[Sca-cooks] dry cured ham

[Sayyida Halima al-Shafi'i of Raven's Cove]

It wasn't a Smithfield that I got from Sam's, but some other brand whose 
name eludes me at the moment.

Yes, my sister starts with her own pigs.  Each year they get two weaner 
pigs and run them in the pasture with the other animals.  Start feeding 
them corn in the fall and butcher when weather is cold enough.  Some of 
the funniest family stories are centered around butchering and my 
95-pound sister wrasslin' a 100 pound hog-half onto the hanging hook. 
 It went down and she went up into the tree.  After we could stand 
normally again from laughing so hard, we got her down...<eg>.

Also, re: planning ahead and a whole ham being too big, I go ahead and 
cook the whole thing, and then cut into slices, cubes, etc. and freeze 
in meal-size portions.  It's also a good time to roast the meaty bone 
nice and dark and make some split-pea soup for canning.