tambourine Bambi primitive wants to cook a ham

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x51738

Oh my.

Tangerine LaBamba  (1000+ posts)      Mon Dec-22-08 09:20 PM
Original message
 
How to bake a ham?

OK, this is probably the kind of question a beginner would ask, but, honestly, I've never baked a ham before. Always bought Honeybaked hams, already cooked.

I have no meat thermometer. That seems to be significant. But we don't normally eat the kinds of meats that require thermometers.

I got a 5-1/2 lb. butt portion bone-in ham today. I have to bake it for Thursday. Everywhere I look, I get all sorts of different directions.

Anyone here know what I'm talking about, and is it possible to do a ham without a meat thermometer without giving my guests trichinosis?

The empressof all   (1000+ posts)        Mon Dec-22-08 09:26 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. Most Hams are fully cooked

Really you are just re heating it so it's unlikely you'll kill anyone. The issue then is the glaze. Some folks swear by dumping a can of coke over the meat. I usually melt brown sugar, a glob of honey, and some pineapple juice together and smear it over the meat for the last 15 minutes or so.

Tangerine LaBamba  (1000+ posts)      Mon Dec-22-08 09:30 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
2. This one says "uncooked."

It's also hickory smoked, but it's not that Smithfield dry smoked ham - it looks nice and pink and juicy.

I found directions that said 325 F. and 15 - 20 minutes per pound. That seems innocuous enough. I read the Coke recipe - Nigella Lawson has a big one here - http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/ham-in-coca-cola

My pal tossed me a big jar of apricot preserves, and I figured I'd mix it with Coke, see what happens. Maybe some brown sugar, too.

It can't be too complicated, can it?

I'd be so embarrassed if anyone, you know, died.

Tab  (1000+ posts)        Tue Dec-23-08 02:17 AM
Response to Reply #1
 
13. Not necessarily 

Most of the ones you find are fully cooked, but I once received one - maybe a year or two - ago - that was "raw", so to speak. Like the OP, I had to figure out how to cook it. I've always just reheated hams, but this was different. They are out there.

I made mine edible, but it probably could have been better, but I'd never seen an uncooked ham before, so I did what I could.

mtnester  (1000+ posts)        Mon Dec-22-08 09:41 PM
Response to Original message
 
3. Here halfway down, depends on whether your ham is dry or wet cured

http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Cook_a_Ham

Do your best to follow the per pound timetables and you should be OK.

Good luck! I have not cooked an uncooked ham either, so let me know how it went!

Tangerine LaBamba  (1000+ posts)      Mon Dec-22-08 11:16 PM
Response to Reply #3

7. That's IT!

Oh, bless your heart! It's got everything I need, and it looks like the whole thing will take 3-3/4 hours, with me doing a glaze at 2-3/4 hours.

I expect it's going to be great, but, you betcha (wink, wink), I'll be back to let you know how it worked. (Thanks for making feel not so dinky for never having done an uncooked ham before, too.)

mtnester  (1000+ posts)        Tue Dec-23-08 04:53 AM
Response to Reply #7
 
14. It is one of those things I have been reluctant to tackle maybe even a bit nervous about doing.....

Now, if I ever get the pressure cooker out and work on it

WakeMeUp  (1000+ posts)        Mon Dec-22-08 09:55 PM
Response to Original message
 
4. Two words - mustard paste!

1 C brown sugar
1/4 C mustard

Mix well and slather all over the ham. Put it in the pan you are baking it in, seal with foil, bake for the suggested time period.

It is so easy and yummy!

BTW, this is my husband's aunt's way. She's PA Dutch (and so is hubby)

The empressof all   (1000+ posts)        Mon Dec-22-08 10:18 PM
Response to Reply #4
 
5. Oh My Goodness

That sounds wonderful....Now I have to get a ham

WakeMeUp  (1000+ posts)        Mon Dec-22-08 10:49 PM
Response to Reply #5
 
6. It is wonderful and so easy - the first time I made it for my parents, my dad said, "WHAT is this again?"

He's had ham a bazillion times, but this one made him take notice!

Tangerine LaBamba  (1000+ posts)      Mon Dec-22-08 11:19 PM
Response to Reply #6
 
8. That's it?

I grew up near PA Dutch country, and their hams - at various buffets and regular restaurants, home style places - were always so good. I was too little to know how it was done, but if you say it is, then I think you just completed my quest.

Wrap it in foil, huh? Oh, this is getting easier and easier. I was all through cookbooks - I have a big collection - and all over the Internet(s), but, of course, I come here and get the answers from the best people on earth.

Thank you SO much. Now I can't wait to fix it.

WakeMeUp  (1000+ posts)        Mon Dec-22-08 11:27 PM
Response to Reply #8

9. You're welcome!

I will be making this on Christmas day - as requested by my PA Dutch hubby!

