Country Hams

(they were Robertson Ham's until just a few years ago)

Time flies, Mark ... they were already Finchville when I featured them in a NY Times travel article in 1992.

My age is showing!

While I've heard very good things about Newsom's and Father's hams (both have web sites) I've never tried either, but Finchville makes a great country ham.....and don't forget the Red Eye Gravy!!

Are these the types of country hams you have to spend like three days soaking in water to rehydrate them?

Are these the types of country hams you have to spend like three days soaking in water to rehydrate them?

I know that used to be the case w/whole country hams....when I was a kid, my father always bought one for the holidays, and Mom would soak it to rehydrate and cut some of the saltiness (I didn't recall it taking three days)....pre-packaged country hams available at the stores tend not to require soaking before their cooked.

Newsom's is quite smooth, I think it is closer to a natural proscuitto in profile.

Once again, I have to give a nod to the guys at Gatton Farms in Bremen, Ky who are responsible for...
http://www.fatherscountryhams.com/
I am quite fond of the readily available Clifty Farms as well!

I am going to concur here. Father's hands down!

For me, this has been a very interesting subject. There have been some great quality hams mentioned herein.

Since a small boy, "the best of country hams" has been a pursuit of mine. I think I also give the 'nod' to "Father s Hams", but most mentioned are excellent!

Years ago, I asked Mr Gatton to give me a Farm Tour and further asked him to teach me how to select a good ham. He obliged me as well and additionally asked me to lunch since his wife was preparing some delicious 'fresh catfish".... At the table, was none other than Governor Martha Lane Collins who once commissioned me as a Kentucky Colonel. Yes, the fish was almost as good as their ham.

I once asked Mr Gatton who might be the most famous person who enjoyed their hams. He said while scratching his head, " I think maybe the "POPE" might be..."..

Supposedly, Mr Gatton died of a heart attack on a Louisville Sidewalk. He was doing what he did best, "delivering a Gatton Ham".. I like to think he ll meet that Pope up stairs.

JJG III

Mmmmm, mail order pork!

I was browsing the websites for the various ham companies and I noticed they offer both cooked and uncooked ham. I'm pretty sure I've never seen the concept of an uncooked ham up here. I thought the curing process actually cooked all hams.

What's the difference, and which is preferred?

The curing process doesn't cook the ham, Steve. You must fry or bake a country salt cured ham. If you get a whole ham there are several different methods for cooking them and I'm sure that everyone on here has a tried and true method handed down to them. This is the way my Mom taught me to cook a whole country ham (it was always Robertson's and then Finchville for our family):

1. With warm water wash and scrub (with a wire brush or sturdy scrub brush) the ham clean of excess salt and mold and soak completely immersed in water overnight in the fridge.

2. To fry, slice the ham 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick and slowly cook and turn often. Don't overcook. If ham is unusually lean add some lard to the skillet. Serve this with biscuits and red eye gravy.

3. To bake a whole ham put it in a roasting pan in a 250 degree oven in a mixture of coca cola, brown sugar and a little vinegar. 25 minutes per pound until you get an internal temp of 160 degrees. The ham is done when you can stick a knife in the thick part with little resistance and the meat is separating from the bone. Then remove the skin and excess fat, return the ham to the roasting pan and rub brown sugar, vinegar and dry mustard and broil until sugar is melted. When that ham is browned to your liking take it out and put some baked apple slices on it. You can serve it hot or at room temp, whichever way you like it.

Make some more red eye gravy (you won't have any left over from breakfast if you fried some side meat and made biscuits) cook up some more biscuits, succotash, fried cabbage, cornbread, the frozen greasy grit beans and corn you saved from the last of the fresh from harvest and eat like a king!!!!!!

It may seem intimidating at first (it was to me when I did my first one all alone for my family) but it is worth your time.

Happy Holidays!

Disclaimer: This is the way my family does country ham. All others may fix it any old way they choose/been taught. Mileage may vary. It is always good.

I've never heard of soaking a ham in water. That's really interesting! My dad always just sliced it up, skimmed the fat and such off the slices if pre-sliced, then boiled in a skillet of water. It doesn't get that good salty browning on it that way, but the boiling does bring out a lot of the salt to make it more palatable, at least to our family.

I've never heard of soaking a ham in water. That's really interesting! My dad always just sliced it up, skimmed the fat and such off the slices if pre-sliced, then boiled in a skillet of water. It doesn't get that good salty browning on it that way, but the boiling does bring out a lot of the salt to make it more palatable, at least to our family.

I'm not sure how much it's done anymore; but sounds like your Dad's method of boiling served the same purpose....

I've never heard of soaking a ham in water. That's really interesting! My dad always just sliced it up, skimmed the fat and such off the slices if pre-sliced, then boiled in a skillet of water. It doesn't get that good salty browning on it that way, but the boiling does bring out a lot of the salt to make it more palatable, at least to our family.

Soaking prior to baking is a common practice. I think it's not needed if you fry the ham and make red-eye.

I've soaked several whole country hams per Alton Brown's technique. The ONLY time I was not exceptionally happy with the outcome was the year I skipped one or two water changes. (BTW, I opted not to use the pickle juice.)

ALTON BROWN'S COUNTRY HAM RECIPE
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/country-ham-recipe/index.html

1 country (dry cured) ham
1 liter Dr. Pepper
1 cup sweet pickle juice, optional

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.

To avoid all the soaking and cooking you can buy the country ham centers which are already cooked and ready to eat. Very premium cut.

Reading this thread has done 2 things. I am craving country ham like a fiend. I am also wondering if any of the local pizza joints offer it as a topping.

[Robin Garr]

I am also wondering if any of the local pizza joints offer it as a topping.

I've never seen that, but if Tony "Boombozz" Palombino reads this, anything could happen ...