I think country ham is America's version of Parma or Proscuitto. But I
don't have a band saw to slice it bone and all.

This weekend we got a 17 pound dried country ham at a good price. $1.99
a pound. I figure I'll use the hock in big pot of baked beans, and I'll
slice some off the bone until I get tired of doing that. I'll want to
bake a big chunk of it. That leaves what to do with the other half of
the giant thing and does the bone go in anything but soup stock.

What do you do with salty dried country hams? There are just the two of
us so once I open the package I'll end up with a bunch of chunks cut off
the bone when I butcher it. Maybe I can rest and go at slicing it more.

Is there a practical way to soften it up to the point I can remove the
bone from it and still have it freezable? It would be very nice to put
the chunks in the slicer and end up with a ton of slices. A few years
ago we saw a Canadian knock-off of Proscuitto that we could bone. We
ended up with a lot of proscuitto slices in the freezer from that
purchase.

On Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:36:33 +0000 (UTC), Doug Freyburger
> wrote:

> Is there a practical way to soften it up to the point I can remove the
> bone from it and still have it freezable? It would be very nice to put
> the chunks in the slicer and end up with a ton of slices. A few years
> ago we saw a Canadian knock-off of Proscuitto that we could bone. We
> ended up with a lot of proscuitto slices in the freezer from that
> purchase.

Too late now, but maybe you could have asked the butcher to cut it
with his band saw. I did that with a large frozen turkey that was on
sale, but too big for me to want to deal with all at once.

--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

On Mar 30, 12:36*pm, Doug Freyburger > wrote:
> I think country ham is America's version of Parma or Proscuitto. *But I
> don't have a band saw to slice it bone and all.
>
> This weekend we got a 17 pound dried country ham at a good price. *$1.99
> a pound. *I figure I'll use the hock in big pot of baked beans, and I'll
> slice some off the bone until I get tired of doing that. *I'll want to
> bake a big chunk of it. *That leaves what to do with the other half of
> the giant thing and does the bone go in anything but soup stock.
>
> What do you do with salty dried country hams? *There are just the two of
> us so once I open the package I'll end up with a bunch of chunks cut off
> the bone when I butcher it. *Maybe I can rest and go at slicing it more..
>
> Is there a practical way to soften it up to the point I can remove the
> bone from it and still have it freezable? *It would be very nice to put
> the chunks in the slicer and end up with a ton of slices. *A few years
> ago we saw a Canadian knock-off of Proscuitto that we could bone. *We
> ended up with a lot of proscuitto slices in the freezer from that
> purchase.

You really shouldn't just bake a country ham without at least soaking
it first. Seriously. If it is a true country ham, if it came to
you in a burlap sack or cloth bag and was cured with salt and hung to
dry, you really do need to soak it....for quite a while , two or three
days, and change the soaking water about twice or three times a day.
Do it in the refrigerator or in a cooler to
keep the soaking water cold.

It's not like Proscuitto, trust me, it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
saltier. If it's a real country ham.

sf wrote:
> Doug Freyburger > wrote:
>
>> Is there a practical way to soften it up to the point I can remove the
>> bone from it and still have it freezable? It would be very nice to put
>> the chunks in the slicer and end up with a ton of slices. A few years
>> ago we saw a Canadian knock-off of Proscuitto that we could bone. We
>> ended up with a lot of proscuitto slices in the freezer from that
>> purchase.
>
> Too late now, but maybe you could have asked the butcher to cut it
> with his band saw. I did that with a large frozen turkey that was on
> sale, but too big for me to want to deal with all at once.

Not too late for the next one. Thanks for the reminder. I looked
around and it didn't look like they had a band saw available so I
didn't ask.

ImStillMags wrote:
> Doug Freyburger > wrote:
>
>> I think country ham is America's version of Parma or Proscuitto. *But I
>> don't have a band saw to slice it bone and all.
>
> You really shouldn't just bake a country ham without at least soaking
> it first. Seriously. If it is a true country ham, if it came to
> you in a burlap sack or cloth bag and was cured with salt and hung to
> dry, you really do need to soak it....for quite a while , two or three
> days, and change the soaking water about twice or three times a day.
> Do it in the refrigerator or in a cooler to
> keep the soaking water cold.

Thanks!

There's a layer of white paper as well. That's the type of ham. This
one says it was made in Kentucky. It's a different brand than the
ones I've gotten in VA and NC or at Cracker Barrel but the size,
smell and wrapping are the same other than the logos. Those are the
directions for how to bake it. There are more steps than you listed. No
way I'll bake the entire thing, but I will do that with the portion I
will bake. Maybe a third of it.

> It's not like Proscuitto, trust me, it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
> saltier. If it's a real country ham.

