BchrisL
Senior Cook
Its that time of year again and my task turns to the family ham.
I quoted Roy Blount Jr.'s Hymn to Ham which I feel sums up my feelings on the subject.
http://www.bbq-4-u.com/forum/f9/hymn-to-ham-14835.html
Last year I cooked the ham in the oven and I used a slow cook technique. The results were quite good in that the ham was moist and tender. Of course it was tasty and we enjoyed it for a week or more afterward.
I got a ham from this outfit. There are others but you have to look for them. The good ones usually sell out early, so shop about two months before a big holiday.
They have instructions for slow cooking on the back which they suggest cooking at 170 for 45 to 50 minutes a pound. I will use my meat thermometer and set the alarm to sound when it hits 160. It is hard to get a regular home oven to run that slow so I just set it as slow as it would go. The first time I placed an oven thermometer inside just to make sure it wasn't too slow. So back time the cook based on the weight. In my case it is a 14 pound ham so it should take about 12 hours. She wants it done at noon on Christmas day so we can trim it and glaze it for early dinner.
Soak the ham in water overnight the scrub the "face side" (The side opposite the skin.) to remove all mold and curing spice. I use non detergent soap like Ivory soap bar to scrub this and rinse it off well.
I cook the ham in this roaster which we found at a country store somewhere years ago. Just make sure it will fit inside your oven before its all fired up and make sure the ham will fit inside the roaster as well. If it is a little too long, the use a hand saw (scrubbed clean with soap AND NO RUST) to CAREFULLY trim the hock (Clean the grease off the saw afterward.).
Save the hock and use to make navy bean soup in January, yummy.
I'll post some more pictures as they become available.
I quoted Roy Blount Jr.'s Hymn to Ham which I feel sums up my feelings on the subject.
http://www.bbq-4-u.com/forum/f9/hymn-to-ham-14835.html
Last year I cooked the ham in the oven and I used a slow cook technique. The results were quite good in that the ham was moist and tender. Of course it was tasty and we enjoyed it for a week or more afterward.
I got a ham from this outfit. There are others but you have to look for them. The good ones usually sell out early, so shop about two months before a big holiday.
They have instructions for slow cooking on the back which they suggest cooking at 170 for 45 to 50 minutes a pound. I will use my meat thermometer and set the alarm to sound when it hits 160. It is hard to get a regular home oven to run that slow so I just set it as slow as it would go. The first time I placed an oven thermometer inside just to make sure it wasn't too slow. So back time the cook based on the weight. In my case it is a 14 pound ham so it should take about 12 hours. She wants it done at noon on Christmas day so we can trim it and glaze it for early dinner.
Soak the ham in water overnight the scrub the "face side" (The side opposite the skin.) to remove all mold and curing spice. I use non detergent soap like Ivory soap bar to scrub this and rinse it off well.
I cook the ham in this roaster which we found at a country store somewhere years ago. Just make sure it will fit inside your oven before its all fired up and make sure the ham will fit inside the roaster as well. If it is a little too long, the use a hand saw (scrubbed clean with soap AND NO RUST) to CAREFULLY trim the hock (Clean the grease off the saw afterward.).
Save the hock and use to make navy bean soup in January, yummy.
I'll post some more pictures as they become available.
