Ham a popular and tasty choice for Easter

By Jackson Clarion-Ledger

A cured ham is a traditional highlight of Easter meals in the rural South. Gannett News Service

Easter Day marked the end of the fast, prompting agrarian Southerners to go whole hog and bring out the best meat in the smokehouse. The custom spread to the rest of the country as we began to share our foodways in cookbooks.

A perfectly cured ham is the pride of the Southern table. Rich and not overly salty, it has a delectable flavor and can be served hot or cold depending upon the changeable spring weather.

Baked ham pairs admirably with myriad seasonal and regional foods such as asparagus, new potatoes and spring sweet peas, and it's a perfect topping for hot Southern biscuits.

Generally speaking, a whole ham is the hind leg of a pig, including both the shank and the butt portion. Most hams are cured, smoked or both; fresh hams are raw pork and will taste like a pork roast when cooked. Fully cooked ham will say so on the label.

A whole ham will feed about 25 to 30 people, so many cooks and hosts opt to buy either a half ham butt or shank with the bone in, or a boneless ham. Purists prefer bone-in hams as the bone adds flavor and is useful later for stock or soup. Also, boneless ham has a slightly different texture because its meat must be reshaped.

Whether you buy a bone-in, partially boned or deboned ham, check the expiration date first. Also, look at the meat. You should be able to see the grain of the muscle.

You always will run the risk of a bone-in ham containing extra fat. It is the nature of the beast, so to speak, and some animals will have more fat than others.

Ask your butcher or grocer for his or her advice.

Try these variations on this Easter favorite:

Stuffed Ham

For the ham:

• 12-pound butt end bone-in ham, deboned
• 1/2 cup coarse grain mustard
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

For the stuffing:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 4 cups chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 cups coarse breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 4 tablespoons additional dry white wine

To prepare ham: Have the butcher debone the ham. Reserve bone for stock. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the rind from the ham and remove excess fat.

Score remaining fat. Stuff lightly in cavity emptied in the deboning process, being careful not to pack too much. Truss and place in a roaster and then an oven, and cook about 20 minutes, until fat begins to brown. Meanwhile, combine mustard, wine, and brown sugar to make a paste. Smear this over the browned ham and continue to bake for another 25 minutes, basting several times with pan juice.

To prepare stuffing: Melt butter in a large skillet and saute onions and green peppers about 5 minutes, until onions are wilted. Add mushrooms and saute over low heat for another 15 minutes. Stir in all other ingredients except wine, remove from heat and toss. Mix in wine tossing again. If any stuffing is left over, place in a shallow greased baking dish and bake, covered, along with the ham. Uncover for the last 15 minutes of cooking time to lightly brown stuffing.

Cider-baked Ham

• 1 fully cooked, bone-in ham about 15 to 20 pounds
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• one-half cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place the ham, fat side up, and apple cider in a roasting pan and cover with foil. Bake it slowly for 6 to 8 hours, turning every 2 hours and replenishing cider as needed. An instant-read thermometer should read 170 degrees. Remove the ham from the oven and from the pan. Pour off the liquid, reserving one-fourth cup. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Trim the skin from the ham and all fat but one-fourth inch. Return the ham to the pan, fat side up. Sprinkle the fat with ground cloves. Make a paste by mixing the sugar, mustard and reserved cider mixture. Rub the paste over the fat side of the ham. Roast 20 minutes or until golden. Let rest for half an hour or more before carving.

Baked Ham with Maple Pecan Glaze

• 1 (6-pound) fully cooked boneless ham
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Trim ham of skin and all but one-fourth inch of fat and score fat in a diamond pattern. Bake in a roasting pan on rack for about 11/2 to 2 hours or until a meat thermometer reaches 160 degrees. To make glaze, mix together remaining ingredients in a saucepan until smooth. In the last 15 minutes of baking, brush the ham with the glaze and bake until golden. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.

Ginger Rum-glazed Ham

• 7- to 8-pound half (shank end) of a fully cooked cured ham
• 1/3 cup chopped preserved ginger in syrup
• 3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons dark rum
• parsley sprigs for garnish if desired

If the ham comes with the skin still attached, remove most of it with a sharp knife, leaving a layer of fat and a collar of skin around the shank bone. Trim the fat, leaving a layer about one-third inch thick, and score the layer remaining into diamonds.

Bake the ham on a rack in a roasting pan in a preheated 350-degree oven for 55 minutes. In a blender blend together the ginger, the brown sugar and the rum, spoon the glaze over the ham, spreading it, and bake the ham for 30 to 35 minutes more, or until the glaze is brown and bubbly.

Transfer the ham to a platter, garnish the platter with the parsley, and let the ham stand for 15 minutes before carving. Serves 8.

Preserved ginger is available at specialty food stores and some supermarkets.

Currant Mustard-glazed Ham

• A 7- to 8-pound half (shank end) of a fully cooked cured ham
• Whole cloves for studding the ham
• 1/3 cup red currant jelly
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

If the ham comes with the skin attached, remove most of it with a sharp knife, leaving a collar of skin around the shank bone and a layer of fat. Trim the fat, leaving a layer about one-third inch thick, score the layer remaining into a diamond pattern, and stud the center of each diamond with a clove. Bake the ham on a rack in a roasting pan in a preheated 350-degree oven for 55 minutes.

In a small saucepan, heat the jelly over moderate heat, stirring, until it is melted and smooth, remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the mustard. Spoon the glaze over the ham, spreading it evenly, and bake the ham for 30 to 35 minutes more, or until the glaze is brown and bubbly. Transfer the ham to a platter and let it stand for 15 minutes before carving. Serves 6 to 8.