Country Ham Bread Recipes

COUNTRY HAM SANDWICHES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream and garlic powder. Spread over two slices of bread. Layer each with cheese, tomato, ham and lettuce. Top with remaining bread.

COUNTRY HAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.
• Set ham into the prepared roasting pan and pierce several times with a fork.
• Stir brown sugar, peach preserves, and mustard together in a bowl; spread over the ham. Cover the ham with a sheet of aluminum foil.
• Roast ham in preheated oven, basting regularly, for 90 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil cover and continue baking until hot in the center, 30 to 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 140 degrees F (60 degrees C).

COUNTRY HAM BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Butter a large baking dish and evenly spread out the torn bread to cover the bottom of the dish.
• In a large bowl, beat to combine the heavy cream, cheese, ham, milk, scallions, salt, pepper and eggs. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and top with the paprika. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Remove the dish from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Uncover the dish and bake until puffed, golden and cooked through, about 45 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, sprinkle with the chives and serve.

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.

COUNTRY HAM SPOON BREAD

Steps:

• Lightly coat the inside of a 2-quart casserole with butter, set aside.
• In a large pan, add the milk; bring to a boil.
• Gradually add the cornmeal to the milk and stir quickly with a spoon as you slowly pour the cornmeal inches.
• Lower the heat to low setting and cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture is thick--10 minutes or so.
• Take the pan off the burner.
• Add in the butter and baking powder; stir until the butter is all melted.
• Set pan aside to cool.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks until light and frothy.
• Stir egg yolks into the cooled cornmeal mixture.
• Add the ham; stir to combine.
• In a big mixing bowl, add the egg whites.
• Beat using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form; fold egg whites into the cornmeal mixture (should see no trace of egg whites).
• Transfer mixture to the prepared casserole dish.
• Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or so, or until pick comes out clean.
• Best when served hot.

TURKEY WITH COUNTRY HAM STUFFING

Steps:

• Place bread cubes in a single layer in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 325° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Place in a large bowl; set aside. , In a large skillet, cook ham in butter for 5-10 minutes or until edges are crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and place over bread cubes. , In the same skillet, saute the onion, celery, sage, thyme and pepper until vegetables are tender; toss with bread and ham. Stir in enough broth to moisten. , Just before baking, stuff the turkey. Skewer openings; tie drumsticks together. Place on a rack in a roasting pan. Bake at 325° for 4-1/2 to 5 hours or until the thermometer reads 185°. , When the turkey begins to brown, cover lightly with a tent of aluminum foil and baste if needed. Cover turkey and let stand for 20 minutes before removing stuffing and carving turkey.

HEARTY COUNTRY HAM AND CABBAGE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Add onion and fry until soft, about 5 minutes. Add country ham and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken stock and potatoes; make sure potatoes are completely covered by the stock. Throw in thyme sprigs and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs. Add cabbage and mix well; the liquid no longer needs to cover the cabbage-potato mix. Bring back to a boil.
• Cover and reduce heat; simmer until the thickest parts of the cabbage are softened, 5 to 10 more minutes. Taste, then season with salt and pepper if needed.
• Mix water and cornstarch in a small bowl and add slowly to the soup. Mix well and cook until soup is about the consistency of heavy cream or desired thickness; it should not be too thick. Cook for 2 to 3 more minutes before serving.

PAN DE JAMóN (VENEZUELAN HAM BREAD)

Steps:

