Ingredients
Niall McKenna recipe from his What's it all About? cookery book - available now.
Serves: 4
- 1 ham hock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 onion, halved
- 2 carrots, peeled and halved
- 1 stick celery, roughly chopped
- 6 white peppercorns
- A large sprig of thyme
- A large sprig of rosemary
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 200g chestnuts, peeled
- 80g butter
- 1kg Brussels sprouts, peeled and thinly sliced with a mandolin
- Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Method
- Place the ham hock in a bowl, cover with water and refrigerate overnight to remove excess salt.
- When ready to cook, drain the hock, transfer it to a large pot and cover entirely with fresh water. Add the herbs and vegetables, except the sprouts, bring to a boil, reduce the temperature and simmer for 2–21⁄2 hours until so tender the meat falls off the bone. Keep topping up the water if necessary.
- Remove the hock from the saucepan, trim off the skin and discard. Use two forks to shred the meat and set it aside.
- Preheat oven to 180°C / Fan 160°C / Gas mark 4
- Meanwhile, score the chestnuts and place them on a tray; cook in the oven until the shells crack; this should take about 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool; peel the chestnuts (this is a tricky job, so I apologise now!), then slice and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat and fry the sliced sprouts for a minute; add 50ml of water and place the lid on to steam for a minute, stir in the shredded ham and chestnuts, return the lid and steam for 5–6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
- I like to add 50g dried cranberries with the ham hock and chestnuts at Christmas time.
