# Gammon Shanks



## sotv (Mar 30, 2017)

I smoked a pre cooked ham and added a Honey Mustard, Pineapple and Brown Sugar glaze the weekend and it was really nice, but the best bit of it was the Hock for me.

Just got back from my local supermarket and have impulse bought a couple of Gammon Shanks from the butchers counter, as they are a rare item for sale there.. Just got to figure out how to prep them for slow cooking.

As it is a gammon shank, am I right in assuming I am going to need to soak them in cold water for an hour or 2 too remove the salt? and if they are suitable for slow cooking just score the skin and baste with something like apple juice towards the end of the cook. I thought about finishing them off in tray of bacon lardons and onion towards the end of the cook also?

They are about 500g each, am I looking for a internal temp around 170-175 F to show they are cooked? and expect around a  6-8 hour time period to reach that sort of temp? I don't really want to remove the skin as it seems to hold it together, I would imagine, so it is worth putting wood on the charcoals for a smoky effect, or is it not really going to penetrate the meat with that amount of skin?

Thanks


----------



## homeruk (Mar 30, 2017)

hi

i have only ever used those to make soup or aspic, but i would have thought being only 500gms and with a huge bone in them they will cook a lot faster than your expected 6-8 hour


----------



## sotv (Mar 31, 2017)

I think I will have to work on an internal temp, to get them right. They seem to have a lot of meat, on them, though as you say a big bone and I would imagine quite a bit of sinew and fat that needs breaking down also, during the cooking process.


----------



## wade (Mar 31, 2017)

Whether you need to soak them will depend on your butcher/supplier. Some can be horribly salty but others are just "well seasoned". It will not do any harm to soak them first.

Are you looking to hot roast them or get the meat to pulling constituency? When you take the cooking temperature don't forget that you need to make sure that you keep the prob tip away from the bone.


----------



## sotv (Mar 31, 2017)

It is is easier for me to maintain a 215-  225 f temp with my ProQ so will low and slow it, till I get up to I assume 175-180F internal temp and that will give me a pulling sort of consistency?

I have put them in the freezer till next weekend as will cook these and try out the pizza stone for the first time afterwards.


----------



## smokin monkey (Mar 31, 2017)

This is my cook of a Gammon Hock, did not soak then.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/258928/smoked-gammon-hock


----------



## sotv (Apr 1, 2017)

That look brilliant, and would love to achieve something like that.

I have only used my smoker at 225F , never thought of using it at 350F+ I assume if I leave the water pan out and mess around with the air vents I could achieve those sort of temps and keep it constant over the cook?

Did you aim for an internal temp of the meat, to show it was cooked?

I won't bother soaking them, Is there anyway of crisping the skin using the ProQ, without the wood fire oven that you used? i was expecting to have to discard it, but if I could crackle the skin, I wouldn't have earn some brownie point with the wife....


----------



## smokin monkey (Apr 1, 2017)

You can check the IT, 75'C plus, but I know that 4 hours @ 180'C will be ok. If you ar running @ 225'F just extend the time, say 6 hours.

Put it in a hot oven for 15 minutes should give you crispy skin.


----------



## sotv (Apr 21, 2017)

Cooked one of the Gammon Shanks today, they smoke really well and loads of meat on them. The picture shows the meat being cooked off over the coals after smoking, The shank pictured in the top left cost £2.50 and filled more than a cereal bowl with meat once pulled from the bone, very impressed for the cost. The only thing was I found the meat a little salty for my taste (it is gammon) so would probably soak in water for an hour or two next time before smoking.

So much meat. ate half on a plate on it's own, and fried the rest off, for some delicious salty gammon type bacon, even nicer tbh. I will do the leftovers in an omlette in the morning.

I got the internal temp of the shank up to 165F would probably look for 5-10F higher next time.













IMG_20170421_182831099.jpg



__ sotv
__ Apr 21, 2017






The half that I fried off for a gammon/bacon type thing













IMG_20170421_200607932.jpg



__ sotv
__ Apr 21, 2017


----------



## smokin monkey (Apr 21, 2017)

Looks great, cheap cut of meat, that taste great after a few hours of smoke and slow cooking. 

The Sriracha & Honey glazed I used might of balanced the saltiness from the hock with the Honey?


----------



## sotv (Apr 22, 2017)

Smokin Monkey said:


> Looks great, cheap cut of meat, that taste great after a few hours of smoke and slow cooking.
> 
> The Sriracha & Honey glazed I used might of balanced the saltiness from the hock with the Honey?


Might try a honey glaze next time, but it is such a solid and thick piece of meat, not sure how much would penetrate beyond the outer surface. Injecting might work but never tried that yet?

Took just over 8 hours at 220F to get it up to 165F and would have needed 10+ hours to get it up higher I would imagine.

Thinking about it, when I roast a gammon at home in the oven, I boil it first for 20-30 minutes to remove the salt and tenderise. .This may well help with cooking the shank from raw state and make it easier to remove the rind before smoking it, as I don't eat that part anyway. Then add the glaze once the rind is off..


----------

