63 replies to this topic

[ghostrider]

I'm preparing my first-ever country-style ham for Friday. What should I serve alongside, besides biscuits? I'm having a hard time coming up with a menu here.

I'll second the cornbread idea. I always served country ham with cornbread, baked beans, & collard greens - the last not made with bacon, obviously, since eating them with the ham itself provides the appropriate contrast.

P.S. I'm another one from Missouri.

[annecros]

I'm preparing my first-ever country-style ham for Friday. What should I serve alongside, besides biscuits? I'm having a hard time coming up with a menu here.

Turnips and mustard. And fried sweet potatoes.

[Mayhaw Man]

I spent the weekend eating. And laughing. And learning. Some of it I spent doing all three at once and while that may have ended in some other people wishing that I would eat before I laugh, it's often very hard to accomplish that complex kind of task while one is attending the best good conference on Earth, The Southern Foodways Symposium, held every year towards the end of October on a weekend when the Rebels are off losing a game somewhere else. I can't reccomend it highly enough.

Anyway, as always, somewhere, either buried as a component or as a main ingredient, we enjoyed products made by the MASTER himself, Allan Benton-proprietor of Benton's Smokehouse. You guys can discuss all of this until the cows come home, and that's fine and all, but you won't do any better than just pulling out the card and ordering some ham and bacon from Benton's. It is, truly, a perfect product made with a level of care and skill that is just about impossible to find, anywhere in the world, these days.

So, you guys just keep on gabbing about whatever. I know the answer to this country ham question, and it's simply, and conveniently, Benton's Smokehouse.

[hannnah]

Anyway, as always, somewhere, either buried as a component or as a main ingredient, we enjoyed products made by the MASTER himself, Allan Benton-proprietor of Benton's Smokehouse.

And, should you choose to pay them a visit, this is just about the prettiest time of the year to go. Benton's is just the other side of Sweetwater from my parents' farm, and I can definitely attest to how wonderful their ham and bacon is.

[Malawry]

I'm making the ham for dinner. I have good grits in the freezer (Guilford Mills) so perhaps we'll do those instead of biscuits--plus then I can make grits cakes to go with some leftover ham for breakfast the next morning. We are planning on some sort of apple dessert, but haven't chosen one yet. I was thinking of some sort of greens, they seem to belong in there somewhere. Thanks for any additional tips ya'll can offer.

[ghostrider]

never mind

Edited by ghostrider, 30 October 2007 - 07:09 AM.

[racheld]

on a weekend when the Rebels are off losing a game somewhere else.

Were I any kind of sports fan, or even a good daughter, I would remember that my Daddy would be spinning, spinning if I said I didn't care that you said that.

Rebel games were for wearing my newest, tightest sweater and combing my waist-length hair to best effect for that Saturday-afternoon sunshine (and maybe a handy camera, if the game were televised). I DID go out with a couple of the guys on the team, but I discovered long before most that Jocks as a rule are usually not very interesting off the field---there may be a Mensa member or two somewhere on SOME eleven, but some are downright stupid without a playbook and a coach yelling directions.

So---from a far remove from both you and Ole Miss---I hope your DAWGS did good.

[Lan4Dawg]

I assume you mean REBELS. We here in Georgia are the DAWGS (& that other team fr/ Miss like to pretend).
I have always enjoyed our trips to Oxford. There is some thing about watching a drop dead gorgeous co-ed in a dress that must have cost several hundred dollars and high heels, enough jewelry to keep most stores stocked for a year, and coiffed to the utmost walking along dragging a cooler and sipping fr/ a can of Coors Light that just does the heart good.
I have wanted to attend the symposium ever since I received the notice for the first one but, unfortunately, the thing always lands on a date when the DAWGS are, hopefully, winning some where and that is where you will find Fuss & me. I read w/ great interest about Benton's smoke house and then forgot to take the information w/ me when we were in that direction so did not have a chance to visit.

[racheld]

I assume you mean REBELS.  We here in Georgia are the DAWGS (& that other team fr/ Miss like to pretend). 

