ham hocks vs neck bones

what animal are they from?

The pork necks will be okay, but they will provide a different flavor from the ham bones. Sometimes, when I don't have ham bones, I just put in big chunks of ham.

I don't think the neck bones will make the beans taste bad. You just may have a bit of a different flavor. That's about it. You may even like it better. Who knows. Swirl a stick of butter in the pot just before serving. That's money.

holy moly now youre talking. I dont think the neck bones will be a big deal. Im putting tasso and andouille in there as well so the flavor wont be too far off. I probably will add the butter just because it will be missing all of that fat that is usually in the ham hocks

Make it the OLD Nawlins way and use pickled pork.

quote:

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couldnt find ham hocks and didnt feel like going to another grocery store

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Ham Chunks
Smoked Turkey Necks or Legs

or just Sausage and/or Tasso would work

Neck bones are usually not smoked while ham hocks usually are. So you get a smoke flavor from the ham hocks that you don't get from neck bones. But the real reason you use either is to slowly cook away the collagen. Neck bones have more than enough collgen to provide good flavor and texture to beans.

An alternative to using bones for flavor is to use salt pork or pickle pork. They have so much fat in them that they provide great flavor and texture without bones.