Tangerine LaBamba  (1000+ posts)      Mon Dec-22-08 11:31 PM
Response to Reply #9

10. Next summer, I'll be hounding you for a good chow-chow recipe.

What the Hell is "chow-chow"?  It sounds like dog-food.

WakeMeUp  (1000+ posts)        Mon Dec-22-08 11:45 PM
Response to Reply #10
 
11. Unfortunately that was not passed down in his family

I've seen many of them at the farmer's markets, but alas, no family recipe for chow-chow.

"Farmers'" markets sell dog-food?

sandnsea  (1000+ posts)      Tue Dec-23-08 01:11 AM
Response to Original message
 
12. We poke it with cloves

Cross score it and then poke cloves in all the crosses, sprinkle brown sugar over and bake. My mom added pineapples slices too, but I don't like pineapple. I've done pork roast with a mustard pack and that is really good too. Never tried it with a ham.

Stick to the basics and you can't screw it up. I don't know what the recipes called for, but I'd probably put tin foil over it to hold in the moisture, just to be on the safe side.

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Response to Original message

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I dunno about the tambourine Bambi primitive's predicament, and besides, one has turkey on Christmas Day, and ham (or other pork) on New Year's Day.

Perhaps the tambourine Bambi primitive should have inquired of Chief S itting Bull, the bird-smacking stoned red-faced primitive, who apparently knows how to cook.

It was Thanksgiving 2007 that Chief S itting Bull fed hordes at his own home--the extended family, apparently--and based upon his account of the numbers, and of the menu, it looks as if Chief S itting Bull did something not done the past 2,000 years, feeding the multitudes with two fish and six loaves.

[whiffleball]

That thread is a slap in the face to the bobbling primitive.  How dare they speak of eating ham when they know she can't afford one.  And a ruling Mod is posting in there.  It's just outrageous!

[franksolich]

Okay, we got an update here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x51898

Tangerine LaBamba  (1000+ posts)      Thu Dec-25-08 03:20 PM
Original message
 
The ham is done!!!

Thanks to all you good people, I just tasted the first ham I've ever baked, and all I can say is

Oh, MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's perfect. So moist, falling away from the bone, juicy, gorgeously browned. It's just perfect.

I scored it, rubbed it with the brown sugar/mustard combination, put it on a rack in a roasting pan, and covered the whole thing with heavy-duty foil. Popped it into a 325 oven, and let it bake at about 30 minutes per pound. (No meat thermometer.)

I had read that putting it on the rack kept it from sitting in its own salty juices. There's lots of "juice" in that pan, but I'll get to that later. Much later.

Let it sit for about 20 minutes. When I took the foil off, a big gush of steam escaped, and the aroma was otherworldly. Yummy.

I couldn't resist - cut a small chunk away - and oh, oh, oh, oh, was it good!!!

This hunk of meat is going to be very popular around here, but, I daresay, not for long.

Thank you to everyone who helped me surmount this slightly intimidating project. I'll be fixing ham a lot more frequently from now on, and I foresee a wonderful split pea soup - no pressure cooker, though, in deference to the memory of my dead cat.

Thank you and Merry Christmas to all.

I'm very happy it worked out for the tambourine Bambi primitive, and for the second time today, I wish the tambourine Bambi primitive a Merry Christmas.

And then Grandma:

hippywife  (1000+ posts)      Thu Dec-25-08 04:20 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. Congrats!

I'm glad it came out so well. That taste is one reason I can't make it often because I would eat so much I'd kill myself! LOL Hope you all thoroughly enjoy your dinner.

I just slathered mine with mustard, brown sugar, fresh pineapple chunks, and cloves. It just went in the oven. It's a smoked ham so it's basically already cooked so it will be ready by dinner time.

Gonna put in a few whole sweet potatoes to bake and steam some asparagus. Oh, almost forgot the cranberries for ham sandwiches the next few days! Roll dough is also rising in the bowl and we made the tiramisu together. It's sitting in the fridge chilling.

I already wished Grandma and the warped primitive a heartfelt Merry Christmas on a cooking and baking thread in the DUmpster, but they hadn't gone to that bonfire on Skins's island, and so another warm, sincere, and affectionate Merry Christmas to Grandma!

AZDemDist6  (1000+ posts)        Thu Dec-25-08 04:21 PM
Response to Original message
 
2. ham is so good and the traditional recipes are the best IMO

I have a 5 bone Prime Rib in the oven, it's got about an hour left...

One hopes it turns out well, and a Merry Christmas to the demolitioned primitive!

[Chris]

What she did sounds identical to the ham Alton Brown did the other year.  He put a thick crust of brown sugar and spices on the ham and baked it, cut side down.  Sounds pretty tasty.  Glad it turned out well for her.