Super Christmas Ham!

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Gomer1

Senior Cook
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
187
Location
Seattle, WA
I have been talking and bugging Larry quite a bit about his Thanksgiving Ham because I want to do one for Christmas. I was originally going to just have 1 friend over but once word got out well, the guest list has reached 15 people now!

So I really slacked off on getting a Ready Cook ham.. Long story: I went out to a few grocery stores and all they had were some shotty fully cooked hams. I was losing my mind. I went home and started searching the internet for ready cook hams trying to find them locally, calling butchers whatever I could think of. Eventually I figured out they are "Country Hams" and (as Larry had cooked) Smithfield seemed to be the best.

I didn't think I had much of a chance of finding a Smithfield with so little notice so I set my sites on just *any* country ham (maybe 2 depending on the weight). I searched online more and more and found a thread somewhere w/ a guy looking for one in California (I am in Seattle Washington) so I figured I would see if any of the suggestions existed here as well since they were close..

The only place that was around here was Ranch 99 Market, an Asian grocery chain. The person said they sometimes have half Country Hams. Being desperate I was willing to settle for half hams. I drove out to the Ranch 99 Market (I didn't want to call I have a horrid time understanding foreign people on the phone, I did my last job interview w/ a Bosnian and I just said yes to everything, I have been working for them for almost a year and a half now hehe).

So I enter the store and I don't see a single ham in the place. I look on the counter and there are some picnic cuts in some fancy bags. Then I look all the way left and there she was, 19 lbs or sweet sweet pig. Not only did I find my country ham but it was a Smithfield! I bought it right away and took her home. I have been reading up on how to prepare and cook it.

So I am super excited for my biggest cook and to have such a great piece of meat to work with! More pics as she gets going. Sorry for such a long post!

 
Greg....................don't panic................but.............................um....................that's not the right kind of ham............but we can make it work. Country hams are delicious, a true Southern treat, however they are salt cured. Meaning, they are super salty and you WILL need to soak that ham for 24-36 hours (36 hours for less salty taste) in cold water in the refridgerator, changing the water every 12 hours or so. Otherwise it will be too salty to eat. Before soakin you will need to take a brush and scrub the mold off of the ham. This is perfectly normal for country hams and is not harmful whatsoever. If you do not want to go through the scrubbing/soaking process, there's another option. You can take the ham to the butcher and have him slice it up for you into ham steaks (he'll slice directly through the bone), which in the end will be much easier to soak the individual pieces when you are ready to cook them. These are great for breakfasts as well as seasoning beans and soups. And then you can search again for a "Ready Cook" ham.

I'm not suggesting you do the latter, YOU can make that country ham perfectly if you're willing to go through the scrubbing/soaking process. If you go ahead and do this after you have soaked and scrubbed, cook according to our plan. A ham that big is going to carry over a good amount of temperature once you pull it off. You want the internal temperature to be 160*, so pull it off the smoker around 153*. Good luck, that ham is gonna be good and worth the effort in the end!!!!
 
Larry is right. What you have is the "gold standard" of country hams: old-style, long-shank, dry cured for a minimum of 6 months. Cooking it the right way is a little complicated, but the result will be worth it. After you cook it, slice it paper-thin and serve it with home-made biscuits... well, that's what I would do. :P And, like Larry said, don't worry about any mold on the ham. I once visited a small ham curing operation in Virginia where the owner showed me two hams his father had cured 50 years previously - still good, and I would have jumped at the chance for a sample. The owner told me one ham was his "show ham", and a few slices would be removed from time to time to enter into competitions. The other he was saving to serve at his daughter's wedding reception, if she ever got married. I was tempted to ask him for an early invitation...
 
Larrys:

Thanks a ton for the tips.

Larry Wolfe:
I had looked up the information about the soaking and the mold and I am damn ready to take it head on! I am really hoping to give everyone the best ham they have had. I honestly could not find any other ham that was not fully cooked and I am glad this seems perfect.
 
