The Saga of the Ham Part 2

For those who have been following along, you will know that I am in the process of trying to make my first ham. I started about 2 weeks ago (see part 1).

When I last saw the pork it looked like so:
 

I pulled it out of the refrigerator. The changes so far are subtle. The meat is firmer, darker, and a little shriveled.

The next step was to a rub the pork with the cure/salt mix. I used exactly the same amounts as last time. Last time the pork was able to easily hold the entire batch of mix. This time however, the pork was drier and firmer. As a result about 1/3 was left over.

I wrapped the pork up like last time and place back in the refrigerator.

See you back in a couple of weeks…

Fried Green Tomatoes

This week’s farm share included 2 pounds of green tomatoes. It is unbelievable that we’re still getting tomatoes at this time of year!

I only know two things to do with them and that is to fry them up or pickle them. I’ll fry a couple of batches and can the rest I guess.

Ingredients:
1 medium green tomato
1/4 cup fine corn meal
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Slice the tomato into 1/4 inch slices
 

2. Add dry ingredients to a mixing bowl. Whisk in cream and milk until you have a smooth thin batter.
 

3. Add tomatoes to the batter and make sure they are coated well. Allow to sit while you heat oil in a large iron (or non-stick) skillet over medium heat.

4. Fry for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown on one side. Flip and repeat so that both sides are golden brown.
 

5. Remove from skillet, season with salt, and allow to dry on a drying rack or on paper towels.

6. Serve immediately.

Parmesan Crisps

Simple, fun, elegant and easy what else could you ask for. These parmesan crisps add a touch of elegance to any salad or appetizer.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (or other hard cheese within your budget, but not the powdered stuff)

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 325F.

2. Place 2 tbsp of grated cheese in a pile on a Silpat or wax paper and arrange into a disc about 4″ in diameter. Continue with rest of cheese making about 4 disks.

3. Place in oven and bake for 12-14 minutes.
 

4. Remove from oven and allow to cool. If desired, form into cones or cups. Serve with salads, appetizers, or just munch on them for a treat.

Creamy Chicken Casserole

Another easy meal day. We needed to use up some vegetables and left-overs. Autumn is finally setting in here. It is the perfect time for casseroles, warm yumminess.

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 rib of chopped celery
1 large chopped carrot
1 medium chopped leek
1 medium chopped potato
1 boneless, skinless chopped chicken breast
1 cup grated cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup cream
1 cup milk
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped thyme
1 tbsp chopped lemon balm
2 hamburger buns
garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste
1/2 tsp herbs de Provence
Butter spray

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop vegetables. Chop and season chicken.
 

2. Saute chicken. Steam carrots and potatoes.

3. Remove chicken from the pan. Add the flour to the pan. Stir in with juices and oil over medium heat. Whisk in cream and milk. Add chopped garlic. Heat and stir until it thickens to a gravy.
 

4. Add vegetables, chicken, herbs and eggs to an oven safe dish.

5. Stir in gravy.
 

6. Top with shredded hamburger buns. Coat with butter spray and herbs de Provence.

7. Place dish in oven and bake for 45 minutes.
 

8. Allow to cool. Serve.

The Saga of the Ham, Part 1

If you read my earlier post on my love of pork, then you know I am interested in making a ham. Not any ham but something in the neighborhood of Parma perfection.

The first part of any saga like this is research. I’ve found a number of places on line with some helpful advice. If you are interested in making ham, you should check them out.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/cure_smoke/virginia_ham.pdf
http://www.foodandwine.net/recipes/recip009.htm
http://forum.rivercottage.net/viewtopic.php?t=13379
http://www.culinary-yours.com/ham.html
http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/C/come_dine/7philham.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnweakle/Hog_Killing.htm

Given this research, I have a good feel for the ingredients and the basic process. Now I need to settle on the cut of meat, the recipe and the specific technique.

I am a beginner here, so I am a little nervous that I will completely screw this up, so a smaller cut of meat is intriguing. On the recipe side, I would like to do a Parma style ham. The basic ingredient here is salt though you can add other ingredients to spice it up a bit.

OK so I had 1 pound of left over tenderloin. I decided I needed a curing agent other than salt. I went to Bass Pro Shop and picked up Lem’s brand cure. Nothing more than Prague #1 or Instacure #1 for those in the know. I think for ham you should really use Prague #2, but I couldn’t get that anywhere quickly. This is an experiment so #1 it is.

 

I mixed 1/2 tsp of the cure with 1 tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ground pepper and 1 tsp ground corriander. This was double the cure the package called for but I think it is typically used with ground meat…

I rubbed every last bit of the rub over the meat making sure to miss no part of the pork. For the last step I wrapped it up in celophane and placed in the fridge. I’ll check back in 2 weeks.