My grandmother who fixed ham for the holidays was a wonderful woman, but a horrible cook. I never had a ham that wasn’t full of fat, super salty, and studded with little pockets of gelatin. My aunt who makes ham has a nasty habit of leaving it on the counter all day, sticking it in the freezer, then sticking it back out on the counter all day a month later. I grew up kind of scared of ham.
I like ham in a green salad with pink lady apples, toasted pecans, and a parmesan dressing.
You can cut up many, if not most, country hams just like a Serrano or Prosciutto. Most people just don’t, because that’s not how they’re traditionally prepared.
Smithfield hams are typically cured and smoked but they are the type that most people would add brown sugar or some glaze and bake. They do seem to be a very high quality though.
Much more like the ham that you would eat a big slice of for a main course than one sliced razor thin and maybe wrapped around asparagus.
I’ll have to look for one or another country ham around here. Or possibly mail order one. But I’m not really one for sweet glazes, honey, or any of that stuff. (Though I probably would do a portion that way for authenticity’s sake, just to know how it normally is eaten and what it tastes like that way.)
The main difference between country ham and city ham is that the former is dry cured and aged. Contrary to what was said above, even cooked country hams are likely to be served sliced very thin, as they are very salty. Even after soaked for 48 hours & cooked. They’re extremely popular served on biscuits, sliced thin.
If served raw, they are very similar to their Eurpean cousins.
They aren’t normally served with a sweet glaze. They’re normally baked for hours in an oven, after they’ve been soaked in water for a minimum of 24 hours. A lot of recipes call for them to be baked in Dr. Pepper, Coke, or apple juice, but they’re so salty and dry that they don’t taste a whole lot different than hams just cooked in water.
Some people serve them for dinner, but that isn’t very common. They’ve usually more of a breakfast food, but country ham sandwiches are foods of the gods.
Before you spring for a whole ham, drop $30 on an Edwards mini ham, which has been cooked and deboned for you. They are suburb.
I guess I didn’t realize they are more known for their country hams… they also have regular smoked hams. If we are talking about country hams that is a different thing all together. Very salty and I’ve only had them for breakfast (but still sliced thicker than prosciutto). Smithfield is a brand with lots of products, but I apologize if most people equate them to country hams.
Most country hams I’ve had I didn’t know the name of… they were just the country ham from the little store by my Grandpa’s house in Tennessee. I was given a Smithfield once and it was pretty much a basic smoked ham.
You’re right. “Smithfield ham” used to mean “Virginia country ham”. Around 2000, the various companies that comprise the Smithfield label started putting out all kinds of pork products, including bacon, raw pork, and even city ham. It can lead to a great deal of confusion for the folks in that part of the world who grew up with country ham.
Ah, interesting. I thought “Smithfield” was specifically a country ham–didn’t realize it was (or is now) a range of products. Also good to be aware of.
Too bad for **puly **because I don’t think he leaves the city.
Ok, what’s the whoosh here that I’m missing?
Sweet glaze is optional. You have to soak country ham, they’re very dry, then apply moist heat. I roast on a rack with water in the pan. It’s distinctly different than ordinary hams. I think you can get Smithfield slices, but it’s not the same experience. Leftovers are great in jambalya or pan-fried for breakfast the next day.
By Jimminies now I want me some Smithfield ham!
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I’ll take any glazed spiral slice hams anyone want’s to get rid of. I love them. If they’re made correctly they’re tender and juicy. It’s not rocket science to throw foil over them and heat them up as a main course.
My cousin crockpotted a spiral-sliced nightmare for Christmas. We were chipping pieces off the thing. Granted, it was probably the preparation, but I’m off ham for awhile.
Well, I’m glad I wasn’t crazy about the whole Smithfield is only country ham thing. The country hams I remember weren’t labeled… they were hanging in the little store my Grandpa took me to in Tennessee when I was a kid. I think the closest to a brand would have been from Charlie’s place over the ridge. I got a Smithfield as a gift a few years ago and didn’t understand the big deal (but it was good) but it was not a country ham. I had heard the name but just thought it was supposed to be a good brand (ignorance fought).
Country ham is a bit of an acquired taste. Even when soaked for a long time it is very salty but also a very concentrated ham taste. From my family experience, no you wouldn’t glaze it at all… but you would serve it with fried eggs and hash browns all fried in bacon drippings. The ham would be sliced fairly thick but not that big of a slice, and fried a short while to just get it heated. I love it… but my wife from Wisconsin thinks it is vile.
Oh yeah… also biscuits, you have to have biscuits. They don’t need to be fried in bacon drippings though (although it wouldn’t surprise me if they were somehow). I’m pretty sure bacon drippings was one of the major food groups for my Dad’s family.
The terminology is all mixed up. To me a country ham is a Smithfield ham, even though I know other hams are called country hams too. That’s just like the way a hot dog is a sandwich.
Y’all knew what I meant though.
I’m going to go with suburb as my adjective of choice from here on out.
I’m afraid I muddied the waters here just from my own experience. I’ve had “Country Ham” since I was a small child and knew well what it is. I had heard of a “Smithfield Ham” but didn’t know exactly what it was. As an adult I got a “Smithfield Ham” and it was a very good smoked ham so didn’t realize I was getting something outside of the accepted term.
So, to me a Hot Dog is definitely a sandwich, and a Smithfield Ham is a brand of Ham.
ETA… I guess I should have said the Smithfield was a Suburb Ham.
Suburbly said.