Home-Cured Holiday Ham

Surry County, Virginia

The southeast United States, particularly the hills of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, have been the
epicenter of the nation’s hams for more than three hundred years. The mild winters and hot summers are
ideal for dry-curing. After a long, slow cure, the hams are smoked and hung to age. The finest of these are
hung for nearly two years and have a flavor and texture that is like Italian prosciutto. The artisans who
create the country’s finest hams tend to call well-aged hams “country hams,” and regard the sweeter, more
familiar brine-cured ham as “city hams.” Like Alan Benton in Tennessee, Sam Edwards, of S. Wallace
Edwards and Sons in Surry County, Virginia, and Nancy Newsom, whose family makes Colonel Bill New-
som’s Aged Kentucky Ham, prefer not to boil or bake a whole country ham. Putting a quick (three-week)
cure on a fresh ham is another option. This recipe is the result of dozens of interviews with ham makers
and ham bakers. The slow poaching, bourbon-honey glaze, and baking work well for store-bought brine-
cured ham as well. (This recipe uses pink salt, a curing salt that contains nitrites to protect from botulism.)

For the Curing Solution

1 gallon spring water
1⁄2 cup kosher salt
2 cups brown sugar
2 1⁄2 tablespoons pink salt, such as DQ Curing Salt or Insta Cure No. 1
One 5- to 8-pound bone-in fresh ham (1⁄2 rear leg of pig), skin on if possible
For the Ham
1 quart water
2 quarts unfiltered apple juice or cider
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
6 whole black peppercorns
3 cups bourbon
For the Glaze
2 tablespoons sorghum
2 tablespoons honey
1 1⁄2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1⁄2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1. To cure the ham: Three weeks before serving, combine the water, kosher salt, brown sugar, and pink
salt in a large nonreactive pot and bring to a simmer over high heat until the salts and sugar are dis-
solved. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
2. Add the pork, weight down with a heavy plate in order to cover the meat completely, and refrigerate
for 2 weeks.
3. Rinse the cured pork under cold running water. Place in a smoker or over cooling hardwood coals for
12 to 24 hours. Then hang the ham to dry in a cool, well-ventilated place for 3 to 5 days.
4. To cook the ham: The day before serving, rinse the ham and put it in a large stockpot. Add the water,
apple juice, vinegar, peppercorns, and 1 ½ cups of the bourbon and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to
a bare simmer and cook uncovered for 3 to 4 hours, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the
thickest part of the ham registers 150°F.
Home-Cured Holiday Ham
Surry County, Virginia
Continued
5. Remove the pot from the heat and cool the ham in the broth to room temperature. Refrigerate in the
broth for 8 to 24 hours, until chilled.
6. About 4 hours before serving, preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove the ham from the broth. Discard
the broth. Place the ham on a rack in a large roasting pan, skin (or fat) side up. Use a sharp knife to
remove the skin from the ham, leaving as much fat as possible on the meat. Score the fat in a diamond
pattern.
7. To make the glaze: Simmer the remaining 1 ½ cups bourbon in a medium saucepan over medium-low
heat until reduced to ½ cup. Stir in the sorghum, honey, mustard, and butter. Bring to a simmer, then
remove from the heat. Brush the glaze on all sides of the ham, taking care to dab the brush into the
cuts.
8. Roast the ham for 20 minutes.
9. Baste the ham with the glaze, reduce the oven temperature to 300°F, and roast, basting every 30 min-
utes, for 2 to 3 hours, until the surface has a brown crust and an instant-read thermometer inserted into
the thickest part of the ham registers 150°F.
10. Transfer to a carving board and let rest for 30 minutes before carving and serving.

Serves 12

From ONE BIG TABLE by Molly O’Neill. Copyright © 2010 by Molly O’Neill. Reprinted by permission
of Simon & Schuster, Inc, NY