Back Country Ham Slice Recipes

COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Unwrap ham and scrub off any surface mold (if you hung in a sack for 6 months you'd have mold too). Carefully remove hock with hand saw. (If this idea makes you eye your first aid kit, ask your butcher to do it. But make sure you keep the hock, it's the best friend collard greens ever had.)
• Place ham in cooler and cover with clean water. (As long as it's not too dirty you can use what southerners call the "hose pipe"). Stash the cooler in the bushes. If it's summer, throw in some ice. If it's freezing out, keep the cooler inside. Change the water twice a day for two days turning the ham each time.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place ham in a large disposable turkey-roasting pan and add enough Dr. Pepper to come about halfway up the side of the ham. Add pickle juice if you've got it and tent completely with heavy-duty foil. Cook for 1/2 hour then reduce heat to 325 degrees F, and cook another 1 1/2 hours.
• Turn the ham over, insert an oven safe thermometer (probe-style is best) and cook another 1 1/2 hours, or until the deepest part of the ham hits 140 degrees F (approximately 15 to 20 minutes per pound total).
• Let rest 1/2 hour then slice paper-thin. Serve with biscuits or soft yeast rolls.
• Cooks note: Even after soaking, country ham is quite salty, so thin slicing is mandatory. If you're a bacon fan, however, cut a thicker (1/4-inch) slice and fry it up for breakfast.

SPEEDY HAM SLICE

Steps:

• In a microwave-safe baking dish, combine the orange juice, brown sugar, orange zest and ginger. Add ham slice, turning to coat with sauce. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes., Cover and microwave on high for 1 minute on each side. Microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes, spooning sauce over ham once. Remove ham and keep warm. , Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into cooking juices. Microwave, uncovered, at 50% power for 10 seconds; stir. Cook 20 seconds longer or until thickened. Serve over ham.

BACK COUNTRY HAM SLICE

Steps:

• Fry the ham in the hot fat. Remove it from the pan and keep it hot - in a 200 degree F oven.
• Pour all the other ingredient into the fat, cook 5 minutes.
• Put the ham back into it for another 5 minutes.

GLAZED HAM SLICES

Steps:

• In a skillet, combine the brown sugar, flour, mustard, ginger ale and vinegar. Bring to a boil over low heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and sauce is thickened. Add ham slices and heat through.

BAKED HAM SLICES

Steps:

• Put ham slices in a single layer in a roast pan with a cover.
• Combine apple juice, brown sugar, and dry mustard.
• Pour over ham.
• Bake, covered, at 350F for about 2 hours, or until liquid reduces to approximately 1/2 - 1 cup.
• Turn ham slices occasionally during cooking time.

BAKED COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• The afternoon before you plan to serve the ham, fill a very large kettle or pot or your sink with water. Soak ham 4 to 8 hours to lose some of the saltiness; change the water 2 or 3 times, if possible. Rinse well, and scrape off any mold or green rind.
• Wrap ham well in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet. At 7 p.m. the night before you plan to serve the ham, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the wrapped ham in a large roasting pan filled with 1 inch of water, and bake for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven, but do not open the door. At 10 P.M., turn the oven back on to 500 degrees. Bake the ham for 15 minutes more. Turn off the oven, but do not open the door. Leave the ham in the closed oven overnight.
• Remove ham from the oven, then remove the aluminum foil. Using a very sharp knife, trim the rind and all the fat from the ham. Serve the ham warm or at room temperature; cut with a ham-slicing knife into very thin slivers.