Corned Ham Food

STUFFED HAM, SOUTHERN MARYLAND STYLE

Steps:

• If corning the ham: Cut slits about 3 inches deep in a few places around the bone. Push salt into the incisions and, with a light hand, rub salt all over the surface of the ham. Reserve any remaining salt to rub into the ham as it corns, adding more if needed later in the process. Place the ham in a nonreactive pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and place it in refrigerator for a week. Unwrap and turn it every couple of days, sprinkling with more reserved salt and pouring off any juice that collects each time. Rewrap. The day before you are going to stuff the ham, rinse off the salt and soak the ham overnight in cold water in the refrigerator.
• Make the stuffing: The goal is to chop all the vegetables so the pieces are small and relatively uniform in size. Begin by chopping the cabbage. A food processor with a shredding blade is helpful. Place the cabbage in a large pan or bowl. Remove large stems from the kale and other greens, if you are using them, and chop. (Tip: Freeze cleaned, whole kale leaves overnight in plastic bags, then break up the frozen leaves while still in the bag and add to the stuffing mixture.) Chop the yellow onions and scallions, and add them to the cabbage and kale.
• Mix the vegetables well and add the spices. Mix again. (Your hands will work best for this, but wear gloves if your skin is sensitive to pepper.) Taste the stuffing and adjust, adding more cayenne or red-pepper flakes for a more intense spiciness. Keep in mind that the long boiling time will soften the heat.
• Stuff the ham: Remove the bone, or have the butcher remove it for you. The ham should be almost butterflied. Add the bone to a pot large enough to hold the ham, fill with enough water to cover it and begin to heat the water to a boil.
• While the water heats, set the ham on a sheet pan and cut slits about 3 inches long and 2 inches deep in a few places to make pockets, being careful not to slice through the meat completely. The number of slits will depend on the size of the ham. The goal is an even distribution of stuffing. Pack the slits tightly with stuffing, and add stuffing to the center of the ham where the bone was. Close the ham and secure it with kitchen string.
• Prepare a large square of cheesecloth at least 3 layers thick. Spoon a layer of stuffing over the cheesecloth and set the ham on it. Pack more stuffing on the top and sides of the ham. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth to the top and twist tightly to form a compact package. Tie the top tightly with string.
• Lower the ham into boiling water, reduce heat to a simmer and add any juice that has collected from the stuffing. Skim any foam that rises. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
• Turn off the heat and let the ham cool slightly in the water, about an hour. (Old-timers simply put the whole pot on the porch overnight if the weather was cool, or left it on the stove until completely cooled.) Drain the ham in a colander and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Remove the cheesecloth and string, and reserve any stuffing around the ham.
• To serve, slice the ham across the grain, so each slice contains stuffing and meat. Pile additional stuffing around the slices. The ham can be reheated, but more often it is served cold.

CORNED HAM RECIPE

Steps:

• Rinse ham well under cold running water.
• Pat dry with paper towels.
• Trim away excess fat and skin pieces.
• Cut incisions next to the three bones. About 3 inches wide, as deep as your knife will go.
• Pack incisions with kosher salt, pressing it in deep, packing until full.
• Place salted ham in a non-reactive pan. Glass or stainless steel is preferred.
• Cover with clear plastic wrap.
• Cover again with aluminum foil.
• Refrigerate for 11 days, turning about every four days and draining away any liquids in pan.
• On day 12, remove from refrigerator.
• Rinse off all the salt, making sure to rinse away the salt inside the three pocket areas.
• Place ham in large container, cover ham with water, let soak overnight in the refrigerator.
• Remove from water, rinse again.

MIRIAM REICHL'S CORNED BEEF HAM

Steps:

• Cover corned beef with water in a large pot. Add bay leaves and onion. Cook over medium heat about 3 hours, until meat is very tender.
• While meat is cooking, mix mustard and brown sugar. Preheat oven to 325°.
• Take meat from water and remove all visible fat. Insert cloves into meat as if it were ham. Cover the meat with the mustard mixture and bake 1 hour, basting frequently with the peach syrup.
• Surround meat with spiced peaches and serve.

CORNED BEEF AND HAM HASH

Steps:

• Pierce potatoes with a fork and microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the microwave and chop when cool enough to handle.
• Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add chopped potatoes, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in corned beef and ham and season with salt and pepper. Cook until potatoes are crispy on the bottom, about 5 more minutes.
• While the potatoes are cooking, crack eggs into a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook until outer edges become opaque, about 1 minute. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until whites are completely set, about 4 minutes.
• Plate the potato mixture and place fried eggs on top.

COTTAGE ROLL /COTTAGE HAM

Steps:

• Place cottage roll in roasting pan or crockpot.
• Surround it with potatoes, carrots, onion and cabbage if you like.
• You can add as many as will fit or what you need for supper or use any size cottage roll that will fit.
• Sprinkle with pepper and cover roast 3/4 with water.
• cover and Bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours or in crockpot on high 6 hours or low 8-10 hours.
• Cottage roll should fall apart like a pot roast.
• Serve with mustard (dijon is my favorite).
• The leftover stock can be spiced up as a gravy or makes a great bean or pea soup base.