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I want to cook some red beans with ham hocks and am not quite sure how to prepare the hocks. They are smoked and say "Ready to Cook" on the package. Would you boil these in water, roast in the oven, etc? I was thinking placing these in the oven at about 300 should cook them to the point of adding them to the beans.
Any ideas or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Skillet or oven. I wouldn't boil, as I think you'd lose smoked flavor.

Just add the hocks to your beans. Parboiling, searing, roasting is unnecessary.

L&S and Jeeves,
Thanks for the replies. Since we had soaked the beans to reduce cooking time, I went ahead and put the hocks in a 325 oven for about 30 minutes, then put them in with the beans to finish cooking. They did just what I hoped they would and they were just beginning to fall apart when the beans were done. They imparted a wonderful flavor to the beans, but I think I still prefer "pickle meat".

Jeeves wrote:Just add the hocks to your beans. Parboiling, searing, roasting is unnecessary.

Mebbe so, but I think that guy Maillard was on to something...

Low-N-Slow wrote:Mebbe so, but I think that guy Maillard was on to something...

"They are smoked and say "Ready to Cook" on the package..." That's tasty enuf for me!

I always season my beans with 2 hocks (straight from the package), about a pound of cubed ham, a pound of sliced salt pork (slices are easy to remove/discard prior to serving) and a pound of grilled andoulle or smoked sausage, cut into slices, added last 10 minutes of cooking. I do a "quick soak" of the beans first. (cold water to cover, bring to boil, turn off heat, cover, let soak 1 hour). I also add 2t. baking soda when cooking the beans...gas preventative.

jodyrah wrote:I also add 2t. baking soda when cooking the beans...gas preventative.

Why, Jody? Gas is part of the whole red bean experience!

Wife, who is not particularly adventurous, made a good dinner last night of red beans and rice served with mixed greens. As andoulle is not a common commodity in Reno, she used a package (lb) of Hillshire Farms Lit'l Smokies, browned and added to Zatarain's mix. Lit'l Smokies are usually found on the ends of toothpicks at parties. Not ham hocks and beans from scratch, but a good try none the less.

Happy Mardi Gras!

BTW, my new dentist is George A. Zatarain, DDS!

My mother used to say that if you couldn't find pickled meat you should add whatever ham seasoning you had... and a tablespoon of vinegar. It's actually kinda amazing.

Dilfan, I would have suggested just putting them into the beans from the start, but it sounds like you hit on the perfect mix.