NO. I meant YOUR DAWGS, as in wishing you well, and them a victory over whoever they're playing. I didn't care enough about the outcome of the games when I went to school there, and haven't given them much thought since, unless Daddy was here, eagerly searching every cable channel for a Rebel game on the weekend.

He's probably had several discussions with Coach Vaught and Bear Bryant since he passed on, as they were two idols of his.

And that dressed-up hussy might have been ME, since that was my usual attire when attending games, but I don't like beer, so I wasn't strolling drinking any. Or smoking. My Mama WOULDA snatched me bald-headed if she'd caught me with a Kent on a sidewalk. (Our little smoke-breaks together way back when, while we hid from Daddy, are another topic).

Back on topic---I've catered many a Delta game party and Bowl celebration, with big trays of good ole cathead biscuits and country ham on the buffet.

[Lan4Dawg]

I assume you mean REBELS.  We here in Georgia are the DAWGS (& that other team fr/ Miss like to pretend). 

NO. I meant YOUR DAWGS, as in wishing you well, and them a victory over whoever they're playing. I didn't care enough about the outcome of the games when I went to school there, and haven't given them much thought since, unless Daddy was here, eagerly searching every cable channel for a Rebel game on the weekend.

He's probably had several discussions with Coach Vaught and Bear Bryant since he passed on, as they were two idols of his.

And that dressed-up hussy might have been ME, since that was my usual attire when attending games, but I don't like beer, so I wasn't strolling drinking any. Or smoking. My Mama WOULDA snatched me bald-headed if she'd caught me with a Kent on a sidewalk. (Our little smoke-breaks together way back when, while we hid from Daddy, are another topic).

Back on topic---I've catered many a Delta game party and Bowl celebration, with big trays of good ole cathead biscuits and country ham on the buffet.

well thank you & my apologies on the mis-understanding (I thought you were talking to Mayhaw). The gator sausage was a hit last Saturday (alligator sausage perlo and alligator pear salad)--almost as big a hit as the score!

[Doodad]

Late to the game here on the discussion. My uncle's family on his wife's side is from near Winchester and they get ham to die for from the local guy. My aunt was telling me the story of her Dad getting the best one (the oldest, hardest cured) on Thanksgiving morning and using his honed hatchet to cut the pieces off the beast. It is quite hard and well worth the work involved to cut that whole ham up.

Ok, now I am hungry.

[racheld]

well thank you & my apologies on the mis-understanding (I thought you were talking to Mayhaw). 

Dear Lord, I reckon I was!!! I got the two of you all besmuddled (again) and HE must think I'm too senile to breathe---I wrote HIM a "bye--thanks" note when Varmint stepped down last month. Y'all are gonna think I'm too addled to live.

I just get all three of you Southern Gentlemen mixed up in what's left of my feeble mind. You all write well and cook great, and I admire botha those. (I plead house guests for two weeks, one more to go---lotsa talking ALL the time).

OKAY:

Thank you, Varmint, for all your work and kindness toward all of us here at eGullet. Our heartfelt appreciation.

Thank you, Mayhaw Man, for all your brave, courageous reportage on New Orleans for the last couple of years. You're all our Heroes.

Thank you, Lan4Dawg, for stepping to my aid during the big "Eggs in Giblet Gravy" debate WAY back. I was catching Blue Heck from some of the EWWWWW Contingent. You all but requested sabers at sunrise, and I appreciate it.

Now---Go, DAWGS!!

How's that?

[Mayhaw Man]

Just to make things clear here.

It's not DAWGS....


No, no, no.

It's HOGS. WOOOOOOPIIIIIIIIGGGGG! SOOOOOEEEEEEEE! RAZORBACKS!

[racheld]

I'm very ecumenical with my sports support---GO, RAZORBACKS!!! My best friend lives in Arkadelphia, so I'll gladly cheer for them.

