Fresh Ham Roasted With Rye Bread And Dried Fruit Stuffing Food

FRESH HAM WITH TUSCAN BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Place the ham on a large cutting board. Remove the bone, and butterfly the meat; reserve the bone. (Alternatively have your butcher do this.)
• Make the ham broth. Put the ham bone into a large stockpot. Add the carrots, onion, celery and sage. Cover with water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer the ham broth, uncovered. Skim frequently and cook until the broth has reduced to 2 quarts, about 2 hours. Strain the broth and measure out 1 quart and set it aside. Freeze or refrigerate the remaining broth for another purpose.
• Meanwhile, prepare the ham and stuffing. In a medium bowl, soak the bread in the milk until it is soft, about 15 minutes. Squeeze the bread and put it in a large mixing bowl. Add the pine nuts, raisins, olives, garlic, spinach, Parmesan and mix.
• Lay the ham fat-side up. Using a sharp knife, score the fat in a diamond pattern, making each slash about 2-inches apart and 1/4-inch deep. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. Combine the basil, thyme and parsley leaves in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and enough of olive oil to form a paste, about 1/2 cup. Rub the herb paste all over the ham.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lay the ham fat-side down. Place several cups of the bread stuffing in the center of the ham. Roll the ham into a log taking care that the stuffing is evenly distributed. (Remaining stuffing can be cooked in a baking dish for 40 minutes before serving.) Tie the rolled ham with kitchen string at 3-inch intervals.
• Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat in a roasting pan just large enough to accommodate the ham. Add the ham roll and brown it on all sides, about 20 minutes. Remove the ham and place a rack in the pan (or fabricate 1 from aluminum foil).
• Place the ham on the rack. Pour half of the stock into the pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and let the ham cook for 4 hours, basting every 30 minutes or so with the pan juices. Add more stock if the pan seems dry. When the ham is tender remove it from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Tent the ham with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove the string and slice the ham about 2 inches thick. Serve with additional stuffing and polenta.
• Serving suggestion: polenta.

ROASTED FRESH HAM WITH CITRUS AND RYE

Steps:

• Using a utility knife or a sharp knife, carefully score skin of ham at 3/4"-1" intervals in a crosshatch pattern, taking care to cut just through skin and fat, not into the meat.
• Whisk sage, 1/4 cup salt, orange zest, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Rub salt mixture all over ham. Transfer ham and any excess salt mixture to a jumbo (2-gallon) resealable plastic bag. Place ham in bag on a large rimmed baking sheet and chill, turning ham every day to ensure even curing, for 4 days.
• Remove ham from bag and pat dry with paper towels. Let ham stand at room temperature for 2 hours.
• Arrange a rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 500°F. Place ham, shank bone up, on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Roast ham until skin turns deep golden brown and starts to puff, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°F. Carefully add 1 cup water to pan (it may spatter) and roast, rotating pan once, for 1 hour.
• Add 2 cups water to pan. Scatter star anise around ham; continue to roast, rotating pan every 45 minutes and adding more water if needed to maintain 1/4" liquid in bottom of pan, until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of ham registers 140°F, 1 1/2-2 hours more. If skin does not crisp within last 30 minutes of cooking, increase heat to 450°F and roast about 5 minutes longer (watch closely).
• Transfer ham to a carving board; let rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 1/2 hours (the ham's internal temperature will increase as it rests to about 150°F). Pour juices from roasting pan through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup; set juices aside and discard solids in strainer.
• Set roasting pan over two burners; add rye. Cook over high heat, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan, until rye is reduced by half, about 1 minute. Pour rye through same sieve into the measuring cup with ham juices. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes (this will make skimming the fat from the surface much easier).
• Skim fat from surface of juices; discard. Transfer juices (you should have about 1 cup) to a medium saucepan. Add orange juice and broth or 1 cup water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat; stir in butter. Season sauce with salt, if needed. Carve ham. Pass sauce alongside.

FRESH HAM ROASTED WITH RYE BREAD AND DRIED FRUIT STUFFING

Steps:

• Have your butcher bone and butterfly the ham and score the fat in a diamond pattern. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 2/3 of the garlic, 2/3 of the caraway seeds, 3 teaspoons of the salt and pepper to taste and rub the mixture over the inside and outside of the pork. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Place in a large bowl with the bread cubes, prunes, apricots, apple, rosemary, egg, remaining caraway seeds, remaining teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Mix until well combined.
• Open out the pork, spread the stuffing, fold the pork around it and tie securely with twine. Place in a large, deep roasting pan and pour in the chicken broth. Bake, basting from time to time, until the roast reaches 145 degrees on a meat thermometer, about 3 1/2 hours. Let stand for 15 minutes. Degrease the pan juices, slice serve passing the juices separately.

BAKED FRESH HAM: BUZHENINA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• With a sharp knife score the fat of the ham in a diamond pattern. Rub generously with salt and pepper. Mix together the mustard and brown sugar and spread all over the ham.
• Set the ham on a rack in a roasting pan, fat-side up, add 1 cup of the beer and 1 cup of the apple cider, the cloves and the bay leaves, and roast for 20 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. degrees and continue roasting, basting occasionally with the pan juices, until a meat thermometer inserted diagonally into the thickest part of the ham registers 155 degrees F. about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. As the ham roasts, replenish the beer and the cider in the pan. If the top of the ham brown too much, cover it loosely with foil.
• Remove the ham from the oven and let stand, covered loosely with foil, for about 30 to 40 minutes, during which time the internal temperature will rise. Carve the ham into thin slices and serve with the pears.

HAM-STUFFED BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the egg, oil and salt and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add the tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the ham, vinegar and oregano. Cool. , Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 14x12-in. rectangle. Spread filling over dough to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal and tuck ends under. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Do not let rise. , Bake at 375° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

FRESH HAM WITH CRACKLINGS AND PAN GRAVY

Steps:

• With a small sharp knife prick the ham skin all over, make 4 parallel 1/2-inch-deep incisions through the skin the entire length of the ham, and rub the ham lightly with the oil. In a small bowl rub together the coarse salt, the thyme, the sage, the pepper, and the mustard and rub the mixture over the entire surface of the ham. Put the ham on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan and put the pan in a preheated 500°F. oven. Reduce the temperature immediately to 325°F.> and roast the ham for 1 hour. Pour half the beer over the ham, roast the ham for 30 minutes more, and pour the remaining beer over the ham. Roast the ham for 2 1/2 hours more, or until a meat thermometer registers 170°F., and let it cool on the rack in the pan for 15 minutes. Pull off the brown crisp skin, leaving the layer of fat on the ham, with scissors cut the skin into small pieces, and arrange the cracklings in one layer in a baking pan. Sprinkle the cracklings with salt and bake them in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until they are crisp and browned. Transfer the cracklings to paper towels and let them drain. Cut the remaining fat from the ham, slice the meat thinly across the grain, and arrange it on a platter. Keep the ham warm, covered.
• Skim off the fat from the juices in the roasting pan, add 1 cup water, and deglaze the pan over moderate heat, scraping up the brown bits. Transfer the liquid to a saucepan. In a small bowl whisk together the flour and 1/4 cup of the broth until the flour is dissolved and whisk the mixture into the deglazing liquid with the remaining 3/4 cup broth, the mustard, the sage, the thyme, and the vinegar and pepper to taste, and simmer the gravy, whisking, for 5 minutes.
• Garnish the ham with the cracklings and the watercress sprigs and serve it with the gravy.