over bacon in beans i smoke my own hocks. 

    smoked hocks

    350 indirect (I do so few indirect cooks). I like a mix of cherry and sugar maple wood. Use both with and w/o bones. Vac & Freeze. No rubs, no S&P, no nothing except smoke.  Just like I do my hams. 




    But of course you do. 
    +1 on not seasoning "condiment meat". Also, doing a big batch means you can always pull one out of the freezer.
    (now only 16 stone)

    Joule SV
    GE induction stove
    Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
    Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
    Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
    Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
    Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
    Prosciuttos in an undisclosed location

    Austin, TX
  • JohnEggGio
    JohnEggGio Posts: 1,430
    Mickey said:
    Not only use hocks over bacon in beans i smoke my own hocks. 

    smoked hocks

    350 indirect (I do so few indirect cooks). I like a mix of cherry and sugar maple wood. Use both with and w/o bones. Vac & Freeze. No rubs, no S&P, no nothing except smoke.  Just like I do my hams. 




    Those look great - looks like a lot of fat has been rendered.  I don’t recall ever seeing fresh hocks. I’ll be on the lookout now.
    Maryland, 1 LBGE
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    @JohnEggGio, I rarely see them out on the shelf either, but sometimes they have 'em in the back. Ask the butcher.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • JohnEggGio
    JohnEggGio Posts: 1,430
    @Carolina Q Thanks!
    Maryland, 1 LBGE