[Sca-cooks] ham advice

[johnna holloway]

The book you need is
The Country Ham Book
by Jeanne Voltz and Elaine Harvell.
Celebrating country ham’s colorful culinary
past and its continued close ties with life
across the South; the lore and history; how
to buy, prepare and serve; and over 70 easy-to-prepare
recipes for country ham and its accompaniments.
And of course you don't have a copy but you might
check with the library in the morning.

What you can do is get on the web and search out
recipes for dishes that you will like to make using
this sort of ham--- "sugar country ham" recipes
might work well on google for the search. They can be
be made in navy bean soups or white bean soups, etc.
Small amounts with scrambled eggs work well. Often if
you can get the slices thin enough they go well with
the southern biscuits.

Yes all these hams are salty... it doesn't much matter
if they come from KY, NC, VA or Arkansas. People who
relished the taste in their youth of a good salty ham
are often appalled when older to discover that they
have lost the taste for them. My grandfather was extremely
displeased to discover that he couldn't stand to eat
much at any one sitting of the Virginia country ham that
I gave him one year for Christmas. He had grown up eating them
but found that one just  "too salty". Good, but too salty.

Your father's idea of boiling water for the slices isn't bad,
although I might suggest that you put the slices (as much as
you plan to eat for a meal) in a skillet (not cast iron)
and cover the slices with water. Heat till boiling. If you don't
use much water, then when the water is evaporated the ham is warmed
through.
If you use a lot of water, then fish the slices out of the
water and drain on a paper towel. That may help reduce the saltiness.
In general, I think I would have soaked it for a full 48 hours
and then boiled or par boiled it... maybe finished it off in
the oven. Having not seen or tasted this brand, I can't say
for sure. The web site for the brand isn't that helpful ...
Hope you succeed with your leftovers.

Johnna Holloway  Johnnae llyn Lewis


Angie Malone wrote:>
> I have a question about this ham I did for Christmas dinner.>
> It is "old fashioned Junior Johnson Brand old fashioned sugar-cured country
> ham"  dry-cured snipped-------------
> I followed the instructions which were:>
> baking:  completely skin and trim ham.  Soak overnight in cold water. -----
> I did all that, and it still turned out overly salty.  My Dad's idea is to
> reheat the ham when we want to bring some water to boil in a sauce pan and
> drop the meat in long enough to heat it, he thinks maybe the water will
> draw the salt out.  How much do you think it will ruin the taste of the ham
> to do that.  Other than it being salty, it tastes good.>
> Any other ideas.  It turned out to be around a 9 pound ham after cutting
> all the fat off.  It was requested that I make split pea soup with the bone
> and the remaining ham that's left when we get tired of it.>
> Any ideas you may give are greatly appreciated.  Angeline