Pork neck bones

[callahan9119]

I bought some pork neck bones hoping to use it similar to a ham hock in adding flavor to my Fabada dish. I can't find any ham hocks around here that aren't some ghastly smoked ones with preservatives. Will the neck bones add much flavor to my dish?

It's a stew of basically great northern beans, chorizo, bell pepper and onion that is simmered for a couple hours. The neck bones seem to have some meat on them, is it any good? Should I brown them if I use them?

I stopped using bacon in my recipe, so I'm trying to add a lil more flavor. Good bacon is way too expensive to be using in this, which is my cheap but good for cold weather recipe.

[Kayelle]

The neck bones should work well in your recipe callahan. No need to brown them, just add them to the water and boil. When the bones have cooked long enough to release the meat from the bone, strip off the meat and add it back to your stew. Like my mama used to say, "the nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat."
Any time you stew bones, you're adding a richness of flavor to the broth like nothing else will ever do. If you feel like you'll miss the smoky taste of bacon, you could always add a very small amount of liquid smoke to the mix. That stuff is really strong so be very careful.

[Andy M.]

The bacon would have added a smoked flavor. The "ghastly smoked" hocks also add a smoked flavor. If you use a non-smoked meat, it won't taste the same. Roasting the neck bones will provide added flavor over raw ones.

[callahan9119]

I always thought adding bones made stuff more flavorful. I don't really care about a smoked flavor, I just want to make it a little richer. I'd use the hocks, but the ones we can get are filled with additives.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by callahan9119

I always thought adding bones made stuff more flavorful. I don't really care about a smoked flavor, I just want to make it a little richer. I'd use the hocks, but the ones we can get are filled with additives.

OK. Any smoked product you buy will have more ingredients than the fresh counterpart because of the smoke.

Roast the neck bones for a richer flavor. It will take hours for the favor extraction to happen.

[Kayelle]

Originally Posted by callahan9119

I always thought adding bones made stuff more flavorful. I don't really care about a smoked flavor, I just want to make it a little richer. I'd use the hocks, but the ones we can get are filled with additives.

That's correct.

[justplainbill]

Save some to use for making a fabulous spaghetti sauce.

[callahan9119]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

OK. Any smoked product you buy will have more ingredients than the fresh counterpart because of the smoke.

Roast the neck bones for a richer flavor. It will take hours for the favor extraction to happen.

So I can't just put it straight away into the pot? I have to roast it first then add it?

[Kayelle]

Originally Posted by callahan9119

So I can't just put it straight away into the pot? I have to roast it first then add it?

Yes, you can put them straight away into the pot. Roasting them is only optional callahan.

[Aunt Bea]

For a dish like Fabada I would use a small ham steak, chopped up, if you do not want to use smoked hocks. You will get more meat for your money and less additives, although ham does have some but then so does cured chorizo. You could also skip the meat and add some stock. If you use the neck bones they can be raw or roasted but, pre-roasting them before adding them will give a deeper flavor.