Ham - which one is not too salty?

[Imzadi]

Depending on the amount of soup you will be making, one or two ham hocks should work fine. I've done that many times. (Get mine from Whole Foods or the German butcher/deli.) Trader Joe's used to sell very small (maybe 1-2 lb.?) hams from Niman Ranch -- those would work well for this -- cut into chunks. And ham can be frozen, so you could cut up what you don't need and freeze it to use for soups later. Bacon works, too -- use a nice bacon that isn't too smoky or too salty. I use Niman Ranch brand or the bacon ends from Trader Joe's.

How about some pancetta? I think that would work nicely.

Thank you both for the tips & suggestions. I hadn't even thought about freezing the excess ham. That will be perfect as I intend to make a lot of soups this winter. I bought a new 3 QT stock pot a couple weeks ago just for making soup.

I love the idea of using bacon or pancetta instead. Those two are not "foreign" meats for me to eat or cook with, unlike ham. Off to schedule a run to Trader Joe's. Hopefully they will still have some canned pumpkin so I can make some pumpkin soup too.