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| Credit: National Pork Board |
An Easter Tradition
by Molly O'Neill
Succulent ham: Glazed, it's a tradition at the Easter feast
A ham is, for many, the centerpiece of the Easter table. Dry-aged country hams from Virginia and Kentucky are a centuries-old tradition that are worth trying, whether you live in the country or the city.
Leni Sorensen, Ph.D., our “Multicultural Grandma,” has lived in Virginia since 1982, and it has taken nearly that long to master the perfect Virginia ham. An irrepressibly gregarious person with a doctorate in food studies, she has quizzed her friends and neighbors on their country ham technique.
“Everyone has their own way,” she says. “It’s like magical thinking. It’s the way their momma did it, and their grandma, and they believe if they don’t do it that way it won’t work out. Of course, their neighbor, who makes it completely differently, also feels the same way.”
The Southeast United States, particularly Virginia, has been known for its ham for more than 300 years. Its climate — mild winters and hot summers — is ideal for dry-curing. After a year of curing, the hams are smoked. This produces a flavor and texture that is more like Italian prosciutto, rather than the familiar canned ham or wrapped supermarket ham, which is cured in brine, often dotted with cloves, usually glistening in a syrupy glaze, and frequently the centerpiece of many an Easter table.
Nancy Newsom, the self-proclaimed “ham lady” of Princeton, Ky., boils her country ham and then lets it soak in its cooking water overnight to make it as moist as possible. Newsom is descended from a family of ham makers that can be traced back to 1642 Virginia. Later, when her ancestors moved to Kentucky to take a land grant, they took their Virginia method with them. They’ve been making country hams ever since. The family company, Colonel Bill Newsom's Aged Kentucky Country Ham, sells out of Easter hams by December. But they offer a Barbecued Preacher ham, which is hickory-smoked but not aged, for those stuck without an Easter ham.
For her own part, Sorensen settled on a variation of the standard poaching technique used by Sam Edwards, a third-generation ham producer from Sherry, Va., and owner of S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. Her poaching liquid is half water and half apple juice, which adds a very subtle flavor to the cooked ham. Her other secret to a successful country ham is to use an electric knife — the only way she can create the ideal paper-thin slices. She makes a ham large enough to yield leftovers to use in eggs Benedict or to wrap around melon for an Italian-inspired appetizer.
Another favorite, the country ham, made by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons, is a greater challenge to the cook, since it requires scrubbing before cooking and at least a day’s advance preparation, but the payoff is worth it.
“When I make our hams, I’m building a flavor profile. I use my taste, touch, smell, and sight,” says Sam Edwards, whose company also sells “city hams” — sweet, brine-cured hams that are more familiar to most of us — but for Edwards there’s no question what kind of ham he’ll be slow-poaching this Easter Sunday.
“It’s the difference between a wonderful, extra-sharp Cheddar and mild Gouda,” he says. “Both are good, but one is just more satisfying.”
Whether the ham is “country” or “city,” it won’t shine without the right accompaniments. Below the Mason-Dixon Line, universal standbys include beaten biscuits and collard greens. Virginia Willis, author of Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories From Three Generations of Southern Cooking (Ten Speed Press, 2008) has a particularly decadent bourbon-flavored sweet-potato recipe that she serves with ham.
Like the Willises, every family has something special that they serve with their Easter ham. For Sorensen, it’s succotash. For Newsom, it’s Southern corn pudding that she learned from her mother and grandmother. For Edwards, it’s Aunt Glady’s broccoli salad. Aunt Glady — his wife’s aunt Glady — passed away more than 20 years ago, but her salad means she’s always got a place at the table.
Continue to the recipes: Boiled Kentucky Country Ham, Poached Virginia Country Ham, Southern Corn Pudding, Aunt Glady's Broccoli Salad, Bourbon Sweet Potatoes, and Succotash
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