Northumberland Ham Broth Recipes

NORTHUMBERLAND HAM BROTH

Steps:

• If the ham is salty leave it to soak overnight. You may also want to soak the split peas.
• Put the ham in a pan and cover with water. You will need about 3 litres
• Bring the ham to the boil and simmer for around three hours until tender.
• Remove the ham from the water, shred the meat and put back in the pan
• Peel the turnip and carrots and grate into the pan.
• Grate the leek and add to the pan with the lentils and split peas
• Bring the soup back to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are soft, around 30 minutes

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.

HAM STOCK

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large dutch oven.
• Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes.
• Strain broth and discard residue.
• Cool and skim off fat.
• Cover and store in refrigerator or freeze for future use.

NOT SO SWEET BAKED HAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange ham fat-side up in a large baking dish.
• Pour chicken broth over ham.
• Bake in the preheated oven until heated through, about 90 minutes, basting every 20 to 30 minutes.
• Discard broth before slicing and serving ham.

HAM BROTH, SLOW COOKER

Steps:

• The day before you want to use this: in a 6-quart slow cooker combine water, ham hocks, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic. Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 4 to 6 hours.
• Remove the hocks.
• Remove meat from the pork hocks; coarsely chop (you should have about 2 cups) and set aside.
• Discard bones.
• Line a large sieve with a double thickness of 100-percent-cotton cheesecloth; strain broth through sieve.
• Discard solids.
• Cover and chill broth and meat until ready to use.
• If necessary, before using, spoon off and discard any solidified fat from the top of broth.
• If necessary, add enough water to broth to make 10 cups total liquid.

HAM BROTH

Steps:

• Add all ingredients plus 4 quarts of water to a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then let simmer 2 hours. Skim fat from the surface, and add more water as needed. The less water in the stock, the more concentrated the flavor.
• After 2 hours, strain bone and vegetables out of the stock. Use immediately or refrigerate or freeze stock.