Believe it or not, jerk is so Christmassy the spices are pretty much the same ones you use in mulled wines, Christmas puddings and mince pies. What I love about this recipe is that you can have these right away, then rough up the leftovers and press them into a terrine, crisp them up in a pan and toss them through a warm salad, or stuff them into one of the worlds best sandwiches with a limey mayonnaise and maybe a thin slice of Swiss cheese. Im hungry just writing this!
Soak the ham hocks in a large bowl of water overnight to draw out the salt, then drain just before you want to cook them. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
For the jerk seasoning, blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pop some rubber gloves on, then rub the seasoning all over the ham hocks, drizzle them with oil, then place in a medium-sized roasting tray (roughly 25 x 30cm) and cover with tin foil. Cook in the oven for around 3½ hours, or until the meat is deliciously tender and falling off the bone. Turn the hocks 2 or 3 times during cooking to baste and really get all those beautiful flavors into the meat.
Use your hands or a couple of forks to shred the ham off the bone, discarding the bones and any wobbly bits of fat. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of clementine juice and this will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week such a great trick to have up your sleeve.
Here are a couple of great ways to use up your jerky ham:
Reheat the jerky ham in a frying pan until crispy, sticky and golden. Knock up a nice little winter salad to go with it using chopped watercress, romaine an quartered radishes. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar or clementine juice, then top with the crispy pork. Cut a pomegranate in half, bash the seeds out with the back of a spoon and sprinkle over the salad. Delicious.
Get yourself some nice wedges of crusty bread, some beautiful sliced tomatoes, a dollop of creamy mayo and some crisp lettuce. Sandwich it all together with a pinch of warmed up crispy ham and serve with pickles, gherkins and even a few crisps on the side this is a BLT like youve never seen before.
tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...
1. by Andy c on Sat 12 May 2012 @ 00:33
Tried this recipe tonight and its absolutely amazing just like the Jamaican jerk pork that I experienced on holiday last year. Well done Jamie!
2. by Paul K on Sun 25 Mar 2012 @ 14:12
From what I can gather, cured hocks are preferable, but you should be able to cook this just fine using non-cured ones. I'm doin 'em tonight, so I'll let you all know.<br />
<br />
Re: the skin - if you head to 4oD, and watch the episode of Christmas with Bells On where he cooks this, he leaves the skin on. So that's what I'm doing.
3. by Heidi on Tue 27 Dec 2011 @ 11:39
Do these have to be cured or can you use the fresh hocks??????
4. by chrispy duck on Sat 24 Dec 2011 @ 15:13
You defiantly need to remove skin first, mine are in the oven right now. Can't wait, cheers Jamie your a star
5. by Mary on Sat 24 Dec 2011 @ 11:24
Skin on or off please?
6. by Faye on Sat 24 Dec 2011 @ 09:48
I have the same question re the skin.....what have the rest of u done? Ta
7. by Kris on Fri 23 Dec 2011 @ 15:39
There is a thick skin on my fresh hocks - do i need to remove this?<br />
8. by Paulo on Thu 22 Dec 2011 @ 01:20
I will be doing this for Christmas this year the only differance is that I will be using bear rosts ,and not telling my wife,I will keep you posted on how it goes.Cheers Paulo
9. by graham on Wed 21 Dec 2011 @ 22:22
ask you butcher for gammon hocks they are raw you cook them like jamie says
10. by Brendan on Wed 21 Dec 2011 @ 09:10
Greeting from OZ !!--I would love to see if Jamie can come up with a nice Dessert recipe with Macadamia Nuts. Suitable for a warm aussie Christmas season meal. (the fact that I grow 'em for a living has NOTHING to do with the request) <LOL>
11. by zwele on Tue 20 Dec 2011 @ 15:32
I am looking for exciting recipes for my family lunch on christmas day and i like the<br />
Jacky ham.Where can i find some pudding recipes.
12. by Ross on Mon 19 Dec 2011 @ 17:29
I cant find cured ham hock just fresh ones how can i still cook this as it looks really good.
daily recipe rss
Tried this recipe tonight and its absolutely amazing just like the Jamaican jerk pork that I experienced on holiday last year. Well done Jamie!
From what I can gather, cured hocks are preferable, but you should be able to cook this just fine using non-cured ones. I'm doin 'em tonight, so I'll let you all know.<br /> <br /> Re: the skin - if you head to 4oD, and watch the episode of Christmas with Bells On where he cooks this, he leaves the skin on. So that's what I'm doing.
Do these have to be cured or can you use the fresh hocks??????
You defiantly need to remove skin first, mine are in the oven right now. Can't wait, cheers Jamie your a star
Skin on or off please?
I have the same question re the skin.....what have the rest of u done? Ta
There is a thick skin on my fresh hocks - do i need to remove this?<br />
I will be doing this for Christmas this year the only differance is that I will be using bear rosts ,and not telling my wife,I will keep you posted on how it goes.Cheers Paulo
ask you butcher for gammon hocks they are raw you cook them like jamie says
Greeting from OZ !!--I would love to see if Jamie can come up with a nice Dessert recipe with Macadamia Nuts. Suitable for a warm aussie Christmas season meal. (the fact that I grow 'em for a living has NOTHING to do with the request) <LOL>
I am looking for exciting recipes for my family lunch on christmas day and i like the<br /> Jacky ham.Where can i find some pudding recipes.
I cant find cured ham hock just fresh ones how can i still cook this as it looks really good.