Ham Bone Vs Hock: What's The Difference?

If you've ever ventured into the world of comforting soups or hearty stews, you've probably come across recipes that call for either a ham bone or a ham hock. While these two might sound interchangeable, they come from different parts of the pig and provide unique flavors and textures.

A ham bone comes from the upper part of pig's leg. It's left over after carving a ham. It's mostly bone with some fat and meat clinging to it, adding a mild, savory essence when simmered to make a broth or enhance a soup. Ham bones can be smoked or unsmoked, which changes the type of flavor they bring to a dish. 

A ham hock comes from the lower leg near the ankle (also referred to as the pork knuckle). It's almost always cured and smoked and has connective tissue, collagen, fat, and skin, making for a heartier texture and more pronounced pork flavor. 

Ham bones can come from your leftover carved ham, or they can be bought fresh, smoked or frozen at the butcher or grocery store. If you end up having a leftover ham bone, you can use it immediately or freeze it for future recipes. Ham bones contain collagen, marrow, and fat, so simmering them slowly creates a silky, flavorful broth or stock. 

Some ham bones can have 1.5 to 2 cups of meat on them. Though they do have meat, ham bones are primarily used for liquid-based recipes, enriching broths and soups. Once simmered, any meat can be removed from the bone an incorporated into recipes like ham and bean soup or collard greens with ham.

Ham hocks are primarily used as a flavor booster rather than a stand-alone cut of meat. They're typically cured and smoked, contributing a rich bacon-like flavor to slow-cooked dishes. As they simmer, their fat and collagen slowly break down, infusing dishes with deep, savory flavor. The meat is often shredded then incorporated back into the dish. If you're on the search for the best ham hock cooking method, the secret is patience. You should slow cook ham hocks to release their full depth of flavor for dishes like black bean soup, collard greens, and stews.

Ham hocks are sometimes used as the main protein in a dish, such as with the German specialty scheinshaxe — which is one of the 15 German dishes you need to try. In this recipe fresh, uncured and unsmoked ham hock is used.

While ham hocks and ham bones serve similar purposes in slow-cooked meals, they aren't always interchangeable. A ham hock can replace a ham bone for a stronger pork flavor, but the reverse might leave a dish missing the depth of flavor from the curing and smoking. In the end, both ham bones and ham hocks have their place in the kitchen — it's just a matter of knowing which one fits the dish you're creating.