St. Paddy’s Day is tomorrow so in honour of my somewhat Irish side (I may not look Irish but was born a “Kelly”!) I did a bit of a throw back to a recipe I had as a kid.

I remember one of my Dad’s favourite meals was pork hocks and cabbage.  To a young kid “pork hocks” sounded pretty unappealing, but as an adult I could go for a giant bowl of that!

This dish also reminds me of the 6 years I spent living on the east coast in Nova Scotia. Boiled dinners was a very common meal made with cottage roll which is a boneless pork shoulder butt that’s been cured in a sweet brine.  You add a bunch of veggies such as cabbage, carrots and potatoes, to a pot and simmer the heck out of it for a few hours.  You’re left with a flavourful dish that is really simple and inexpensive to prepare. 

Now that I am living on the west side, cottage roll is pretty much unheard of.  My local grocery store carried salt pork and pork hocks but looked at me funny when I asked about cottage roll.  So I grabbed a pork hock and on my way I went.

I have to admit, this is the first time I have cooked pork hocks.  I wasn’t even sure exactly what part of the pig this was but, thanks to the internet, I now know it’s the joint that connects the foot to the leg. It’s a strange looking cut of meat because of the sinew, bones and tendons but that is what gives it an amazing flavour.  They are generally a cheaper, tougher cut of meat but when it’s slow cooked you’ll be left with melt in your mouth delicious pork. 

Besides the time it takes to slow cook the meat, it’s a really easy recipe to throw together.  Once the meat is cooked, reserve the broth to cook the cabbage in it, it adds a ton of flavour!

Slow-Cooker Pork & Cabbage Stew

2017-03-13 10:40:25

Serves 6

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Ingredients

1. 1 smoked or fresh pork hock (yields 1 lb cooked meat)
2. 4 cups chicken or beef broth + water
3. 1 yellow onion, rough chopped
4. 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
5. 2 cloves garlic
6. 1 small head savoy cabbage, chopped
7. S&P
8. 1 Tbsp butter or bacon fat

Instructions

1. Add butter or bacon fat to a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Sear all sides of the pork hock.
2. Add onion, carrot and garlic to the bottom of a slow cooker. Place pork, fat side up, on top of the veggies.
3. Pour broth and add enough water to cover the meat about half way.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Cook on high for 6 hours.
6. Once meat is cooked, remove for the slow-cooker and strain the broth (set veggies aside).
7. Add chopped cabbage to a large pot. Pour reserved broth and add enough water so the cabbage is covered.
8. Bring to a boil, then simmer the cabbage for about 12 minutes.
9. Remove the bones and fat from the pork hock and shred the meat, it should fall apart easily.
10. To serve, add carrots, cabbage and meat to a bowl and pour a bit of the broth from the cooked cabbage on top.
11. Enjoy!

By The Happy Health Freak

The Happy Health Freak http://thehappyhealthfreak.com/

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