Ham Design Patterns
Last week I was faced with a predicament: a ham and no plan. This was no small ham either, but twenty pounds of hickory smoked predicament waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. My plea for assistance yielded a number of promising recipes-- thank you Peter, Topher, Melissa and Reid! As I was agonizing over which recipe to choose (yes, I agonize over recipes), they started to blur together and it was then that I spotted the patterns. They weren't four different ham recipes, but one basic pattern with relatively minor differences in the implementation.
In the computer programming world, design patterns are, "standard solutions to common problems in software design... [which] can speed up the development process by providing almost ready-made solutions that have been used earlier and proved to be efficient." We're not talking about cooking by formula --this isn't a mechanical process-- but in recognizing and adapting the best efforts of those who have come before us. The same basic idea works for both programming and pork.
From the recipes proffered and a little reading on the side, I discovered that ham preparation has two main phases: the cooking, during which time we're trying to get it sufficiently hot without drying out, and the glazing, when we slather it with flavor. Most recipes are in agreement that the cooking needs to happen through wet heat, either simmering or boiling. The glazing is where the personality of a recipe shows through most clearly, containing everything from brown sugar to salsa to guava jam, each augmented with additional spices.
Breaking it down, the glazes generally all contain a sweet component as the base. It is the sugars in this base that carmelize so nicely for the glazing effect. Spices are added to give added heat and punch: cloves, nutmeg, salsa, etc. The pattern is simple: wet heat to cook, glaze with sugars, season further with hot spices. Once I recognized the pattern, I felt suddenly free to create my own recipe, riffing off a combination of all four contributions. It turned out amazingly well.
The same idea applies to most any kind of cooking. Armed with an understanding of your ingredients, what they contribute, and how they combine with other flavors, the patterns begin to emerge. Recipes turn into rules of thumb basic patterns to point you in the right direction rather than hard and fast gospel truth.
Get my Guava-Glazed Ham recipe.
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Hi Alan,
Can't wait to see pics and hear more about the ham!
Reid, I was going to do another post on the ham recipe itself, but three separate posts on the same chunk of meat would be too many. This is the basic recipe I used. You'll see it is quite similar to yours, with a few ideas borrowed from elsewhere.
The ham:
The glaze:
Cut the tough outer skin from the ham, leaving a thing layer of fat. Put the ham in a roasting pan, pour as much coke around as will fit without spilling over. Tent the ham with aluminum foil and simmer on the stovetop at medium heat for 3 1/2 hours (~10 min per lb).
While the ham cooks, prepare the glaze by mixing together all the ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer over medium low heat until the glaze has reduced by 1/3 to 1/2 then allow to cool thoroughly. Reserve half the glaze to serve alongside the sliced ham.
When the ham is done cooking on the stovetop, transfer it to a 400 degree oven and cook for another 30 minutes, brushing every ten minutes with the glaze. Remove the ham and let it set for 10 minutes before slicing. Reheat reserved glaze and serve with the sliced ham.
Unfortunately I don't have photos of this ham. My camera is out for repair.
Hi Alan,
Thanks. What did you think of the Coke added to the ham. I have that recipe by Nigella, but I've been too afraid to try it. I stick with the tried an true. I'm glad the guava glaze recipe worked out for you....with some minor changes. Too bad your camera is out for repair. It would have been nice to see (and imagine the taste) of the final product!
Reid, the benefit of the coke didn't appear to be for the ham. I couldn't taste the coke in the final product. The value was to the glaze. By the time the coke has cooked several hours, it is rich caramel infused with ham juices, and those can be incorporated into the glaze.