Best Boiled Virginia Ham Recipes

BOILED HAM DINNER

Steps:

• Place the ham, carrots, potatoes and onions in a Dutch oven. Place the bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, garlic and allspice on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen string. , Add to pan. Add water just to cover the ham and vegetables; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add cabbage; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender; drain. Discard spice bag.

STUFFED HAM, SOUTHERN MARYLAND STYLE

Steps:

• If corning the ham: Cut slits about 3 inches deep in a few places around the bone. Push salt into the incisions and, with a light hand, rub salt all over the surface of the ham. Reserve any remaining salt to rub into the ham as it corns, adding more if needed later in the process. Place the ham in a nonreactive pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and place it in refrigerator for a week. Unwrap and turn it every couple of days, sprinkling with more reserved salt and pouring off any juice that collects each time. Rewrap. The day before you are going to stuff the ham, rinse off the salt and soak the ham overnight in cold water in the refrigerator.
• Make the stuffing: The goal is to chop all the vegetables so the pieces are small and relatively uniform in size. Begin by chopping the cabbage. A food processor with a shredding blade is helpful. Place the cabbage in a large pan or bowl. Remove large stems from the kale and other greens, if you are using them, and chop. (Tip: Freeze cleaned, whole kale leaves overnight in plastic bags, then break up the frozen leaves while still in the bag and add to the stuffing mixture.) Chop the yellow onions and scallions, and add them to the cabbage and kale.
• Mix the vegetables well and add the spices. Mix again. (Your hands will work best for this, but wear gloves if your skin is sensitive to pepper.) Taste the stuffing and adjust, adding more cayenne or red-pepper flakes for a more intense spiciness. Keep in mind that the long boiling time will soften the heat.
• Stuff the ham: Remove the bone, or have the butcher remove it for you. The ham should be almost butterflied. Add the bone to a pot large enough to hold the ham, fill with enough water to cover it and begin to heat the water to a boil.
• While the water heats, set the ham on a sheet pan and cut slits about 3 inches long and 2 inches deep in a few places to make pockets, being careful not to slice through the meat completely. The number of slits will depend on the size of the ham. The goal is an even distribution of stuffing. Pack the slits tightly with stuffing, and add stuffing to the center of the ham where the bone was. Close the ham and secure it with kitchen string.
• Prepare a large square of cheesecloth at least 3 layers thick. Spoon a layer of stuffing over the cheesecloth and set the ham on it. Pack more stuffing on the top and sides of the ham. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth to the top and twist tightly to form a compact package. Tie the top tightly with string.
• Lower the ham into boiling water, reduce heat to a simmer and add any juice that has collected from the stuffing. Skim any foam that rises. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
• Turn off the heat and let the ham cool slightly in the water, about an hour. (Old-timers simply put the whole pot on the porch overnight if the weather was cool, or left it on the stove until completely cooled.) Drain the ham in a colander and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Remove the cheesecloth and string, and reserve any stuffing around the ham.
• To serve, slice the ham across the grain, so each slice contains stuffing and meat. Pile additional stuffing around the slices. The ham can be reheated, but more often it is served cold.

BAKED VIRGINIA HAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the ham in a heavy roasting pan.
• Mince the garlic in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the chutney, mustard, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and process until smooth. Pour the glaze over the ham and bake for 1 hour, until the ham is fully heated and the glaze is well browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

THE BEST BOILED HAM

Steps:

• Place the ham in a pot large enough to hold it without it sticking up out of the liquid you are going to add. (If you are using a boneless ham please pierce it with a fork several times to allow the flavor to get inside the meat).
• To the pot add the lemon lime soda, pineapple juice, mustard and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
• Bring to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer.
• Cook at least 2 hours - longer is better.

BOILED HAM

Steps:

• The night before the gammon is to be cooked place it in a bowl of cold water and allow to soak.
• This removes some of the salt and tenderises it a little bit.
• Place in a large cooking pot, (make sure you have a lid for it), cover with cold water, add the onions and bouquet garni and bring to the boil.
• Turn the heat right down so the water is barely bubbling and put on the lid.
• Cook for 20 minutes per pound of meat.
• Once the cooking time is up leave the meat in the liquour until cooled.
• This stops it tensing up, and drying out, and makes it lovely and tender.