Baked Country Ham Food

BAKED COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• The afternoon before you plan to serve the ham, fill a very large kettle or pot or your sink with water. Soak ham 4 to 8 hours to lose some of the saltiness; change the water 2 or 3 times, if possible. Rinse well, and scrape off any mold or green rind.
• Wrap ham well in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet. At 7 p.m. the night before you plan to serve the ham, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the wrapped ham in a large roasting pan filled with 1 inch of water, and bake for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven, but do not open the door. At 10 P.M., turn the oven back on to 500 degrees. Bake the ham for 15 minutes more. Turn off the oven, but do not open the door. Leave the ham in the closed oven overnight.
• Remove ham from the oven, then remove the aluminum foil. Using a very sharp knife, trim the rind and all the fat from the ham. Serve the ham warm or at room temperature; cut with a ham-slicing knife into very thin slivers.

COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.
• Set ham into the prepared roasting pan and pierce several times with a fork.
• Stir brown sugar, peach preserves, and mustard together in a bowl; spread over the ham. Cover the ham with a sheet of aluminum foil.
• Roast ham in preheated oven, basting regularly, for 90 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil cover and continue baking until hot in the center, 30 to 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 140 degrees F (60 degrees C).

BAKED COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Do not soak ham! First remove the hock, then skin and trim the ham to fit a large roasting pan. Scrub the exterior, leaving as much fat beneath the skin as possible. This helps remove the salt from an overly salty ham and imparts special flavor to the cured meat.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• To bake ham in a crust, assemble dry ingredients and enough of the 2 cups of water to make a soft, spreadable dough - like a soft biscuit. Place the ham in roaster on a rack, skin side up. Spread the dough over the skin side of the ham. Bake for about 3 hours uncovered.
• When the time is up, remove the crust and discard. After ham cools, remove it to a cutting board for deboning. Many like their ham served cold, but I enjoy a warm ham with any meal.

BAKED COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Place ham in a large container; cover with cold water. Soak for 16 hours in the refrigerator; change water once. Pour off water. Scrub ham in warm water with a stiff brush; rinse well. Cut skin from ham; trim off fat. Insert cloves in ham.
• Preheat oven to 325 degree F. Place ham, fat-trimmed side up, in a large roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest portion of the ham, making sure it doesnt touch fat or bone. Pour apple cider or apple juice over ham.
• Bake ham, covered, in the preheated oven for 4 to 4-1/2 hours or until the meat thermometer registers 160 degree F. Drain off the pan juices.
• For glaze, combine brown sugar and ground cloves. Add just enough sherry or wine vinegar to make a paste. Spread glaze over fat side of ham.
• Bake ham, uncovered, about 30 minutes more or until the meat thermometer registers 170 degree F. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing. Transfer to a large platter and, if desired, garnish with pears and lemon leaves. Makes 25 to 30 servings.

COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Unwrap ham and scrub off any surface mold (if you hung in a sack for 6 months you'd have mold too). Carefully remove hock with hand saw. (If this idea makes you eye your first aid kit, ask your butcher to do it. But make sure you keep the hock, it's the best friend collard greens ever had.)
• Place ham in cooler and cover with clean water. (As long as it's not too dirty you can use what southerners call the "hose pipe"). Stash the cooler in the bushes. If it's summer, throw in some ice. If it's freezing out, keep the cooler inside. Change the water twice a day for two days turning the ham each time.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place ham in a large disposable turkey-roasting pan and add enough Dr. Pepper to come about halfway up the side of the ham. Add pickle juice if you've got it and tent completely with heavy-duty foil. Cook for 1/2 hour then reduce heat to 325 degrees F, and cook another 1 1/2 hours.
• Turn the ham over, insert an oven safe thermometer (probe-style is best) and cook another 1 1/2 hours, or until the deepest part of the ham hits 140 degrees F (approximately 15 to 20 minutes per pound total).
• Let rest 1/2 hour then slice paper-thin. Serve with biscuits or soft yeast rolls.
• Cooks note: Even after soaking, country ham is quite salty, so thin slicing is mandatory. If you're a bacon fan, however, cut a thicker (1/4-inch) slice and fry it up for breakfast.

