3 hours ago, kayb said:Use it when you cook a pot of beans. Pulse a couple of chunks, along with some regular ham, in the food processor into a rough grind, mix with a little mayo, some Dijon mustard, and some grated cheese for a great deviled ham sandwich spread. Or add chopped boiled eggs to the mix for a deviled ham and egg salad. Cook some of those grits, stir in chopped up ham and plenty of cheese and hot sauce; to really take it over the top, put the grits in a loaf pan, let them set up, then slice and fry for grit cakes. Make ham croquettes (again, better in my book if you combine with a "city ham," or "packing house ham" (regular cured ham).
Venture out into another Southern classic pimiento cheese (grated sharp cheddar, grated Velveeta, mayo, a splash of vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar, a sprinkle of Lawry's seasoned salt, a drained jar of diced pimiento peppers, all stirred up) on a sandwich, topped with paper-thin slices of ham. Or serve it as an appetizer on crackers with the ham.
And my personal favorite -- Slice thinly, but don't shave; sear briefly on each side, just to get a little caramelization, and serve with an over easy egg.
John T. Edge of Southern Foodways Alliance referred to country ham as "the South's proscuitto." Treat it lilke proscuitto; you don't eat big chunks or slabs of that, either. But do anything with country ham you would do with proscuitto, up to and including putting it with fruit or on a pizza. It's a strong flavor, and needs to be respected.
The flavor isn’t strong at all to me. It’s very mellow. Like, Boars Head maple ham cold cuts have more flavor.
I also loathe beans unfortunately. And hard boiled eggs.
The pimento cheese idea is calling to me!