Is this thread for real? I'm sorry, but, anything with mold on it goes in the trash...not my smoker! Just wondering...this whole thing sounds fishy to me...but maybe I'm a tad aloof!
 
Greg Rempe said:
Is this thread for real? I'm sorry, but, anything with mold on it goes in the trash...not my smoker! Just wondering...this whole thing sounds fishy to me...but maybe I'm a tad aloof!

Kinda like when your Grandma used to just pinch off the mold
on the bread and then make you a sandwich anyways?? and truely
expect you to eat it? :?

Oh wait..... I hope that wasn't just my Grandma!!! :roll:
:LOL:
 
Greg Rempe said:
Is this thread for real? I'm sorry, but, anything with mold on it goes in the trash...not my smoker! Just wondering...this whole thing sounds fishy to me...but maybe I'm a tad aloof!

Not aloof. Just too far north to have had any experience with country hams. Here's some enlightenment: http://www.vapeanuts.com/virginia-ham-faq.html

Just don't follow their advice about browning the ham in a 40-degree oven. I'm pretty sure they meant to say "400".

;)
 
Greg Rempe said:
Is this thread for real? I'm sorry, but, anything with mold on it goes in the trash...not my smoker! Just wondering...this whole thing sounds fishy to me...but maybe I'm a tad aloof!
Mold is a key ing in a lot of dry cured thing...parma ham, some salami
 
while I'm still not sold on this being a real thread, yes
mold is normal.

I remember my fake uncle taking me out to the barn,
grabbing a machete and whacking salty mold off a ham
that was hanging from the rafters. I told him I would not
eat that, but the next morning I sure did...made fabulous
red eye gravy.
 
This is super super real and I am very excited to be making my moldy ham. That said you scrub off all the mold before you even soak it to get the salt out, it is supposed to be some really good ham and I cannot wait!
 
Oh yeah it will be a super good ham....The dry cure extracts the moisture and just leaves ham :LOL: ..keep us posted.
 
I love country ham. I have some in the refrigerator for Christmas morning. I'll have biscuits also. Be prepared to drink a lot of water the rest of the day after eating country ham.

I get mine from this place (Phillip Brothers County Ham) because it is located right here where I live...the small town of Asheboro, NC. There used to be another place Yates Country Ham but they went out of business a few years ago.

http://www.phillipsbrotherscountryhams.com/


Good luck.
 
Not sure why you guys wouldn't think this post is real, but as far as I know it is............. Anyways to the important stuff, Greg how is the ham coming along?? Soaking in cold water yet?? I LOVE your attitude to hit the challenge head on!!!! You have my respect!!!
 
Tonight I am going to buy a hacksaw to cut off some at the shank, right now it is just too long, I bought a stiff brush to clean off all the mold no one believes in, there will be TONS of pics of the mold and all for everyone. I also am going to give my cooler a good cleaning tonight. Since I am not cooking till tuesday I figured I would start the soak tomorrow and thanks Larry!
 
What kind of woods are good? I only have Hickory at the moment, the store here has some apple firewood I could cut up, and I ordered maple and cherry but I am not sure it will get here in time.

Any suggestions on where to find wood locally?

Thanks guys.
 
Gomer said:
What kind of woods are good? I only have Hickory at the moment, the store here has some apple firewood I could cut up, and I ordered maple and cherry but I am not sure it will get here in time.

Any suggestions on where to find wood locally?

Thanks guys.

Hickory and ham are made for each other!! If you get some apple, it won't hurt to mix in a couple pieces too! I can't wait to see the pic's and the progress!!!

Greg make sure you have plenty of ice in the cooler, you want to keep the ham as cold (around 34*) as you can when soaking. In case your curious as to why, because when you bought the ham and it was just sitting out with no refridgeration.........well the ham was dry and cured which prevents bacteria growth. Once you reintroduce moisture to it then you're opening the door for bacteria growth That's why once you start soaking you must keep it cold! You may or may not have already known this, but i just wanted to bring it up just in case.
 
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