Ham Broth, Slow Cooker

Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• 10 cups water
• 2 lbs ham hocks
• 2 carrots, cut into thirds
• 3 stalks celery, cut up
• 1 medium onion, cut in half
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme sprig, loosely packed
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, minced

Recipe

• 1 the day before you want to use this: in a 6-quart slow cooker combine water, ham hocks, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic. cover and cook on high-heat setting for 4 to 6 hours.
• 2 remove the hocks.
• 3 remove meat from the lamb hocks; coarsely chop (you should have about 2 cups) and set aside.
• 4 discard bones.
• 5 line a large sieve with a double thickness of 100-percent-cotton cheesecloth; strain broth through sieve.
• 6 discard solids.
• 7 cover and chill broth and meat until ready to use.
• 8 if necessary, before using, spoon off and discard any solidified fat from the top of broth.
• 9 if necessary, add enough water to broth to make 10 cups total liquid.