Don't Make This Cheesy Ham & Potato Casserole Unless You're Ready For Zero Leftovers

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Ham and potato casserole is an old-timey classic, dating back quite some time. Recipe developer Patterson Watkins' take on cheesy ham and potato casserole, however, has a much more recent inspiration. As she tells us, "There's a section in my local grocery store that I'll call the 'meaty odds and ends'. Every time I've passed by, I see these lovely ham hocks, stop to admire, recall that ham hocks are awesome flavor bombs, and proceed with my hock-free shopping." When she decided to create a dish with ham and potatoes, however, she realized this was her big chance to put this pig part to good use. "How cool and tasty it would be," she thought, "to craft a ham hock broth, briefly simmer the taters in that broth, use that broth to make an even more flavor-packed cheese sauce, and use the slow-cooked meaty porky bits to further flavor-enhance the casserole."

So how did Watkins' experiment work out? The resulting casserole, an extra cheesy and extra hammy one, she assured us, was pretty awesome. "Ham hocks and potatoes go together like peas and carrots. Add creamy cheesy bubbly goodness, and now we're having a party." She noted that the dish is very versatile as casseroles go, since you could serve it for breakfast with a side of scrambled eggs or dish it up for dinner with a green salad.

To make the broth, you'll need ham hocks, carrots, celery, and yellow onion. Other ingredients required for the casserole include butter, flour, heavy cream, half and half, hot sauce, garlic powder, black pepper, yellow potatoes, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chives.

Place ham hocks in a slow cooker.

Add the carrots, celery, and onions to the slow cooker and fill with just enough water to cover.

Slow cook on low for 8 hours, or until the ham hocks are fork tender.

Remove the hocks from the cooker and set aside.

Strain the broth, reserve the broth, and discard the dregs.

Using a fork, remove the meat from the bones, and shred. Discard the skin, fat, and bones. (If your ham hocks don't have a lot of meat to them, you can use bacon as a substitute).

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Once melted, add the onions and saute for 3 minutes.

Add the flour to the pot and stir to combine the roux. Cook for 1 minute more.

Whisk in the heavy cream, half and half, ham hock broth, hot sauce, garlic powder, and pepper. Bring to a low simmer.

Once simmering, add the potatoes to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon or skimmer and remove the potatoes from the pot. Transfer the potatoes to a 13x9-inch casserole dish, spreading out in an even layer.

Evenly top the potatoes with the reserved ham hock meat.

Remove the pot from the heat and add the cream cheese, whisk until melted.

Add half of the cheddar cheese to the pot and whisk until melted.

Add sour cream to the pot and whisk to combine.

Ladle the sauce evenly over the potatoes.

Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the remaining cheese.

Cover the casserole with foil, place in the oven, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Increase the oven temperature to 400 F, remove the foil from the casserole dish, return to the oven, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 15 minutes before garnishing with chopped chives and serving.

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Smoked ham hocks can be found in the meat department of most grocery stores, often sold in pairs. For this recipe, you'll need three of them, so you may have one left over. That's not a bad thing — there are a number of reasons you should be cooking with ham hocks, but the main ones are that they're both cheap and delicious. Your surplus hock could be used to flavor a pot of beans or stewed greens, or you could just add it to the broth to make an extra-meaty version of this casserole. For prepping the hocks, you don't really need to do anything other than toss them in the slow cooker to start the broth. If you have a few moments to spare, though, you might want to first saute them in a little oil until they're brown and crispy. You could also soak them in cold water for an hour if you want to remove some of the salt.

If you can't find ham hocks, there are several substitutes you could use. A ham bone would work as long as it's got plenty of meat left on it. Bacon or a smoked sausage such as kielbasa can also be substituted for the meat in the casserole, although in either case, you'll need to use pre-made broth or stock. You can also make a pork-free version of this dish with smoked turkey wings, legs, or necks, since these can be used in much the same way as smoked ham hocks.

Watkins opts for the "set it and forget it" slow cooker method when cooking her ham hock broth because, as she puts it, "I like spending my time not babysitting my slow-cooking foods." That being said, though, you don't actually need to use or even own a slow cooker to make the ham hock broth. If you don't mind the longer amount of time and you, too, want a hands-off method, you can cook the broth in an oven set to 200 F, although you might need to add a little water from time to time.

If you're concerned about speeding things up, though, simmering the ham hocks, carrots, celery, and onions on the stovetop will reduce the cooking time by 50% or more, as the broth should be done in 3 to 4 hours. To make sure the hocks cook evenly, turn them over every hour or so. The fastest way of cooking the broth, besides subbing in a carton of the store-bought kind, would be to use a pressure cooker. To use the pressure cooker method, simply follow the recipe as written, but load up the ingredients in an Instant Pot (or similar appliance), setting it for 45 minutes. 

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