Ham Broth, Slow Cooker - cooking recipe

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

Preparation

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.
Remove the hocks.
Remove meat from the pork hocks; coarsely chop (you should have about 2 cups) and set aside.
Discard bones.
Line a large sieve with a double thickness of 100-percent-cotton cheesecloth; strain broth through sieve.
Discard solids.
Cover and chill broth and meat until ready to use.
If necessary, before using, spoon off and discard any solidified fat from the top of broth.
If necessary, add enough water to broth to make 10 cups total liquid.