I did have an encounter with a REAL one of those in my youth, which looked MUCH smaller dead than alive---he was all snort and tusks and fury, kickin' up clods and running through the brake, and the hunters all scattered and ran before they shot. I was in the relative safety of the back of the step-sider, but it was still a scary moment, as one guy got his rifle caught in the brush and fell down, but piggy was headed for the one who was still running.

A friend's Mom cooked a roast and invited me over, and it was porky, as I remember.

Now, THAT would make a REAL country ham.

Edited by racheld, 03 November 2007 - 06:48 AM.

[DTBarton]

I have been very pleased with hams from Scott hams in Kentucky for the last few years. No nitrates or nitrites, just really good country ham.

http://www.scotthams.com/

[Kim Shook]

Lord, I love Rachel.

Kim

[Lan4Dawg]

Lord, I love Rachel.

Kim

ditto

HDHD

[joiei]

Thank you, Lan4Dawg, for stepping to my aid during the big "Eggs in Giblet Gravy" debate WAY back.  I was catching Blue Heck from some of the EWWWWW Contingent.  You all but requested sabers at sunrise, and I appreciate it. 

Now---Go, DAWGS!!

How's that?

I missed that conversation, but doesn't everyone know that chopped hard boiled eggs go into giblet gravy. It isn't giblet gravy with out it. If you do it any other way, you must be a yankee or from California.

And just the mention of cathead biscuits brings back such good memories of my Granny Weekley. She didn't cook too much that was good, but her biscuits were light as clouds and about as big. And if you slathered it with some of her home made butter and some of her home made plum jelly or alligator pear preserves, mm-mm-mm-mm-mm. Life was good back then.

[Malawry]

"Eternity is two people and a ham."

I can't eat much country ham at once, but I do love its flavor. I've nibbled on plenty, cut some chunks off for the freezer, and thrown some into an incredible split-pea soup. What are some other dishes that are good with some country ham? (I didn't grow up eating the stuff, being from a Jewish Southern household, so I don't have deep reserves of knowledge on the subject...)

[therese]

With Thanksgiving on the horizon, keep Hot Browns in mind. Use a recipe that calls for ham, not bacon.

I dice country ham and add it to cold salads (said cold salads being made of whatever you'd like to make them from---I use fresh peas like lady peas or zipper peas in late summer, but move to black-eyed peas later in the year).

And don't forget, you're going to need some ham on New Year's Day, for luck (along with black-eyed peas). And greens, for wealth. These items are often served on New Years Eve "breakfast" buffets (served at about 2:00 AM, a last snack before one heads off to sleep off ones hangover, with country ham being a really great part of the cure).

[Lan4Dawg]

"Eternity is two people and a ham."

I can't eat much country ham at once, but I do love its flavor. I've nibbled on plenty, cut some chunks off for the freezer, and thrown some into an incredible split-pea soup. What are some other dishes that are good with some country ham? (I didn't grow up eating the stuff, being from a Jewish Southern household, so I don't have deep reserves of knowledge on the subject...)

just about every green vegetable known to man, every single bean, pea, or legume and most soups can be made better by the addition of some country ham. I like to make a ham "gravy" (make a roux w/ bacon or ham fat and onion, then add some diced country ham, and a little milk and cracked pepper) for grits, biscuits, rice, or even roasted chicken or pork chops. I also make what I call a "Southern saltimbocca" and substitute country ham and rat trap cheese for the prosciutto/mozzarella then bread and fry the chicken. It is also a great addition to mac and cheese.

[Kim Shook]

"Eternity is two people and a ham."

I can't eat much country ham at once, but I do love its flavor. I've nibbled on plenty, cut some chunks off for the freezer, and thrown some into an incredible split-pea soup. What are some other dishes that are good with some country ham? (I didn't grow up eating the stuff, being from a Jewish Southern household, so I don't have deep reserves of knowledge on the subject...)

This is a wonderful use of country ham: Crab, Country Ham & Limas w/ Jalapeno Cream

Kim

[DTBarton]

"Eternity is two people and a ham."

