[Sca-cooks] ham advice

[Elaine Koogler]

My family used to cure hams using salt.  What my mom did to render them edible
was to soak them overnight in a vinegar/water solution, then parboil them for a
couple of hours or so in water before actually baking them.  To bake the ham,
she'd trim most of the fat off, then score it into a diamond pattern.  She'd
then "schmear" the top of the ham with a mixture of mustard and brown sugar,
putting a whole clove in each of the diamonds.  She would then bake it until it
was brown and crunchy on top (the meat having already been cooked in the
parboiling step), and serve it...after letting it rest for 15 minutes or so.

Hope this helps....

Kiri

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 in the Eastern slopes and foothills of the blue ridge
> mountains.  distributed by suncrest farms in wilkesboro, NC.  Cured with
> salt, white sugar, brown sugar, sodium nitrate, and pepper.
>
> I followed the instructions which were:
>
> baking:  completely skin and trim ham.  Soak overnight in cold water.  Wrap
> ham completely in heavy aluminum foil in a manner to retain juices and pour
> approximately 1 1/2 cups of water insdie the aluminum wrap.  Bake at 350
> degrees for approximately 20 minutes per pound.
>
> 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
>
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--
Elaine Koogler

     "A stroke of the brush does not guarantee Art from the bristles"

                                                     --  Kosh