Smithfield Ham

[Jim Dixon]

I'v had a Smithfield ham hanging in my basement for the past 2 years, and decided it was time to cook it.

(I bought it in Florida over Thanksgiving 2000...I had read an article by the Sterns about country hams in the airline mag on the flight down from Portland, and when I walked into Publix to buy supplies for the turkey, there was the big Smithfield display. I brought it home in my suitcase and it's been hangin ever since.)

I know about the scrubbing, the soaking, and the boiling before baking, but also remember reading an account of a long, slow baking proces instead of the boiling phase. Anybody got any ideas?

Jim

[Nick]

See the posts Maggie and I made at Christmas Ham

Unless you're heavy duty into salt, I'd boil it before baking.

[ngatti]

Jim,

James Beard's American Cookery has some detailed instructions in the introduction to the chapter; "Ham and Bacon". I have used this to cook several Smithfields and found that you may err on the side of caution vis a vis soaking and boiling, but to attempt to short-cut the process will leave you with a pretty salty ham. Beard calls for 2 and 1/2 hours at the simmer (after a 48 hour soak and scrub). I think these hams can use either more soaking (in changes of water) or a longer slower simmer. Maybe a good apres simmer soak in the water before baking.

Just my two pennies based on my single attempt to cook a bunch of these for a holiday buffet in a Hotel I once worked in.

Good Luck

Nick

[Nick]

Nick#1's right again. I said boil, he says simmer. Simmer. The main idea is to get some of that salt out of it. Simmer would be better. Maybe with a clove or two and some peppercorns?

Edit: And maybe a bayleaf?

Edited December 15, 2002 by Nickn (log)

[malarkey]

I've made several country hams. I've never baked it, always simmered/boiled it. They are very salty, but I think they are delicious if prepared and, this is important, *served* properly.

I don't do a rapid boil, but it is above a simmer. The ham should be completely immersed in the liquid. I like to do a combo of water and wine (red or white) with cloves and cinnamon sticks and other sweet or ham associated things. ;-) I like to serve it with a sweet mustard sauce. There are various recipes for this but my favorite one was done with riesling and honey & mustard and someone else made it so alas, I haven't been able to reproduce it and don't know the recipe. Just remember that sweet goes really well with the salty. (I personally like the leftover slices dipped in maple syrup the next day ;-)

The ham itself: carve with an electric knife, or, if your skills are good a very sharp carving knife. The most important thing is that it MUST be sliced paper thin. Think proscuitto thin. In fact, proscuitto is a close relative of country ham ;-) So, slice it THIN, got it?! THIN I say!!

Let us know how it goes!

[Double 0]

My only addition to all these suggestions is to change water a few times during the simmer. The leftovers work great with eggs for breakfast or a ham hash with potatoes.

[Jim Dixon]

Thanks for good advice...I think I have the Beard book (he's a homie after all), but if I don't, my mother will. It looks like I'd better get started this week if I want to eat ham on Christmas.

Jim

[Ron Johnson]

I didn't realize that a Smithfield ham was a Country ham. We have country hams here in Kentucky and we call them Country Hams. They are made from a combination of smoking and salt curing. They are intensely salty and are usually sliced and pan fried then served on biscuits or with eggs with red-eye gravy and fried apples. It is almost always a breakfast dish.

I was under the impression that Virginia hams and Smithfield hams were somewhat different, and more like the hams that people have as a main course for a holiday meal.

Is a Smithfield ham the same thing as a Kentucky Country Ham?

[Dave the Cook]

I didn't realize that a Smithfield ham was a Country ham.  We have country hams here in Kentucky and we call them Country Hams.  They are made from a combination of smoking and salt curing.  They are intensely salty and are usually sliced and pan fried then served on biscuits or with eggs with red-eye gravy and fried apples.  It is almost always a breakfast dish.

I was under the impression that Virginia hams and Smithfield hams were somewhat different, and more like the hams that people have as a main course for a holiday meal.

Is a Smithfield ham the same thing as a Kentucky Country Ham?

Not if you're from Smithfield.

However, I think the preparation method is the same: salt-cured (though it varies somewhat by producer; some also use pepper, and sugar amy be allowed), then cold-smoked and aged. Genuine Smithfield hams must be processed in a certain area in Virginia (the protection is similar to that enjoyed by Vidalia onions), and the hogs must be fed a particular diet (used to be peanuts, but I think they've loosened this restriction). Note that the originating hog doesn't have to be a resident of Virginia.

I wouldn't serve it as a main course, but as, or as part of, an hors d'oeuvre, amuse or side, it's stellar. Also, as you recommend, as part of a healthy breakfast.

[IsItSoupYet?]

As someone who once lived in Kentucky and now lives in Virginia, I say that the biggest difference between Smithfield ham and country ham is that country ham is much chewier and rough-textured. Smithfield ham has a smoother mouthfeel.

But either of them are AWESOME on a fresh-baked biscuit.

[Jim Dixon]

I was looking through Pepin's Essentials at the bookstore today and, in the header for his recipe for making your own salt-cured ham (!), he casually tosses off a remark to the effect that Smithfield and other cured American hams can be eaten like prosciutto...that is, without any additional cooking.

Anybody done this? Do the American ham curers use a lot more salt than the ham makers across the Atlantic?

Sure seems a lot simpler than all that soaking and boiling.

Jim

[Rail Paul]

Genuine Smithfield hams must be processed in a certain area in Virginia (the protection is similar to that enjoyed by Vidalia onions), and the hogs must be fed a particular diet (used to be peanuts, but I think they've loosened this restriction). Note that the originating hog doesn't have to be a resident of Virginia.

