Roast Fresh Ham With Cracklings Recipes

FRESH HAM WITH CRACKLINGS AND PAN GRAVY

Steps:

• With a small sharp knife prick the ham skin all over, make 4 parallel 1/2-inch-deep incisions through the skin the entire length of the ham, and rub the ham lightly with the oil. In a small bowl rub together the coarse salt, the thyme, the sage, the pepper, and the mustard and rub the mixture over the entire surface of the ham. Put the ham on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan and put the pan in a preheated 500°F. oven. Reduce the temperature immediately to 325°F.> and roast the ham for 1 hour. Pour half the beer over the ham, roast the ham for 30 minutes more, and pour the remaining beer over the ham. Roast the ham for 2 1/2 hours more, or until a meat thermometer registers 170°F., and let it cool on the rack in the pan for 15 minutes. Pull off the brown crisp skin, leaving the layer of fat on the ham, with scissors cut the skin into small pieces, and arrange the cracklings in one layer in a baking pan. Sprinkle the cracklings with salt and bake them in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until they are crisp and browned. Transfer the cracklings to paper towels and let them drain. Cut the remaining fat from the ham, slice the meat thinly across the grain, and arrange it on a platter. Keep the ham warm, covered.
• Skim off the fat from the juices in the roasting pan, add 1 cup water, and deglaze the pan over moderate heat, scraping up the brown bits. Transfer the liquid to a saucepan. In a small bowl whisk together the flour and 1/4 cup of the broth until the flour is dissolved and whisk the mixture into the deglazing liquid with the remaining 3/4 cup broth, the mustard, the sage, the thyme, and the vinegar and pepper to taste, and simmer the gravy, whisking, for 5 minutes.
• Garnish the ham with the cracklings and the watercress sprigs and serve it with the gravy.

ROAST FRESH HAM WITH CRACKLINGS

Steps:

• Combine 4 quarts cold water, 1 cup salt, and the garlic, onion, peppercorns, coriander, bay leaves, and parsley in a container that is large enough to hold the ham, and stir until the salt is dissolved. Submerge the ham in the liquid and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days. (Alternatively, if you can't fit the ham in your refrigerator, brine it directly in a clean cooler, just adding a little extra salt and enough ice to keep the ham cold, draining a little brine and adding more ice as needed.)
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Drain off the brine, discarding all the seasonings, and pat the ham dry. Put a paper towel on top of a cutting board and set the ham on top of that so that it doesn't slip. With a sharp knife, score the skin with incisions that run the length of the ham and are about 1/2 inch apart, and then again the other way to form a crosshatch pattern. The incisions should just barely reach into the fat under the skin; do not cut into the meat itself, in order to help the crackling skin stay in one piece once it is crispy. Allow the ham to come to room temperature.
• Lightly oil and salt the meat, rubbing it in on all surfaces. Put the ham on a rack or on a few rolled-up sheets of aluminum foil in a large heavy roasting pan and put it in the oven. A 15-pound roast will take almost 4 hours total, while an 18-pounder will take as long as 5-about 15 minutes per pound. About 2 1/2 hours in, when the temperature of the ham hits about 130°F, raise the oven temperature to 425°F to crisp the skin (cover any areas that start to get too dark with a piece of foil). When the meat thermometer reads 145° to 150°F, remove the roast and allow it to rest, loosely tented with foil, for an hour or so before carving.

HAM & CRACKLING

Steps:

• Sit the gammon in a large pot with the onion, bay leaves and vinegar. Pour over enough water to completely cover the gammon. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 45 mins. Remove the gammon from the pot and allow to cool.
• Once cool enough to handle, carefully cut away the skin, leaving a layer of fat attached. Pat the skin dry with a clean tea towel, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to dry out completely.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line one small roasting tin with foil and two small baking trays with baking parchment. Put the gammon in the foil-lined tin, fat-side up, and rub all over with the mustard, then the sugar. Put the skin onto one of the baking trays, then place the other piece of parchment on top, followed by the second baking tray. Find a weight to go on top (a heavy pan works well) then put both the gammon and skin in the oven. Roast for 30 mins, basting twice, until the gammon is golden.
• Take the ham out the oven and turn it up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Continue cooking the crackling for 10 mins until it is deep golden and crisp. To serve, carve into slices and break the crackling into shards to serve alongside.

FRESH HAM WITH MAPLE-BALSAMIC GLAZE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Using a sharp knife, score entire surface of ham in a diamond pattern, cutting down just through the skin to the flesh underneath. (If you are cutting to the right depth, the skin will spread apart a bit as you cut.) Rub outside of ham all over with salt and pepper, pressing it into crosshatch spaces between the skin. Put roast on a rack in a large roasting pan and place in oven.
• After 20 minutes, reduce oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and cinnamon. Baste ham hourly with mixture, as well as with fat from the bottom of the pan, roasting until the very center of the ham reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees, 2 1/2 to 3 hours total cooking time. (Begin checking at 2 hours, inserting a meat thermometer into the absolute center of the roast.)
• Put the toasted pecans and candied ginger into a food processor and pulse lightly until crumbled and well combined.
• When ham is done, remove it from roasting pan, shower with pecan-ginger mixture and cover it loosely with foil. Allow the meat to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. (Its internal temperature will rise to 150 or more as it rests.)
• Tip roasting pan to the side so you can spoon off all the fat from the pan juices, then place pan on stove over medium-high heat. Scrape the bottom of pan to free any browned bits, skim any film off surface and season liquid as needed with salt and pepper. Pour into a gravy boat.
• Carve ham into thick slices, drizzle with pan sauce and serve, passing remaining sauce on the side.

ROASTED FRESH HAM

Steps:

• Place a rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Trim skin and excess fat from ham, leaving a layer of fat. Score ham all over in a diamond pattern of 1/2-inch-deep cuts about 1 1/2 inches apart.
• In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and thyme, pinching and sifting mixture until thyme becomes fragrant. Pat mixture all over ham and into crevices.
• Place ham fat-side up on a rack in a large roasting pan and roast uncovered for 1/2 an hour. Turn heat down to 350 degrees, pour 2 cups wine and 1/2 cup water into pan and loosely tent with aluminum foil. Continue to roast, basting every hour. Add water to pan, if necessary, to keep pan juices from scorching; bake until a meat thermometer pressed into thickest part of ham reads 155 degrees, about 3 1/2 hours.
• Let ham stand 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Pour pan juices and remaining 2 tablespoons wine into a small saucepan and simmer about 2 minutes. Turn off flame, add half-and-half, and serve with ham.