It's not aged as slowly as the European dry cured ham so it's saltier,
agreed. It's a parallel product not the same thing. As usual with
something that can be considered a substitute it's not the same as the
original. So even a slice should to be soaked before I can treat it
like Proscuitto? Prior times I've gotten thinly sliced country ham I've
used it without soaking and it does work as long as the other
ingredients are not salty ones. But like Parma I have used it in spice
quantities for such applications so there wasn't enough for the salt
content to overwhelm.

Beans from the hock

Soup stock from the bone

Thinly sliced and used according to the directions on the package for
that use

Baked and used according to the directions on the package
for that use

So far that's the list. Looks like I'll put in more effort doing the
slicing and get as many slices as I can because the slices can be
frozen.

On Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:01:05 -0700 (PDT), ImStillMags
> wrote:

> You really shouldn't just bake a country ham without at least soaking
> it first. Seriously. If it is a true country ham, if it came to
> you in a burlap sack or cloth bag and was cured with salt and hung to
> dry, you really do need to soak it....for quite a while , two or three
> days, and change the soaking water about twice or three times a day.
> Do it in the refrigerator or in a cooler to
> keep the soaking water cold.

Now you tell me (just kidding).

I bought a Smithfield years and years ago, not knowing a thing about
how to treat it (no instructions at that time and if I was on the
internet, it wasn't the internet we have today). Oh, man. That thing
was horrible! I've never been tempted to do it again.

--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

ImStillMags wrote:
>
> You really shouldn't just bake a country ham without at least soaking
> it first. Seriously. If it is a true country ham, if it came to
> you in a burlap sack or cloth bag and was cured with salt and hung to
> dry, you really do need to soak it....for quite a while , two or three
> days, and change the soaking water about twice or three times a day.
> Do it in the refrigerator or in a cooler to
> keep the soaking water cold.

My wife called the manufacture to ask what else to do with it. Soak the
whole thing in hot water and rinse a bunch of times to get it soft
enough to pierce the skin/shell. Then cut it into chunks for baking,
steaks for dinner main courses, slices to be used as we might use parma
or proscuitto, and the shank for baked beans at the annual chucrh
campout.

She asked if they use nitrates in the cure. They do. it turns out that
high doses of nitrates interfere with her vocal chords. No idea why but
it seems to be the only ill effect. She has an interview Monday
morning. Now there are a bunch of bags of country ham in the freeze
waiting for dinner Monday or Tuesday. Soaking "probably" removed enough
of the nitrates to not be an issue but it's a preserved product so it
can wait a few more days.

Costco had good looking Dungeness crabs and sacks of clams. Friday
dinner was crab and salad. Yesterday was homemade clam chowder. Yum.

Doug Freyburger wrote:
>
> waiting for dinner Monday or Tuesday. Soaking "probably" removed enough
> of the nitrates to not be an issue but it's a preserved product so it
> can wait a few more days.

The nitric oxide from the curing salts binds to the
myoglobin. You can't leach that out. You can only
leach out unreacted curing salts. I don't have any
idea what % of the curing salts remain unreacted in
meat, but I'd guess it varies considerably depending
on the pickling recipe and method.

On Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:36:16 -0700, sf wrote:
[....]
> I bought a Smithfield years and years ago, not knowing a thing about how
> to treat it (no instructions at that time and if I was on the internet,
> it wasn't the internet we have today). Oh, man. That thing was
> horrible! I've never been tempted to do it again.

I once bought one at a little country store on a Virginia back
road, and found a recipe that called for simmering it in two or three
changes of cider. I did.

The ham was OK, iirc, but the cider was sheer brine -- unusable
for anything.

--
Beartooth Implacable, PhD, Neo-Redneck Linux Convert
What do they know of country, who only country know?

On Apr 5, 9:28*am, BeartoothHOS > wrote:
> On Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:36:16 -0700, sf wrote:
>
> * * * * [....]
>
> > I bought a Smithfield years and years ago, not knowing a thing about how
> > to treat it (no instructions at that time and if I was on the internet,
> > it wasn't the internet we have today). *Oh, man. *That thing was
> > horrible! I've never been tempted to do it again.
>
> * * * * I once bought one at a little country store on a Virginia back
> road, and found a recipe that called for simmering it in two or three
> changes of cider. I did.
>
> * * * * The ham was OK, iirc, but the cider was sheer brine -- unusable
> for anything.
>
>
> Beartooth
>
>
When I do country ham slices I will place them in a skillet with just
enough water to barely cover them. Simmer the slices for about 15
minutes, turning once. Then dump what water is left and put the ham
slices back in the skillet and repeat the 15 minute cooking time to
get a bit of 'color' on the slices, again turning once. Serve
immediately on hot biscuits. This method leaches out enough salt
without the ham being tasteless but also not leaving you drinking
gallons of water afterward.