Country Ham with Marsala-Honey Glaze...

Years ago, the dilemma facing cooks was how to keep freshly butchered meat from spoiling without refrigeration. Hogs were butchered in the late fall when the temperature was down around 33 degrees, and while the meat was fresh, it was salt cured. The next spring any leftovers would be smoked under a fire of green hickory or peppered. Sausage was packed in the intestines of the hog, tied off and also hung in the smokehouse for curing. Salting, peppering, and smoking protected the meat from spoiling and from insects. Today it's that salt, pepper, and smoky flavor that we love in country ham, bacon, and sausage.

For Christmas dinner, my family always has a genuine Smithfield Ham, from Virginia. There are not many things that get better than this. But there are certain steps one needs to do to bring it to its proper perfection and the dinner table.

When it arrives at your door, it has not been cooked; but requires no refrigeration at room temperatures (75 degrees F.) until cut. First with warm water wash and scrub the ham clean of excess salt. Then you must soak it in water overnight, this continuing to get rid it of the excess salt.

The next morning in a pre-heat 250 degree F oven, bake the whole ham in a roasting pan for about 25 minutes per pound, until an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. The ham is done when you can stick a knife into it with a little resistance and the meat begins to separate from the bone. At this point, take it out of the oven and remove the skin and excess fat.

Before I return the ham back to the oven; I score it in a diamond pattern with a knife. Then I glaze the whole ham with a Marsala-Honey Glaze (recipe below). Brush the mixture onto ham and place back into the oven. Allow the ham to cook for 45 minutes before brushing again. Glaze the ham a final time and cook for about 25 minutes.

Remove from oven, allowing it to rest about 20 minutes. Then slice and serve.


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Marsala-Honey Glaze

Ingredients:
1 cooked ham, about 8-10 pounds
½ cup honey
½ cup Marsala wine
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3-4 tablespoons whole cloves

Combine honey, marsala wine, and cider vinegar in small bowl. Brush mixture onto ham and before placing ham back into the oven. Allow ham to cook for 45 minutes before brushing again. Glaze ham again and continue to bake 20-25 minutes longer. Remove, slice and serve

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George’s notes:

• Country ham or Virginia ham is a variety of cured ham from the United States, associated with the Southern United States. It is typically very salty in taste.
• Country ham can be compared to prosciutto, but prosciutto is not smoked, and is generally more moist than a country ham. It is also usually sliced much thinner instead of the thicker traditional country ham "steaks".