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What’s your opinion on cured country hams?

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Comments

  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 17,181
    Being from Kentucky, and enjoying country ham as I do, I can share with you this; There are several artisans in the state that command outrageous prices (several hundred dollars up to around a thousand) for their country hams, and they get it, too.

    It is a delicacy here, and served frequently as appetizers at major and formal functions. A Kentucky Derby party, of any worthiness, will have served this with small angel biscuits. It is easy to find, look for the people standing around in formal attire, waiting on the next silver tray to be brought in from the kitchen, as this morsel from the Pork Gods is gone immediately, when served. 

    If there is an opportunity to purchase any country ham at half price, I think it would be a rewarding investment to the buyer. It is true, the salty flavor is something you will immediately notice, however, as when mentioned above, in the serving portions and suggested recipe methods, it is, without any doubt, as close to perfect as you will ever taste.

    Country ham is not just for breakfast, it will be an enhancemet to any meal at any table. I have excellent wine pairings for serving country ham. If interested, just let me know.

    As if there needed to be another reason to envy you.

    Enjoy my brother.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
  • 1WVU
    1WVU Posts: 160
    As some have mentioned, you’ll either like it or hate it.  Not much in between.  I love the stuff, especially on a biscuit.  My wife thinks it tastes like metal
    Roanoke, VA
    Large BGE Owner
  • jeffwit
    jeffwit Posts: 1,348
    I’m sure I’ll be mocked for this, but is the country ham that you guys are describing worlds different from the country ham you get at say Cracker Barrel? I’ve only had the Cracker Barrel stuff and thought it tasted like salty shoe leather. 
    Jefferson, GA
    XL BGE, MM, Things to flip meat over and stuff
    Wife, 3 kids, 5 dogs, 4 cats, 12 chickens, 2 goats, 2 pigs. 
    “Honey, we bought a farm.”
  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
    Love country ham.  

    Good on biscuits.  

    Good in all kinds of beans and greens.  Add a hunk or two to beans to give some flavor.  Kinda like you'd do for fat back or salt pork.  
    ------------------------------
    Thomasville, NC
    My YouTube Channel - The Hungry Hussey
    Instagram
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    My Photography Site
  • Woodchunk
    Woodchunk Posts: 911
    edited January 2018
    jeffwit said:
    I’m sure I’ll be mocked for this, but is the country ham that you guys are describing worlds different from the country ham you get at say Cracker Barrel? I’ve only had the Cracker Barrel stuff and thought it tasted like salty shoe leather. 
    I don't know what Cracker Barrel sells but this is about salt cured hams. They have to be soaked, sometimes for many days, changing the water many times, and scrubbing and rinsing when you change, all depending on your salt taste.

    they all are tough if not carved properly, on a slant perpendicular to the bone, and as a rule thinly sliced. I have had ham biscuits  that you could not even chew the ham, one of two things or both, not cooked properly or carved.

    so yes, they can be like salty shoe leather

    when ours would get down near the end we would cut it off in chunks, grind it, and use for ham salad or with eggs.


  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    Don't hate me. I picked up the ham for $30.00 #winning
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
  • thetrim
    thetrim Posts: 11,379
    #Winning4Sure
    =======================================
    XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP PitBoss Navigator 850G 11/25
    Tampa Bay, FL
    EIB 6 Oct 95
  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 17,181
    $30.00. As @Lousubcap has said, on many occasions, it is often better to be lucky......Congrats my friend.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,172
    Nice score. Hope you can make a good home made biscuit. If you can, I man be on the next plane to Texas.
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    Nice score. Hope you can make a good home made biscuit. If you can, I man be on the next plane to Texas.
    Book a flight my friend. I actually make darn good biscuits 

    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481

    YukonRon said:
    $30.00. As @Lousubcap has said, on many occasions, it is often better to be lucky......Congrats my friend.
    I almost feel guilty.
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
  • onedbguru
    onedbguru Posts: 1,648
    Love country ham.  Got my parents one for Christmas - they are originally from south-central VA. If done right it is a bit salty but not overly so.  Sliced and placed on an angel biscuit - sometimes with a bit of yellow mustard... Like heaven.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 35,400
    @SciAggie - To complete the standard phrase started by @YukonRon "Better to be lucky than good any day."  Great score for sure and know that "what goes around, comes around" so you have done some great deeds in the past-your turn right now.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
  • stv8r
    stv8r Posts: 1,127
    No soaking country ham here lol.  I love the salty goodness.  I'd slice it and vacuum seal in portion sizes.  What a bargain at $30!  Nothing beats a piece of pan fried (minute or so on high each side) piece of country ham with some over easy eggs.  Drag that ham through the yoke and chase with a bite of a delicious biscuit....HEAVEN
  • SciAggie said:
    Nice score. Hope you can make a good home made biscuit. If you can, I man be on the next plane to Texas.
    Book a flight my friend. I actually make darn good biscuits 

    SciAggie said:
    Nice score. Hope you can make a good home made biscuit. If you can, I man be on the next plane to Texas.
    Book a flight my friend. I actually make darn good biscuits 


    They are some good looking biscuits. Will go well with your $30 win!
  • bucky925
    bucky925 Posts: 2,031
    My opinion is lightly steam pieces (3-4 inches in diameter), .....place between a top and bottom of a freshly made home made biscuit. Serve with grits. Have your lady take a picture of the smile on your face. 