I can't eat much country ham at once, but I do love its flavor. I've nibbled on plenty, cut some chunks off for the freezer, and thrown some into an incredible split-pea soup. What are some other dishes that are good with some country ham? (I didn't grow up eating the stuff, being from a Jewish Southern household, so I don't have deep reserves of knowledge on the subject...)

I use it as a flavoring in just about any dish that calls for bacon or pancetta or salt pork. The flavors a little different, but it works well.

[carpetbagger, esq.]

Speaking of country ham...

Went to Rice's Country Hams today, which is an old place in Mt. Juliet (a small town outside of Nashville) in Wilson County, Tennessee. The store was built in 1886, and the Rice family has had it as a store since 1910, curing hams for the last 60 years.

I've been meaning to go for a while, but never got around to it, until today.

Excuse the lousy iphone pics:















Here's what we picked up: spiced tea, peach preserves, bacon, country ham, biscuit mix and some cheese ball from a place called Simonton's




Looking forward to trying it all!

[Holly Moore]

Any idea as to how much age the hams have on them?

[carpetbagger, esq.]

Holly,

The lady i spoke with said they start the process on jan 1 and let them age until 10/1 at the earliest. Why 10/1? Because that's when they open the store.

If you happen to make a trip to Nashville next fall, I'll take you out there. Oh, and if you come back to update "eating the south: tennessee," you should definitely check out pat martin's bbq joint in nolensville. he posts here under the name big hoss, and has a blog.

Edited by carpetbagger, esq., 20 December 2007 - 08:10 PM.

[Holly Moore]

Actually I'm in Nashville overnight every four weeks - travel there every two weeks.

Have made it to Martin's and found it great. Just have to get it and about twenty other joints up on my site.

[celeriac]

So... I'm a very lucky guy and I received a wonderful gift of my first-ever country ham this morning. I'm trying to figure out what I'll do with it. I'm thinking that I would like to cook most of it and use a bit raw as well. One of my concerns is that I don't have a big household, just two of us, and I don't know how it will keep in each of these states once I've cut into it. So... how will it keep, once cut, raw and cooked? Will it freeze well in either state? And can I cut a big chunk of it off with a hacksaw (for using raw), or will it be too unwieldy?

Thanks... I'm really looking forward to it!

[celeriac]

So... I'm a very lucky guy and I received a wonderful gift of my first-ever country ham this morning. I'm trying to figure out what I'll do with it. I'm thinking that I would like to cook most of it and use a bit raw as well. One of my concerns is that I don't have a big household, just two of us, and I don't know how it will keep in each of these states once I've cut into it. So... how will it keep, once cut, raw and cooked? Will it freeze well in either state? And can I cut a big chunk of it off with a hacksaw (for using raw), or will it be too unwieldy?

Thanks... I'm really looking forward to it!

Whoops, I found answers to my own questions, with a bit more searching. In case anyone else is curious, I'll share. From Newsom's web site:

When ham is to be fried or broiled it is best to have ham sliced on a power saw. Scrape the slices to remove bone dust before refrigeration. Since Col. Newsom's Kentucky Country Ham is cured and aged under federal inspection, your favorite supermarket or butcher may slice it for you. Take the cooking brochure with you to the market as the small, round seal on its front indicates a federal inspection number and without proof of inspection, slicing by a commercial store is forbidden under laws of storekeeping inspection.

3. To keep after slicing, coat each slice lightly on both sides with shortening or lard. Put the desired number of slices in foil, wrap tightly and put in refrigerator until needed.

4. Ham may be kept in deep freeze for several months after slicing, if properly wrapped.

[DTBarton]

I have to cut the hock end off of a country ham in order for it to fit in my roasting pan. I use a well washed cross cut saw, but a hack saw works as well. I save the hock raw for cooking beans or bean soup. I cook the rest of the ham (the usual wash, soak, change water routine) in the turkey roaster on top of the stove for about 4 or 5 hours until internal temp hits 165 or so. I put the ham on a small wire rack to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the roaster and put about 2 inches of water in the roaster and cook it at a simmer.

I cut the cooked ham up into portion sized chunks and vacuum pack it, it keeps beautifully frozen.