The art of cooking a good ham.



The art of cooking a good ham is one that is not to difficult to acquire and all you need to do is decide how you wish to cook it.

But the first thing you have to do is find out how it has been cured. A ham is a pork leg that has been cured with salt water called brine. Now more traditional ways of curing calls for a lot more salt, more than a modern way. So if you have a ham that has been cured in the traditional method then you will want to soak the ham before cooking. Other wise it will be very salty.
You have to soak it for about five to seven hours in cold water. Dain the water of and let is sit for a while them cook it. If your ham has been cured like most hams today then you will not have to bother with any soaking.

To cook a ham you will need about forty minutes per kilo or twenty per pound. Then allow an extra forty or twenty all depending how you worked out the weight of the ham.

Now you have to decide how to cook it. The first way and most common way is to boil it. For this you will need a good sized pan that can fit the whole of the ham in and still have room to move around. Also if you can get something to lift the ham of the base of the pan to stop it from sticking. Now place the ham in to the pan and add the water and bring to the boil. The drain away the water add fresh water. This way you get rid of a lot of the scum that floats to the top of the water. Also this time add a onion, a few peppercorns, carrots a bay leaf and coriander seeds. Bring it up to the boil and then simmer till the time of cooking has passed.

Or you can roast the ham. Cut the skin on the ham to make a diamond pattern. You can stud the skin of the ham in the middle of each diamond with a clove. Just do not do too many as the clove flavour will over power the ham. Then place it on a roasting try. Then roast in an oven set at 200°c, 400°f or gas mark 6. At the end of the cooking take it out of the oven and straining of some of the dark roasting juices. Place them in to a sauce pan with some honey and a little brown sugar and a dash of lemon juice. Melt them together and then coat the ham with this stick rich coating. Let this cool on the ham and it will have a grate tasting glaze.

And that is about all you kneed to know about cooking a ham. Once cooked you can have it hot or cold, with salad, in a sandwich or just on its own with fresh new potatoes, one of my favourites.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goken Honey Farm - Honey & Jam Dispenser - Professional Solution For Your Breakfast Buffet

Image
Family owned Goken Honey Farm was founded 1812. Highest quality standard. 200 years' experience  in honey 25 years' experience in jam. Dispensers from Goken Honey Farm are used in more than 2000 hotels in Europe. Jam and Hazelnut Chocolate Dispenser The dispenser is refilled with 650g PE bags. Dispensers are available with one, three and five taps and different design models. System advantages: -          Hygienic presentation. Jam is contained in a PE bag. Jam and Hazelnut Chocolate stays fresh. Jam does not get in touch with dispenser. Easy to clean. -          Easy to use for your guests. Guests just press handle. -          Cost efficient. Jam stays in the dispenser until its empty. Less losses of jam. -          Jam made with 50% fruit. Large variety of Jam, Marmalade and Haz...
Read more

Mutzen or Muzen

Image
Now where ever you go you seem to get a sort of sweet batter doughnut like pastry, the reason for this is , they are really nice to eat. Mutzen are a German version of this kind of thing and are normally made around Mardi Gras time or New Years. Now depending on where you are in Germany you will find variation to how they are made. You will need 150g/5oz plain flour 1 egg 2tsp milk 1tso baking powder 1tsp salt 2tsp sugar 30ml/2floz sour cream Vegetable oil for frying Icing sugar with vanilla to roll them in once cooked. Take your flour, baking powder, salt and sugar put them in a bow and make a well in the centre of it. Crack the egg in that and add the milk and mix until you have a stiff batter. Heat the oil, and deep fry the dough, it takes about 1 to 2 minutes to cook all depending on the size . Drop the batter in from a spoon so it forms a sort of tear drop shape. Once cooked roll them in the vanilla sugar. Now if you want you can try these fo...
Read more

Greggs and Prêt à Manger are UK’s Most Desired Coffee Shop/Snack HotSpot

Image
Composite Loyalty Index consumers’ rate Greggs and Prêt à Manger as providing the best coffee experiences Costa Coffee, Starbucks and Café Nero Close Competitors in Winning Customer Loyalty   London, U.K., March 18th, 2015 – A national survey by Market Force Information, a worldwide leader in customer intelligence solutions, reveals that consumers’ rate Greggs and Prêt à Manger as providing the best coffee experiences, followed by competitors Café Nero, Costa Coffee and Starbucks. Although 43 per cent of consumers were highly satisfied with their coffee experience, one in ten consumers were dissatisfied. For the rankings, Market Force polled more than 4,500 consumers in January 2015 who were asked to rate their satisfaction with their last experience at a given coffee shop and their likelihood to recommend it to others. The data was averaged to rate each restaurant brand on a Composite Loyalty Index. Wake up and Smell the Coffee! In addition to the Composite Loy...
Read more