.

The hogs were originally turned loose in the harvested peanut fields. Gleaners for missed peanuts. Maybe something genetic, like looking for truffles.

The peanut diet produced a fattier ham than the American consumer wanted. So, the rules were loosened in the 1980s. Still has to be processed in the Smithfield (county?) region, though.

[KarenS]

I can still remember when my mother made a Smithfield ham. She did not soak or boil it long enough. It was sooo salty we could not eat it (much, much more then proscuitto)

[Adam Balic]

.......other cured American hams can be eaten like prosciutto...that is, without any additional cooking.

Anybody done this?

Yes, me when I was in the States last and very good it was too. Salt issue not a problem to me, but people I was with commented that these hams were not as popular as they once were because of the salt. I like salt.

[Jinmyo]

Adam, I like salt too!

[Adam Balic]

I would be saddened to find out otherwise.

[Mottmott]

I recall Alice Toklas writing that when they were in the south of France during the Occupation, they had a ham that they bought to see them through it (gastronomically speaking). Does this mean that these country cured hams have such an extended shelf life that it can last months, even years, after cutting into it?

What is the shelf life of these country/Sheffield hams once opened up? I assume they should be refrigerated???

[Dave the Cook]

What is the shelf life of these country/Sheffield hams once opened up?  I assume they should be refrigerated???

No need for refrigeration. The smoke and salt content makes it an unlikely target for microbial or insect attack.

An uncooked Smithfield ham will keep for at least a year, if stored in the proverbial "cool, dry place." According to the first post, Jim's had his for two years, so I guess we'll keep our fingers crossed.

[Jim Dixon]

Okay, here's my plan...

I unwrap and scrub the ham to remove the mold, etc.

I figure I might as well go ahead and soak it for a couple of days, too.

I improvise a rack (Pepin suggested a loaf pan or pate tray...both long and narrow..or jamming the ham into a dawer to keep it upright), trim away some of the rind and fat (and keep it), and take a few slices off.

(I can't remember the Italian, but they use an expression that means 'playing the violin' to describe slicing a prosciutto)

So if, at this point, we decide it's much more salty than prosciutto, should I go back to the boiling?

So much hand-wringing over something that country folk have been eating for centuries.

Jim

[Jinmyo]

Jim, if you had a digital camera or could scan a few photos this could be very interesting. I've never had a Smithfield let alone one aged so.

[Double 0]

Jim don't make yourself crazy. Just do what makes sense. Everything I've read here sounds right. I know that once you pop your "cherry" on this you're going to want to do it over and over. Good luck and lets see some pix from start to finish.

[Jim Dixon]

I unwrapped the ham and it looks great (I took a couple of photos and will post them later...they're at home and I'm at work). Minimal mold even after 2 yrs. Gave the ham a quick scrubbing and left it out to dry a bit.

The Pepin book showed him using a bread pan to hold his ham vertical, so I dug out an old loaf pan (one of the those square ones that came with a lid for making little finger sandwich bread) and the ham fits nicely.

Haven't actually cut into it yet. One of my boys wanted to be around when I started, then he left, and then there was a party to cook something for, then cleaning the house, and....

So maybe tonight or tomorrow I'll start cutting.

Right now the ham is in the pan with the hoof end pointing up, and it looks like the prosciutti I remember seeing in Italy. Any opinions about right-side-upness?

Jim

[malarkey]

So if, at this point, we decide it's much more salty than prosciutto, should I go back to the boiling?

well, its hugely more salty than prosciutto. I've never eaten one raw, I've always boiled them so I can't help you there.

once its been cut into, I would say yes you have to refrigerate at that point. would you leave proscuitto sitting out at room temp for days on end? I wouldn't. but, it will last for quite sometime in your fridge.

I think the boiling helps leech out some of the saltiness, especially if you presoak for 3 days (a must, IMO), and change out the water a couple of times when boiling.

Oh, also change out the soaking water as much as possible during the 3 day soak.

Edited December 24, 2002 by malarkey (log)

[mikey]

Here are published instructions for dealing with your ham:

Boil Me

This pretty much duplicates what I've done with country hams in the past.

[Jim Dixon]

Here, at last, is the ham report...

first, a couple of before photos (and pardon the low res of my old camera)

here's the ham just unwrapped:

and in the bread pan holder:

Despite all of your great advice, I just went ahead and cut into the damn thing. It was hard as a rock but I was able to get nice thin slices off with a freshly honed chef's knife. It's definitely saltier than prosciutto, but in small quantities not disagreeably so. Our four grown boys stood around the cutting block in the kitchen and ate the slices as they came off. We agreed that it's sort of like pork jerky.

Here's what it looks like after a few day's damage:

You can see that I wasn't able to get nice flat slices because of the bone.

I tried boiling a few slices to get some of the salt out, and they also absorbed a little moisture, pinked up, and looked more like ham-as-we know-it. But it lost a little flavor, too.

Rather than eat it plain, we've been adding it fritattas, soup (I made a sort of ribolitta and a roasted root vegetable puree, and it's a nice addition to both), and anything else that seems like it benefit from salty ham flavor.

The verdict: for prosciutto-like ham, stick with prosciutto.

would you leave proscuitto sitting out at room temp for days on end?

Malarkey...on this I'll take my cue from the Italians. We stayed at an agriturismo in Friuli and the owner kept his prosciutti (and he made them himself) sitting out from the day he cut into one until the bone was ready for the soup pot. Besides, the thing won't fit in the 'fridge.

Jim