How to Cook a Salt Cured Virginia Country Ham
Country, or Virginia, hams are very salty in taste. The hams are salt-cured for one to three months, and then aged for up to three years. Smoking is not legally mandated for making country ham. The smoking process turns the ham a much redder color than other hams. Country ham can be compared to prosciutto, but prosciutto is moister than country hams. Country ham is cut thicker than prosciutto as well. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- 14 pound cured country ham
- Oven cooking bag
- Large roasting pan at least 2 inches deep
- Stiff scrub brush
- Large pot
- 2 cups of flour
- Thermometer
Instructions
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Preparation
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1
Prepare the country ham two to three days before cooking.
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2
Scrub the mold off of the ham. Using a stiff scrub brush and warm water, scrub all of the mold off the ham. Mold is usually attached to the ham during the aging process.
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3
Place the ham in a large pot. Fill the pot with cold water, totally submerging the ham.
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4
Leave the ham to adjust to room temperature. If salt crystals appear, change the water every 4 to 6 hours. Continue this process as long as salt crystals continue to appear. The ham can stay submerged for up to 72 hours. If, or when, salt crystals stop forming, continue to change the water every 6 to 10 hours over a 12 hour period.
Cooking
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5
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
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6
Place the flour inside of the oven cooking bag. Shake the bag to coat the bag evenly. The flour helps keep the bag from bursting during cooking.
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7
Place the ham in the oven cooking bag.
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8
Place the oven cooking bag into a large roasting pan. Add 3 cups of water to the oven cooking bag.
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9
Tie the oven cooking bag securely. Make 4 to 6 slits about ½ inch in length across the top of the bag. This allows the steam to escape.
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10
Place the roasting pan in the oven and cook the ham for 20 minutes per pound of ham. To verify that the ham is finished, stick a thermometer into the center of the ham. Pull the ham from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees.
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11
Remove the ham from the oven. Remove the ham from the bag, discarding the bag and internal juices. Let the ham stand for 10 to 20 minutes. The ham is still cooking internally. The ham will be ready when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
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12
Remove the skin and fat from around the ham, carve and serve.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Do not let the oven cooking bag touch the sides of the oven. It is possible that the bag will catch fire.
- Photo Credit ham image by AGphotographer from Fotolia.com
