Stephen A Broeker

Country Ham

Stephen A. Broeker

A Country Ham differs from a Modern Ham, in that a Country Ham is preserved by salt and smoke.  That's all.  So a Country Ham can be stored in the garage or most anywhere.  A Modern Ham is pre-cooked and the refrigerated or sealed in plastic.

To cook a Country Ham you must first get rid of a lot of the salt, for they are very salty. Remove salt by soaking the ham in water for at least 2 days, preferably 4 to 6 days.  
You should change the water twice a day.

To actually cook a Country Ham, heat your oven to 250 degrees.  
Place the ham in a deep baking pan, skin side up.  
Then fill the baking pan with Dr. Pepper. 
Yes, you will be braising the ham.  Every 2 hours flip the ham.  
When you areready to finish the ham, make sure that the ham is skin side up and crank theoven to 400 degrees.  
The ham is finished when the internal temperature is 160 degrees.