Over the years I have usually served a 20+ pound whole ham for Christmas
dinner (lots of guests).

The usual routine is to make a paste of orange rind, a small amount of OJ,
brown sugar and ground clove then score the ham apply the paste and let it
sit for about a week wrapped tightly.

The year I am thinking about "mellowing" the ham by soaking it in apple
cider for several days.
For the life of me I'm stumped about adding a spice or an herb or another
flavoring to the cider.

Of course the ham will be clove studded prior to warming.

Any suggestions?

Dimitri

"Dimitri" > wrote in
. com:

>
> Over the years I have usually served a 20+ pound whole ham for
> Christmas dinner (lots of guests).
>
> The usual routine is to make a paste of orange rind, a small amount of
> OJ, brown sugar and ground clove then score the ham apply the paste
> and let it sit for about a week wrapped tightly.
>
> The year I am thinking about "mellowing" the ham by soaking it in
> apple cider for several days.
> For the life of me I'm stumped about adding a spice or an herb or
> another flavoring to the cider.
>
> Of course the ham will be clove studded prior to warming.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Dimitri
>
>
>
>

Ginger? maybe, But of course you've already thought about the apple pie
spices...cinnamon, nutmeg etc...?
Pork apples and saurkraut go well together?
Baste it in beer as well?
Just musings to help you get an idea.



--
And the beet goes on! (or under)
-me just a while ago

Dimitri wrote:

> Over the years I have usually served a 20+ pound whole ham for Christmas
> dinner (lots of guests).
>
> The usual routine is to make a paste of orange rind, a small amount of OJ,
> brown sugar and ground clove then score the ham apply the paste and let it
> sit for about a week wrapped tightly.
>
> The year I am thinking about "mellowing" the ham by soaking it in apple
> cider for several days.
> For the life of me I'm stumped about adding a spice or an herb or another
> flavoring to the cider.
>
> Of course the ham will be clove studded prior to warming.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Dimitri
>

I don't know how well this will work for desalting the ham, but the spice
choice is obvious -- mustard seeds. Simmer them in the cider.

Best regards,
Bob

In article > , "Dimitri"
> writes:

>Over the years I have usually served a 20+ pound whole ham for Christmas
>dinner (lots of guests).
>
>The usual routine is to make a paste of orange rind, a small amount of OJ,
>brown sugar and ground clove then score the ham apply the paste and let it
>sit for about a week wrapped tightly.
>
>The year I am thinking about "mellowing" the ham by soaking it in apple
>cider for several days.
>For the life of me I'm stumped about adding a spice or an herb or another
>flavoring to the cider.
>
>Of course the ham will be clove studded prior to warming.
>
>Any suggestions?

Apple cider and honey... I'd forget the cloves unless it's virginia ham you're
after.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

Are you talking about reversing the cure on a cured pork leg, or Ham to
most of us, or are you talking about doing something like Sheldon's post
preceeding this thread?

Dimitri wrote:
>
> Over the years I have usually served a 20+ pound whole ham for Christmas
> dinner (lots of guests).
>
> The usual routine is to make a paste of orange rind, a small amount of OJ,
> brown sugar and ground clove then score the ham apply the paste and let it
> sit for about a week wrapped tightly.
>
> The year I am thinking about "mellowing" the ham by soaking it in apple
> cider for several days.
> For the life of me I'm stumped about adding a spice or an herb or another
> flavoring to the cider.
>
> Of course the ham will be clove studded prior to warming.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Dimitri

"Kent H." > wrote in message
...
> Are you talking about reversing the cure on a cured pork leg, or Ham to
> most of us, or are you talking about doing something like Sheldon's post
> preceeding this thread?
>
<Snip>

Well, once a meat is cured or pickled I don't think is possible to reverse
the process. Now having said that the question becomes will the soaking
remove some of the sodium content thereby removing and not masking the
"salty" flavor. If that process is valid and I see no reason why not what
would one use to enhance the flavor?

FYI - At the Farmer John site they say a 2 Oz. serving contains 820 mg of
sodium.

Dimitri