Stovetop or Slow Cooker Ham Bone and Potato Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can a ham bone be used twice for soup? ›

Ham Bone Soup Recipes

Depending how much meat comes off the bone, you may be able to reuse it if you refrigerate it between uses. Salt and pepper the recipe to taste.

A ham bone and ham hock are two different parts of the pig. Ham bones typically come from the leg, while ham hocks come from the shank or bottom part of the leg, close to the ankle. Ham hocks are typically sold cured and smoked, so they provide more flavor than ham bones.

Use Cornstarch or Arrowroot Powder

Let the soup simmer for a few minutes until it reaches the desired thickness. Remember to follow the recommended ratio of starch to liquid to avoid clumping.

The way to that is to simmer the bones ever so gently over a long period of time, anywhere between 6 and 48 hours depending on the type of bone (i.e. larger bones like beef take longer). Don't be turned off by the length of time, it's all passive hands-off cooking time!

For best results, try to use your frozen ham bone within three months. There may be some loss of flavor if you keep it longer, and any bits of meat and cartilage remaining on it may get freezer burn or dry out. Ham bones are packed with so much rich, flavor.

When I'm making soups with ham hocks I take the time to score the thick skin of the hock. Once cooked I can then easily trim away the skin and excess fat to reveal the meat beneath. It's then a simple matter to cut away the chunks of ham and return them to the soup kettle.

Ham hocks can be cooked separately or braised in the dish provided enough time is allotted for the connective tissue to break down. The meat can then be picked off the bones and removed from the skin, but the skin is delicious too, if cooked long enough.

If you're worried about the salt content of the ham hocks, soak them in water for at least half an hour before cooking. This will help remove some of the salt.

Add milk, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, allspice, celery seed, thyme, seasoning salt, dry white wine, cayenne pepper and chicken granules. Allow to simmer and thicken, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are cooked through, approximately 25 minutes.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.

What potato holds up best in soup? ›

ANSWER: Waxy potatoes or those called boiling potatoes stand up well in soups and stews. These have thin skin and are high in moisture and low in starch. Potatoes that are low-starch and high-moisture hold together better. Yukon Gold potatoes are on the medium-starch side and will hold their shape in soups.

If you find yours is too runny, you have several options for making it thicker. Try adding breadcrumbs, cream or pureed vegetables to make a heartier ham and beans. If you don't have any extra ingredients, you can add a vegetable-based starch. Cornstarch will thicken your meal without changing its flavor.

Cornstarch, or corn flour, can be used to thicken soup through its high starch content. Cornstarch is a great thickener for soup because only a little bit is needed to significantly thicken a soup, and it will not affect the flavor profile of the soup.

Cornstarch is a great option as it is a natural thickening agent, but you'll want to be careful about how much you use. Start with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked together with cold water to create a slurry. Then, gradually add the slurry to the soup, letting it boil for one to two minutes before adding more.

Although you may be able to use a ham bone again for soup, if not all of the meat comes off of the bone, most of the flavor you can get from the bone will be used up the first time you use it to make soup. If you want to try to reuse the bone, refrigerate it and use it again within a couple of days.

Use Bones Over and Over (Over and Over) Consider reusing the bones for each batch of soup until they break or you just get tired of the process and want to clean the pot. please Each batch of soup is less tasty than the last, but still nutritious.

Generally, doing a third (or more) use of the bones for broth will extract very little flavor, mostly only giving you a bit of the remaining gelatin. Any flavor that does still exist will also become increasingly unbalanced.

Remouillage is a French cooking term that translates to “rewetting”. Used stock bones are returned to the pot, often in the company of fresh vegetables, then covered with water and simmered until tasty, so making a second, extra-thrifty stock.