    To address your question (sorry for the trip down memory lane)....cut it, vac seal and freeze it in portion packs. Thaw and steam under low heat. 
    And you forgot redeye gravy!

    Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.

  • thetrim
    thetrim Posts: 11,379
    Those biscuits look incredible!
    =======================================
    XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP PitBoss Navigator 850G 11/25
    Tampa Bay, FL
    EIB 6 Oct 95
  • bucky925
    bucky925 Posts: 2,031
    In her later years, my Grandmother would make one biscuit .  If it turned out she would make a full pan of "cat heads"  country ham, red eye gravy and cat head biscuits....her most often quote was "a meal fit for a king" !  I learned a bunch from the old gal, loved eating lunch with her when I could.  I still have her cast iorn skillets.  

    Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.

  • Wow.  This country ham thread sure brought out some great stories and memories.  Must be something about that ham...  I need to try one.
    Simi Valley, California
    LBGE, PBC, Annova, SMOBot
  • g8golfer
    g8golfer Posts: 1,025
    bucky925 said:
    In her later years, my Grandmother would make one biscuit .  If it turned out she would make a full pan of "cat heads"  country ham, red eye gravy and cat head biscuits....her most often quote was "a meal fit for a king" !  I learned a bunch from the old gal, loved eating lunch with her when I could.  I still have her cast iorn skillets.  
    Nothing better than cat heads and gravy 
  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    Wow.  This country ham thread sure brought out some great stories and memories.  Must be something about that ham...  I need to try one.
    This. I’m enjoying the comments immensely. The connection between family, tradition, and comfort food is special. A meal at a three star Michelin restaurant never evokes the memory of a steaming breakfast set by your grandma in a kitchen warmed by an old Dearborn gas heater.
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,172
    SciAggie said:
    Nice score. Hope you can make a good home made biscuit. If you can, I man be on the next plane to Texas.
    Book a flight my friend. I actually make darn good biscuits 

    Oh my.
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
  • onedbguru
    onedbguru Posts: 1,648
    SciAggie said:
    This. I’m enjoying the comments immensely. The connection between family, tradition, and comfort food is special. A meal at a three star Michelin restaurant never evokes the memory of a steaming breakfast set by your grandma in a kitchen warmed by an old Dearborn gas heater.

    At the age of 5 or 6, I learned that if you didn't get up early enough at my grandmother's house, you had to fix your own breakfast.  I learned to cook scrambled eggs on a wood cookstove or go hungry.  Here's a tip, it only has one temp. HOT. A scrambled egg took 6.8 seconds. (give or take a few) and the Virginia country ham only took a few seconds each side to be hot enough to go with those eggs.
  • Teefus
    Teefus Posts: 1,245
    g8golfer said:
    bucky925 said:
    In her later years, my Grandmother would make one biscuit .  If it turned out she would make a full pan of "cat heads"  country ham, red eye gravy and cat head biscuits....her most often quote was "a meal fit for a king" !  I learned a bunch from the old gal, loved eating lunch with her when I could.  I still have her cast iorn skillets.  
    Nothing better than cat heads and gravy 
    You can make a proper breakfast with sausage too. Dad would often make Grandma's recipe of biscuits and sausage gravy, all in the same cast iron skillet. First the biscuits, then the sausage, then a roux made from a couple crumbled up patties and all the drippings, then whole milk and pepper to finish it off. Once thick, spoon it on the biscuits. That and a couple eggs checked all the boxes. Not cardiologist approved.
    Michiana, South of the border.
  • Smoker317
    Smoker317 Posts: 238
    Nice coincidence, one of the guys I work with brings me back a ham from Kentucky twice a year or so.  I paid just shy of $35 for this ham last week.  It hanging in the garage which is pretty dark this time of the year.  LOL  I have not heard about the pairing with wine thing, that sounds delicious.


    Egghead since November 2014, XL-BGE & ET-732
    Smobot
    Living near Indy
    36" Blackstone
  • Growing up in Nashville we would frequently have country ham. Fried in skillet and then fry green apples in the drippings. (The Salt and sweet combination made it great). The other way was to soak ham as mentioned before and then bake it. Afterwards, carefully remove bones and take to store and they would put on slicer and slice it very thin. We’d freeze most to use during year. Great on biscuit or fry slices to crispy and use instead of bacon on BLT.  Good food. 
    PS.  My dad died at 51 of heart attack. I’ve made it quite a bit longer through better choices (probably)

    Near Music City in the Boro
    LBGE, Joe,Jr
    Free is better than cheap
    If it's worth telling, it's worth exaggerating