Smithfield Ham

[Rhea_S]

I much prefer a "city" honey ham over a Smithfield ham. It's still a bit salty on it's own for my taste. It's great mixed in dishes or eaten with lots of rice or fresh biscuits, but I can't eat it alone. There's half a leg left that I'm going to bone, cut into smaller pieces and toss in the freezer.

[Bux]

A propos of almost nothing, I notice that most of the butcher shops in NY’s Chinatown prominently feature Smithfield hams. Actually, what I see are cured shoulders in white fabric bags proudly labeled “Smithfield.” They generally hang in the shop and are not in a refrigerated case. Of course they could be dummy displays. I’ve never seen anyone buying a whole ham, or shoulder, and I assume they are cut up and prepared/sessoned and then sold as the pieces of cured meat I often see in cryovac wrappings.

[malarkey]

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.

well there ya go then. I expect that the salt content pretty much assures that it won't go bad. its just my own paranoia that makes me want to put meat in the fridge.

[DaveFaris]

They generally hang in the shop and are not in a refrigerated case. Of course they could be dummy displays.

Down here in Virginia, you can buy a Smithfield ham, day or night, at the 24-hour supermarkets, for all your heavily salted cured ham needs. These hams do just hang out in room temperature, on carts, along side sealed plastic packages of ham slices, fatback, and other cured pork products.

For those of you who think that Smithfield hams are too, too salty, you might want to investigate a sugar cured ham...

(And I have to say, those photos look positively lurid.)

[Jim Dixon]

At the Ft Meyers Publix where I got mine the hams (and some Smithfield bacon, which we ate long ago) were piled on a table.

As of today (1/2), I'd guess we're about halfway through the ham. Buried in the utensil drawer (not in the knife rack) I found a long thin slicing knife I'd picked up at a garage sale. A bit of sharpening and it's working nicely for slicing the beast.

Yesterday made a nice omelet with the ham and some Bandon extra sharp cheddar. We've also been eating a sort of Italianesque ham biscuit...slices of ham on ciabatta drizzled with olive oil.

Jim

[Jinmyo]

That all sounds wonderful, Jim.

I just hope your taste for ham is not tarred by the sheer volume of ham meals.

[Jim Dixon]

I just hope your taste for ham is not tarred by the sheer volume of ham meals

To the contrary...the entire experience has been hamtastic.

Jim

[Jinmyo]

Aham.

[eatingwitheddie]

I have cooked many Smithfield hams. The key is simply to simmer it in water to cover until it is tender. Depending on the size of the ham this will take 4-5 hours. Yes scrub it first to remove mold, and soak it if you like, though simply changing the water a couple of times during cooking (I recommend doing this 2 or 3 times) will do the same thing as soaking it.

When it is tender remove the ham from the water, let it cool, and trim it. It is now edible. You can bake or slice it as is. If you bake it, you are just doing it to flavor the ham, it doesn't require any further cooking.