Country Ham

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Ham I Am

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (22)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(22)

Cook Time:
4 hr 30 min
Level:
--
Yield:
20 portions

Times:

Prep: 48 hr 0 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 4 hr 30 min
Total:: 52 hr 30 min

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Ingredients

1 country (dry cured) ham
1 liter Dr. Pepper
1 cup sweet pickle juice, optional

Directions

Unwrap ham and scrub off any surface mold (if you hung in a sack for 6 months you'd have mold too). Carefully remove hock with hand saw. (If this idea makes you eye your first aid kit, ask your butcher to do it. But make sure you keep the hock, it's the best friend collard greens ever had.)

Place ham in cooler and cover with clean water. (As long as it's not too dirty you can use what southerners call the "hose pipe"). Stash the cooler in the bushes. If it's summer, throw in some ice. If it's freezing out, keep the cooler inside. Change the water twice a day for two days turning the ham each time.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place ham in a large disposable turkey-roasting pan and add enough Dr. Pepper to come about halfway up the side of the ham. Add pickle juice if you've got it and tent completely with heavy-duty foil. Cook for 1/2 hour then reduce heat to 325 degrees F, and cook another 1 1/2 hours.

Turn the ham over, insert an oven safe thermometer (probe-style is best) and cook another 1 1/2 hours, or until the deepest part of the ham hits 140 degrees F (approximately 15 to 20 minutes per pound total).

Let rest 1/2 hour then slice paper-thin. Serve with biscuits or soft yeast rolls.

Cooks note: Even after soaking, country ham is quite salty, so thin slicing is mandatory. If you're a bacon fan, however, cut a thicker (1/4-inch) slice and fry it up for breakfast.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Country Ham
Amy Berea, KY 12-27-2009
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Good Ham
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I never thought of fixing country ham like this. I went ahead and had our butcher slice the ham and remove the ham hock. ... Then I took only the slices that we were going to eat for the next day and soaked it in water in the fridge. Put the slices on a roasting pan with the Dr. Pepper and water and it came out great. To Raoul in Englewood, FL......Maybe you could boil the rest of your ham in a large stock pot to remove the excess salt. That's how a lot of country people around here in KY do it. They boil it to remove the salt and then they pan fry pieces for breakfast or roast it.Read more
recipe Country Ham
Raoul Englewood, FL 12-25-2009
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Salt Lick
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

Much like Matthew from Ft. Worth, mine came out tough and wicked salty. I suspect it was a case of garbage in, garbage out.... I'm never buying another Smithfield Country Ham again. I, too, followed the recipe to a "T" and AB has never let me down. Next question is what can I do to save this 12 pound salt lick? Soak it more?Read more
recipe Country Ham
Toni Mabelvale, AR 12-24-2009
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worth the prep-time
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

My kids thought the wierd thing hanging out in the cooler was kind of gross - until it was cooked. This is my first time to... cook a country ham and it turned out great! Thanks so much for the easy-to-follow directions. My family loves your show!Read more
recipe Country Ham
Matthew Fort Worth, TX 11-30-2009
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OMG Salty
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

Dearest Alton; I mean that...Dearest...Your show is the only thing on TV worth watching. I followed this recipie to a "t"... and the ham came out too salty to eat and it was very tough as well. Maybe there is a variable worth discussing in your recipie that I missed??? Thanks; MatthewRead more
recipe Country Ham
Shirley Leicester, NC 10-16-2009
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This Ham taste so good
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Alton you are the king of cooking this ham is havenly my family & I love it and we also love your show Good Eats we also... loved watching your 10th annv show we love you.Read more
recipe Country Ham
Scott Raleigh, NC 04-23-2009
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Another Winner
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Alton has outdone himself again with this recipe. It's simple and results in a delicious and tender ham. I would... suggest that your results will ultimately depend on the quality of ham you start with. In my opinion the absolute best dry cured county ham is from Johnston County Hams in Smithfield - http://www.countrycuredhams.com. Read more