quote:

Originally posted by Hillbilly

NO, NO A THOUSAND TIME NO!! DO NOT TRY TO BAKE A COUNTRY HAM! There is no such thing as a good BAKED country ham. Have you ever had baked country ham served to you in a restaurant? Highly unlikely. FRY, FRY, FRY!

Country ham is for frying in a cast iron skillet. Just slice it off (simply wash the outside with water only and scrape off excess salt, or just cut off a very thin rind of the outside border. NEVER soak it). It will produce enough grease without adding any lard or shortening to the skillet(although some suggest cooking in a few tablespoons of a mixture of water & 7-up). After it has cooked and browned a little, take the ham out and pour in a little coffee (or just water will do) and scrape up the drippings residue from the pan to stir into the coffee as it simmers. RED EYE GRAVY! I alwys like to split my biscuit in half and spoon a tablespoon of red eye on each biscuit half, and then top it off with a little sawmill gravy or sausage gravy). Depending on how much red eye I have produced (usually 1/2 cup to 1 cup), I will dribble it over the ham and eggs on my plate as well as on the biscuits.

Trying to bake a country ham is an absolute waste of great meat. AND the mold doesn’t hurt a thing. It is part of the curing process. Just cut it off and slice what is left. It is more tender if the ham is sliced against the grain (leaving the individual slices to be sliced with the grain as it is eaten). Or better yet, have your butcher slice it or buy it already sliced.

Don’t judge country ham by any baking attempt.