[Sca-cooks] Fw: [morgans] Hay Ham Recipe (OOP?)

[Patricia Collum]

This came over the Morgan horse owner's list. Has anyone heard of a period version? Or is it French-Canadian tradition instead of French, maybe? I thought it was interesting either way-

Cecily
----- Original Message ----- 

  CAVALIA CHEF DIVULGES TRADITIONAL “HAY HAM” RECIPE
IN TIME FOR EASTER DINNER
 
DALLAS –  Hay is not just for horses on tour with the  grand-scale 
equestrian spectacle Cavalia.   Once a week, the cast and crew of the multi-media 
production running in Dallas through Easter, enjoy “Hay Ham” with their Sunday 
brunch.  It’s prepared with a flake of their equine co-performers’ daily repast, 
in the old Quebec tradition.  Really!
“This is an old French entrée where a smoked ham is simmered in a pot with 
large clumps of hay,” explains Yves Babineau, Executive Chef on tour with 
Cavalia.  “The hay tenderizes the meat while extracting some of the salt and adding 
some flavor to the dish,” adds Babineau, who creates the menu and cooks 
(lunch and dinner six days a week) for the 120 permanent employees on tour with the 
show.
            Still prepared in some rural areas of Quebec (Cavalia is 
headquartered in Montreal), Hay Ham is traditionally called “jambon au foin” due to 
the practice of literally surrounding the ham—top to bottom—in hay. 
Prior to joining Cavalia, Babineau spent two years as executive chef for 
Club Med in the Bahamas on Paradise Island and Columbus Island; he also worked 
for Club Med in Colorado.  As executive chef for Cavalia, the biggest challenge 
is offering a variety of selections.   Each meal includes pasta, meat, fish, 
and vegetarian entrees, plus a salad bar and desserts.   For certain meals, 
like Sunday brunch, omelets are cooked on the spot. 
The secret behind Babineau’s savory brunch ham was known for months to only 
the kitchen staff and Cavalia’s 50 horses.    The truth slipped out when the 
tour was in Washington, DC, and a grocery order was overheard.
            To enjoy Hay Ham for your Easter holiday, just follow the recipe 
below.   Just think of it as a little secret between you and our four-legged 
friends.  Cavalia next travels to Canada, where the show opens May 4 in Laval, 
a suburb of Montreal.
###
 
 
 
EASTER Sunday Brunch Special -- HAY HAM
Recipe from the Cavalia Kitchen
 
 
Ingredients:
 
Fully cooked (smoked) bone-in ham
Hay (well rinsed)
 
Directions:
 
Line a large cooking pot with hay, creating a nest for the bottom of the 
ham.  Place ham on top of the hay.  Fill space around ham and sides of pot with 
hay. Place additional hay on top.   Once ham is well covered, add water until 
the water level is above the ham.
 
Cook on high heat until boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 hours (10 
pound ham) or 6-7 hours for a 15 pound ham.
 
Remove ham from pot and transfer to cutting board. Slice and serve.  Bon 
appétit!