BAKED COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Place ham in a heavy roasting pan.
• To make the glaze, mince garlic in a food processor.
• Add remaining ingredients; process until smooth.
• Pour glaze over ham and bake 1 hour, until ham is fully heated and glaze is well browned.
• Serve hot or at room temperature.

CIDER-BAKED COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Place ham in a Dutch oven or large kettle. Add cider, peppercorns and bay leaf. Add enough water just to cover; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour., Drain, reserving 3 cups cooking liquid; discard peppercorns and bay leaf. Remove skin from ham if desired; score the surface with shallow cuts, making diamond shapes. Insert whole cloves in the center of each diamond. Combine applesauce, horseradish and mustard; rub over ham., Place ham on a rack in shallow roasting pan; pour reserved liquid into pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour or until a thermometer reads 140°. Remove from the oven; cover with foil and let stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

COUNTRY-STYLE BAKED HAM AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Grease a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
• Saute' onion in butter until soft but not browned.
• Place half of the potatoes in a thin layer in the bottom of the baking dish.
• Cover with half the onion.
• Place ham on top. spread with mustard.
• Cover with remaining onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Cover with potatoes. Add broth.
• Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes.
• Add half and half. Sprinkle cheese on top.
• Continue baking at 375F until potatoes are tender and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

HOW TO COOK A COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Scrub ham thoroughly with a stiff brush.
• Place ham in large pot or pan--even a cooler will work. Cover it completely with water and allow to soak for 24 hours, (discard water).
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Put ham in large roaster fat side up and again cover completely with water. place in oven on lowest shelf and bake for 2 hours. Turn ham to other side and cook another 2 hours. It takes 4 to 41/2 hours in all or 15 to 18 minutes per pound for a good tender ham.
• Remove ham from oven, but leave in water overnight (do NOT refrigerate).
• The next day preheat oven to 425°F.
• Remove and discard ham skin. Sprinkle fat with ground cloves.
• Combine sugar with enough vinegar to make a paste and brush on ham. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes; let rest for 1 hour out of the oven, then slice and serve.

CRAZY GOOD SOUTHERN BAKED HAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place ham fat side-up on a rack in a roasting pan. Score ham fat in a crisscross design; season with sea salt.
• Mix brown sugar, sorghum syrup, brown mustard, brandy, dry mustard, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger together in a bowl for the basting mixture. Brush 1/3 basting mixture on top of ham and stick cloves into fat. Pour coffee into bottom of roasting pan.
• Cook ham in the preheated oven, brushing with remaining basting mixture every 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 2 hours total.

COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Put ham in a very large container, such as a bucket, and cover with water. Let soak 3 days, changing water at least twice a day. Scrub with a stiff brush; rinse well.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put ham in a large, deep, heavy roasting pan; transfer to oven. Add enough boiling water to come half-way up sides of ham. Cover with foil. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 160 degrees, about 20 minutes per pound. Check occasionally to ensure cooking liquid is just simmering; adjust oven temperature as needed. Remove from oven; let cool in cooking liquid. Remove skin, leaving a small amount of fat on surface.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place ham on a baking sheet lined with foil. Score fat in a crosshatch pattern, if desired. Cook sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved. Spread over ham. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and brush with glaze from pan. Bake until sugar has caramelized and is bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes more. Cut into very thin slices. Serve warm or at room temperature.

COUNTRY HAM AND BISCUIT BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• In a medium saucepan melt margarine.
• Add onion; cook until tender.
• Blend in flour, pepper and dry mustard.
• Add milk all at once.
• Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened.
• Cook and stir 1 minute more.
• Add cheese; stir until melted.
• Stir in potato, ham and peas.
• Spoon mixture into a 10x6-inch baking dish; top with biscuits.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.