It has been a while since I have eaten pork (apart from some ham in last week’s meal). I prefer beef and other ruminant meats.

While fresh pork is excellent, I also enjoy cured pork products.

I am combining some speck[i] and a pig’s hock[ii] in the slow cooker. Additionally, I am using leftover beef broth.

At the end of the cooking, I will have enough meat for a few meals this week. I still have a couple of aliquots from my beef congee, so this week’s lunches will be flavourful.

I instructed Microsoft Copilot to create this image. It is meant to depict the processing of a pig for speck and smoked hock.

Recipe

This post really does not constitute a recipe. I am simply adding a few things to a slow cooker and letting it go.

Ingredients

• Speck
• Hock
• Beef broth

Equipment

• Slow cooker

Instructions

1. Place the speck and hock into the cooking vessel.
2. Add some leftover beef broth.
3. Cook on “high” for 6 hours.
4. Remove the meat and pull it with a pair of forks, or if you want to really enjoy it, use both hands and squish the meat as you make fists. The result will be warm, moisturised skin on your hands and perfectly pulled pork. Pulling pork is so satisfying.
5. Filter the cooking liquor through a strainer and refrigerate the filtrate. The following day, you can separate the hardened pork fat, which will also have some beef fat with it. I usually “clean” my fat by putting it into a small saucepan with some water and bringing it to a steady boil for a few minutes. I repeat this process and then pour the fat and water (which will be clear) into an enamel bowl and refrigerate it. The following day, I have a nice disc of clean fat with which I can cook.
6. Serve your pulled pork with whatever you choose. I’m enjoying my pulled pork with a pickle. If you are in the mood, you could boil some cabbage and make some creamy buttery potato mash.

Photographs

Select an image and scroll through the rest.

Thoughts on the meal

Speck is an expensive option, and in future I’ll probably look for reduced price pork belly at the butcher. I think pulled pork would be great for pork congee, which may be a future weekend cook. I know the pork fat will combine well with rice.

---

[i] Pork speck, a traditional cured meat from South Tyrol, Italy, is a blend of German and Italian culinary traditions. It’s made from deboned pork leg seasoned with salt, pepper, juniper berries, bay leaves, and garlic, then cold-smoked and aged for several months. This results in a deeply flavoured, smoky ham with a firm texture and a savoury, slightly spicy aroma.

[ii] Pork hock, also called a ham hock or pork knuckle, is the lower part of a pig’s leg, above the foot and below the ham or shoulder. It’s a collagen-rich cut with skin, bone, fat, and some meat, perfect for slow cooking methods like braising, boiling, or roasting.