What Is Smoked ham shank and How Can I Use It?
Here's everything worth knowing about smoked ham shank and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 8 recipes to cook tonight.
Key Points
- A smoked ham shank is the smoky lower-leg joint, mostly bone, meant for the soup pot.
- Simmer it two to three hours in beans or split peas until the meat falls off.
- Hold the salt until the end; it keeps releasing salt as the pot reduces.
What is smoked ham shank?
A smoked ham shank is the lower portion of a cured, smoked ham leg, the tapered end nearest the foot. It is mostly bone and tougher meat wrapped in skin and fat, which makes it less a slicing ham than a deep flavor base for the soup pot.
That bone and gelatin are the point. Simmered low, a smoked ham shank gives up salt and smoke and a silky body that no quick seasoning can match.
How to Use It
Drop the whole shank into a pot of dried beans or split peas, cover it with water, then simmer two to three hours until the meat falls off the bone.
It is the backbone of Old Fashioned Pea Soup and My Canadian Pea Soup, and it deepens a bean pot like Many Bean Soup. Hold the salt until the end, since the shank keeps releasing it as the pot reduces.
When it is done, pull the shank, strip off the tender meat, and stir it back in.
A meatier shank can also be glazed and baked whole, the move in Baked Glazed Ham.
Buying and Storing
Smoked ham shanks turn up in the meat case, often vacuum-sealed and labeled for soup or seasoning. Look for one with a good amount of meat and skin still attached, and a clean smoky smell.
Refrigerate and use within a week, or freeze it for one to two months until soup weather.
For more on the smaller, similar ham hock and on smoked ham in general, see ham hock and the parent ham page.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 熏火腿柄
- British (UK) term
- Smoked ham shank
- en français
- fumé tige de jambon
- en español
- vástago de jamón ahumado
Recipes using smoked ham shank
There are 8 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Baked Glazed Ham
Bone-in smoked ham rubbed with chili powder, paprika, cumin, and cinnamon, then finished with a sticky peach preserves and orange juice glaze. A spice-crusted holiday ham that steals the show.
Mom's Peppered Ham
Mom's peppered ham: poached ham shank coated in cracked black peppercorns and dried in a low oven for paper-thin deli-style slices. Old-school deli cooking at home.
Red Beans & Rice with Smoked Sausage
Red beans and rice with smoked sausage and ham shank, simmered low with thyme, sage, and cayenne. A New Orleans Monday tradition cooked from dried beans.
Many Bean Soup
Many bean soup with dried mixed beans, smoked ham shank, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and a finishing splash of lemon juice. Classic slow-simmered pantry soup for cold nights.
Beans Red& Rice with Smoked Sausage
Red beans and rice with smoked sausage and ham shank simmered low and slow with thyme, sage, cayenne, and garlic. A classic Louisiana Monday night dinner from dried beans.
Princess Poopoalis Portuguese Soup
Hearty Portuguese soup with smoked ham shanks, linguica sausage, kidney beans, cabbage, and potatoes in a tomato broth. A loaded one-pot meal built on smoky ham stock.
Old Fashioned Pea Soup
Old fashioned pea soup with a smoked ham shank, whole green peas, and split peas simmered low and slow. Five ingredients, four hours, zero fuss.
