Hi, folks! With Easter right around the corner, I’d like to share a couple things about country ham. Country ham, or sometimes just referred to as salted ham, is ham that is heavily salted, cured, and smoked. This method was originally used before refrigeration was invented, as the meat lasted for months. It is basically inedible until it’s properly prepared. Country ham is so delicious, and a true southern staple!
Start with a long soak
Begin by covering your ham hock or half hock with water in a large stock pot. The water should cover the ham completely. This will help pull the salt from the meat as well as re-hydrating it. It must sit in the water at least 18 hours, draining and refilling the water in pot once. If you like your hams to be really salty, I recommend 18 hours. Less salty, 24-30 hours. I typically soak mine 24 hours. Also, the ham may appear to have mold, this is fine, scrub the ham prior to soaking.
Cover ham with clean, fresh water
At this point, we will be ready for cooking. Boiling on the stove is my preferred method, and the reason why is the BEST kept secret about making country ham. The HAM WATER. Liquid gold, folks, trust me. Ham water will make the best slow cooker beans you’ve ever eaten.
Boil ham
So, cover the ham with fresh clean water and place on stove. Bring to a boil. I use my large canning stock pot for this and will also sometimes place the lid askew over top. The water needs to boil several hours as well as be refilled about halfway through boiling time. Cook ham 20 minutes per pound. DO NOT DISCARD THE HAM WATER!
Allow to rest until ham reaches room temperature.
Once ham is done cooking, allow to cool about 20-30 minutes on stove. This will allow you to handle the large pot a little easier. Place ham on platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil, allowing to rest until it comes to room temperature. This will take a few hours. Once at room temperature, it becomes much easier to carve, and at this point you can also slice the fat off the ham. Hot ham just crumbles.
Save the ham water for later use.
I seriously hope you saved that water! Now, I store mine in either several gallon sized freezer ziploc bags, or large containers, in my freezer. Use this water for a delicious slow cooker ham and beans recipe I have and you won’t be sorry! Promise!
Leave a Reply