Just in time for Derby

In the South we love our ham. Well we love all things pork really but a good country ham is a delicacy. Here in Kentucky we love our hams so much we even have a ham competition at the state fair with the Blue Ribbon winner being auctioned off for charity. So how much does a prize Kentucky country ham go for you ask? $100? $500? Try $1.6 million. That was the winning bid in August of last year for the winning ham from Broadbent Farms in Kuttawa, KY. Right at $100,000 per pound. Now a fine country ham can be had for far less to be sure but what do you do with a whole ham once you get it home.

Country ham is salty. Goes without saying I suppose. The fresh ham is cured with a salt and sugar cure and hung to preserve it. The best ones go a year at least before they're ready, well two summers to be exact. So once you get your ham home you need to wash it. Scrub it with a good, stiff bristled brush and some water or a vinegar and water mixture then pat it dry. Next you want to soak it. Soak in enough water to cover for 24 hours making sure to change the water every 8 hours to pull out excess salt.

After it soaks you need to get it ready for baking. Here is where the many forks in the road come in. Several schools of thought, all good in their own right.

1. Cover it in water and simmer for 20 minutes per pound then trim the fat off. After that you can treat it like you would a "city" ham and rub it with brown sugar and stud it with cloves then bake it.
2. You could cook it in Coca-Cola, RC or Dr. Pepper for 20 minutes per pound then trim the fat off. Bake in a 350 degree oven and glaze with a reduced, syrupy glaze made from your preferred beverage.
3. Cover it in water and simmer for 20 minutes per pound then trim the fat off. Bake in a 350 degree oven while glazing with sorghum.
4. Cover it in water and simmer for 20 minutes per pound then trim the fat off. Coat the ham in a mixture of mustard and honey then cover in bread crumbs and bake at 350 degrees until golden.

Feel free to add any flavoring agents to the simmering water for added flavor. A cup of sorghum or apple cider, some vinegar and brown sugar, a quart of orange juice or maybe a liter of cola are all acceptable flavoring for country hams. Recipes for country ham glazes are prevalent and I personally feel that you'd be hard-pressed to find a bad one. Use your imagination on this and you'll be happy with the results.

Serve your sliced country ham with some biscuits. A country ham biscuit in one hand, a mint julep in the other, My Old Kentucky Home playing just before the Derby runs will bring a tear to your eye, I promise.