• Make the bread: In a small pot over medium-low heat, scald milk. When milk is near boiling and bubbles form around the edge of the pot, remove from heat and let cool.
• In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup warm water and 2 tablespoons sugar and mix well. Add yeast and let rest for 5 minutes or until bubbly.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, the rest of the sugar and the salt on medium-low speed just to combine. With mixer running, add eggs, cooled scalded milk and yeast mixture. Mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes.
• Place flours in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Change out the stand mixer attachment for a dough hook and slowly add flours to butter mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, until fully incorporated. The dough should pull away from the bowl's edges relatively cleanly. Let rest in bowl for about 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle all-purpose flour on a clean work surface. Scrape out dough and knead for 5 minutes. If dough is too sticky to handle, add a little more flour, but do not let it get too dry. Cut dough into 2 pieces.
• Roll each piece of dough with heavy rolling pin into a 15-by-20-inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Using a small offset spatula or butter knife, spread about 3 tablespoons butter in a thin layer over the top of the dough, just enough to cover.
• Fold dough into thirds like a letter: With the short end of the dough facing you, fold up from the bottom, and then fold down from the top. Then, take the letter-shaped dough and fold one more time lengthwise, making a small square.
• Wrap each of the pieces in plastic or place each one in a plastic bag and let them rest in the refrigerator for about 4 hours. Repeat process of rolling, buttering, folding and refrigerating 2 more times with both pieces of dough. This will take a total of 12 hours, but additional chilling time between rollings is O.K., allowing you to break up the process overnight. (For instance, the first rolling can be done the night before, followed by subsequent rollings the next day.)
• Remove dough from refrigerator and divide each piece into 2 equal sections, for 4 pieces of dough in total. Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll one piece into a thin 15-by-20-inch rectangle, rewrapping in plastic and returning the other pieces to the refrigerator.
• Fill the bread: Working lengthwise, put down a stripe of ham strips in a single layer. Below that place a stripe of bacon strips and below that, a sparse stripe of raisins and olives. (Make sure to use a light hand with the raisins and olives.) Repeat this pattern until the surface of the dough is covered.
• Take one of the short edges of the dough, and carefully roll it up, like a jelly roll, tucking it in as you go to make sure it is tight. When it is fully rolled, tuck the open edges on either side underneath the roll, and place the whole roll seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet so it doesn't pop open while baking. Repeat rolling-and-filling process with the other 3 pieces of dough. Place loaves on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment, 2 to a sheet. Cover loaves with a clean dish towel and let rise for 45 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 2 loaves at a time for about 40 minutes, checking to make sure tops are becoming golden without burning. If loaves are browning too quickly, tent with foil.
• Prepare the glaze: While the bread bakes, add milk and sugar to a small bowl and stir to dissolve.
• At the 40-minute mark, pull the loaves out of the oven, and, using a pastry brush, glaze their tops. Bake for another 5 minutes, until the loaves have a slight sheen and are deep golden brown in color. Remove from oven and let bread rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

COUNTRY BREAD

Steps:

• Sponge: Put the water into a large bowl and sprinkle over the yeast. Allow the yeast to rest for about 10 minutes. Stir the three flours together and add them to the yeast mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon.
• Cover the bowl and let the sponge rest at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours, or put it in the refrigerator overnight.
• Dough: If you've chilled the sponge, pull it out of the refrigerator about one hour before you're ready to continue with the recipe.
• Dissolve the yeast in the water and pour it into the bowl with the sponge.
• Combine the flours. Gradually add 2 cups of the flour to the sponge, mix well. Sprinkle the salt over the dough and mix in it.
• Work in the remaining flour mixture and enough additional white flour to produce a dough that starts to clean the sides of the bowl. Knead for about 10 min (you can use the bread machine or mixer). The dough should be moist, satiny, even a bit sticky.
• In a bowl, cover the dough with plastic wrap. Allow to rest at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Turn the dough out to a floured surface. Pat it onto a flat round, fold the edges, press it down and turn the dough over. Repeat the process of folding four more times. Turn the loaf over and lay it smooth side up in a baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal. Slash the loaf in a pattern that appeals to you. Cover the dough and let it rest for 1 to 1/2 hours.
• Oven: 400ºF. Pour some water into a spray bottle and set aside.
• Bake the bread for 60 to 70 min (or until the crust is deeply brown), spraying the oven with water every 15 minutes.
• Remove the loaf to a rack and allow it to cool before cutting. Store it cup side down on your counter (it's thick crust will be fine exposed to the air .