Ham Bone-in Cooked Shank

A Real Hankerin’

     Every once in a while, I get a hankerin’ (it’s the way my people used to talk) for a taste of a good ol’ bone-in country ham – the kind that my grandmother used to make on Easter. If you’ve ever tasted one, the taste was unforgettable.

The Kiss Principle Applies Here

     My advice is to keep it simple. Something happens to many of the commercial types. They are most likely soaked in brine and injected with who knows what resulting in an odd, artificially sweet taste. Even the appearance seems wrong. The mahogany-lacquered look and the spiral cut seems to make the ham seem a bit too slick and citified.

     To my tastes, a ham should taste like ham. I prefer my ham to have a savory-robust hammy flavor that meat gets that’s cooked close to the bone. The bone in this case is the pig’s thigh or “aitch” bone.

      A whole leg of pork can be divided into two parts: the butt and the shank. The butt end is usually leaner and more tender, while the shank end’s meat is a bit tougher but has more flavor. I also don’t like the spiral cut. I think the meat dries out faster, and I prefer to control the size of the slices.

At The Table

     A  holiday ham has the same presence at the table as a turkey or a prime rib roast. A ceremonial carving should take place making it a festive meat. Each slice is placed on the plate along with plain or creamed peas, sweet or scalloped potatoes, perhaps a side of spiced apples, deviled eggs, and Parker House rolls. Pair it with a wine with a bit of sweetness such as Riesling, rose’, Grenache, or a chenin blanc, and it’s good eats ahead.

     And a ham is also like a turkey, in that the left-overs are wonderful. We cut it into slices or cube the pieces. And we take all of the scraps and bones and add them to soups and sides. For days we enjoy ham sandwiches, ham and eggs, ham and beans, and the list goes on.    

A Thing For Pigs

     Being a farm boy, and being involved with raising pigs, I often watched my father walk among them and selected the one for our use. The ham is from the upper part of the back leg, so basically the pig that was the most muscled in this area was the one that was selected. As a result I spent some time in the hog yard checking out haunches. This may explain why I’ve always had a thing for Kermit’s girlfriend, Miss Piggy.