Thread: Easter 2017

Hi All!

The wonderful day of Easter approaches. Normally I don't try anything 'NEW' for special days, like a new pie or even how I cook green beans. I like things to go smoothly and for all to know that they are going to enjoy what's being presented as they've had it before.

However this year I'm going out on a limb.



I've got it in an ice chest in my bathtub with running water. And it's not to thaw it.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

Hi All!

The wonderful day of Easter approaches. Normally I don't try anything 'NEW' for special days, like a new pie or even how I cook green beans. I like things to go smoothly and for all to know that they are going to enjoy what's being presented as they've had it before.

However this year I'm going out on a limb.



I've got it in an ice chest in my bathtub with running water. And it's not to thaw it.

Let me know how it tastes.

I will definitely let you know how it tastes. I'm planning on three days of soaking with the slowly running water. I do dump the water every few hours or so to make sure there is fresh water to leach the salt out.

I figure that since it's recommended that the longer you soak the less salty the product will be and that 24 hours is a bare minimum that by the end of Friday it should be ready to be taken out, scrubbed and dried off and waiting in the refrigerator to be cooked on Sunday.

Wish me luck.

Well Roy, Good luck and Happy Easter. Tomorrow I'm going to season and start smoking two pork shoulders and nine beef tongues in the offset.

Ah, you are making me homesick. I spent over 40 years of my life in Virginia, less than 100 miles from Smithfield.

The thing that makes Virginia hams so special is that the hogs are fed peanuts as their primary food. In most other places, corn is the staple. The best hams are smoked and dry cured. A dry cured ham is packed in dry salt until the salt pulls nearly all the moisture from the ham. That is why they have to be soaked before you cook it.

Here in the Chicago area, most of the hams available are either brine cured or sugar cured. They taste OK, but they have neither the texture, nor the flavor, of a good dry cured Virginia peanut fed ham.

I had a coworker who originally came from Wisconsin. When she moved to Virginia, she purchased her parents an expensive dry cured Virginia ham for Christmas. When her parents unwrapped the ham, they found mold on the outside of the ham and threw the ham in the garbage, thinking it was spoiled. They did not realize that the mold, along with the salt, protects the meat from spoiling. You have to scrub the ham with a stiff brush to remove the mold.

I certainly hope you enjoy your Smithfield ham this Easter. That ham traveled a long way from Smithfield to Walla Walla just to bring joy to your mouth and a smile to your face. Just be sure to slice it paper thin. For best results, your carving knife needs to be honed as sharp as your razor.

Love that Lengua!

Originally Posted by Benz

Well Roy, Good luck and Happy Easter. Tomorrow I'm going to season and start smoking two pork shoulders and nine beef tongues in the offset.

So what time should I come over?

We would soak like as you, then boil for 3 or 4 hours and then bake.

We had a ham that took 3rd place in the KY state fair. I still think about that ham.

Pray you enjoy this ham. They are fantastic.

Originally Posted by RayClem

Ah, you are making me homesick. I spent over 40 years of my life in Virginia, less than 100 miles from Smithfield.

The thing that makes Virginia hams so special is that the hogs are fed peanuts as their primary food. In most other places, corn is the staple. The best hams are smoked and dry cured. A dry cured ham is packed in dry salt until the salt pulls nearly all the moisture from the ham. That is why they have to be soaked before you cook it.

Here in the Chicago area, most of the hams available are either brine cured or sugar cured. They taste OK, but they have neither the texture, nor the flavor, of a good dry cured Virginia peanut fed ham.

I had a coworker who originally came from Wisconsin. When she moved to Virginia, she purchased her parents an expensive dry cured Virginia ham for Christmas. When her parents unwrapped the ham, they found mold on the outside of the ham and threw the ham in the garbage, thinking it was spoiled. They did not realize that the mold, along with the salt, protects the meat from spoiling. You have to scrub the ham with a stiff brush to remove the mold.

I certainly hope you enjoy your Smithfield ham this Easter. That ham traveled a long way from Smithfield to Walla Walla just to bring joy to your mouth and a smile to your face. Just be sure to slice it paper thin. For best results, your carving knife needs to be honed as sharp as your razor.

Ray, thanks for the memories! :

To be honest the reason that I spent the amount of money that I did to get the Smithfield was because of my long departed father. He was born and raised on his grandfather's homestead. He used to talk about the dry cured hams and bacons that he had growing up. He swore that the hams weren't any good until they got to be about a year old.

While he never took time to learn the art, he sure missed those hams.

On the other hand, my mother (who was raised in town) didn't care for them, saying that they were black on the outside and covered with salt. I believe that my granny didn't soak them very long.

Which brings me to where I am in this point in time. I'm a day and a half into soaking the Smithfield in running water and I'm planning on another day and a half to not only remove excess salt but to help reconstitute the meat.

I'm well aware that any mold isn't harmful/thanks dad

I'll be posting pics here in a couple of days. To be using the entire leg for my little family would be a waste so I'll be cutting it into 1/3d's and then freezing what I won't be baking.

I find it funny that the recommended method is to cook the 'ham' in water. I guess back in Virginia they have 35 gallon metal drums to do that in as that's all that comes to mind that would be large enough to hold the entire leg.

Again, thanks for the memories! :

Originally Posted by Benz

Well Roy, Good luck and Happy Easter. Tomorrow I'm going to season and start smoking two pork shoulders and nine beef tongues in the offset.

Beef tongue, yum yum. Has been so long since I had that. Never had it smoked though.