Country ham facts for kids
Baked country ham
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| Type | Meat |
|---|---|
| Course | Main course |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Similar dishes | Jinhua ham |
Country ham is a special kind of ham that comes from the Southern United States. It's very salty and is kept fresh by a process called curing and smoking. This method of preserving food was used long ago, before refrigerators were common.
To make country ham, people pack it in a mix of salts, sugar, and spices. It stays in this mix for a long time, sometimes for months. After that, it's often smoked. Because it's so salty, you usually need to soak it in water for a day or two before cooking. This helps remove some of the salt and adds moisture back to the ham.
You can buy country ham in different ways. Some are sold whole, still in the bags they hung in while smoking. Others are already soaked but not cooked. You can also find some that are cooked and ready to eat. Country ham is often compared to "city ham," which is preserved in a different way using wet ingredients.
Country ham is a very popular breakfast food in the Southern U.S. People often eat it at diners as a grilled slice, sometimes with the leg bone still in it. It's usually served with a special sauce called red-eye gravy. This gravy is made by adding black coffee to the pan after cooking the ham. Country ham is also popular in biscuit sandwiches at fast-food restaurants, making it a quick and easy breakfast.
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How Country Ham is Made
Country hams are preserved using salt for one to three months. Sometimes, other things like nitrites are added too. Most country hams are smoked using hardwood like hickory and red oak. However, some types, like the "salt-and-pepper ham" from North Carolina, are not smoked at all.
Hams from Missouri often have brown sugar in their salt mix. This makes them taste milder and less salty than hams from states like Kentucky and Virginia. After being cured, the hams are then aged for several months, or even up to 3 years. The aging time depends on how much fat is in the meat.
Country hams are not fully cooked when you buy them. They are preserved by the curing process. You can usually find them in stores without needing refrigeration. They are often sold as whole hams with the bone still inside, wrapped in rough cotton bags. You can also buy country ham already sliced and ready to cook, usually in vacuum-sealed packages.
Cooking Country Ham
There are a few ways to cook country ham. You can slice it and pan-fry it, bake it whole, or simmer it in water for several hours. If you buy a whole ham, you might need to scrub it and soak it for many hours before cooking. This helps remove the extra salt and any mold. Even after soaking, country ham is still quite salty. For many people, this strong, salty taste is what they love about it!
Some people clean the outside of the ham, slice it, and pan-fry it. They might eat it as is, or with the outer crust still on. When frying, traditional cooks often only cook it long enough to lightly brown both sides and warm the meat. This can be as quick as 30 seconds per side.
Serving Fried Country Ham
Fried country ham is often served as a main course (the main dish of a meal). It's usually a whole slice, sometimes with the cross-section of the leg bone still in it. After frying the ham, people often make red-eye gravy. They do this by adding water or coffee to the pan drippings and cooking it down for a short time. A ham steak is usually cut about 3/8 inch thick.
Serving Baked or Boiled Country Ham
Baked or boiled country ham is often sliced very thin. It's then served with buttermilk biscuits, beaten biscuits, or in yeast rolls. Sometimes, butter or a sauce made of melted butter and brown sugar is added. These "ham biscuits" are very popular at church dinners and wedding parties in areas where country ham is common.
The leftover pieces and scraps of ham, along with the cooked bones, are often used to add flavor to cooked greens and pulses (like beans or peas).
Country Ham Around the World
Country ham is similar in some ways to Italian uncooked prosciutto (called prosciutto crudo). However, prosciutto is not smoked and is usually moister than country ham. Prosciutto is also usually sliced much thinner than the thicker country ham "steaks" or even the slices used for sandwiches.
In the United States, country ham is often used in recipes that ask for Jinhua ham. Jinhua ham is a type of Chinese ham that cannot be brought into the U.S. because of import rules from the USDA.
Images for kids
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Baked country ham
See also
In Spanish: Jamón campestre para niños
