Country Style Ham Recipe
You too can make your own country ham! Really, it takes minimal pre-planning and a few days in the fridge to turn a ham steak into a southern-style country ham. Country style ham is salt-cured, and some people (like my sister) find it to be too salty for their taste. With this recipe, I added some of our honey in the brine as well as during the cooking process to balance out that saltiness and appeal to those more sensitive to salt.
Ham steaks are cut from the hind leg, also referred to as the ham. It is a hard-working muscle with less fat than the shoulder or belly. Because of this, legs are usually cured and smoked to make them a little more useful. Our pasture pigs have gorgeous ham muscles thanks to the Berkshire daddy. Berkshires are known for their highly prized marbled meat and succulent hams.
Salt curing just means the meat is covered in salt or submerged in saltwater brine. The salt tenderizes the meat and also preserves it. Before refrigeration and freezers were a standard home feature, salt curing was a way of preserving meat.
I grew up eating country ham with a brown sugar glaze, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens. Just about every year we would drive from our home in New Jersey all the way down to Florida, stopping in Virginia along the way. There, a country ham is known as Virginia ham, but it’s still just as salty, smokey, and sweet. You don’t need to smoke your country ham steak though it kicks it up a notch if you do!
This recipe for country style ham uses a leg steak that is around 2 pounds, from one of our pastured pigs. I also use pink curing salt which is optional. Curing salt, also called Prague and InstaCure, contains nitrites. Nitrites are used in curing meats to inhibit the growth of some bacteria that can be toxic. Curing salt has a measured small amount of nitrite in addition to salt, and preserves that pink color of the cured meat, like in ham, you’ve come to know and love. If you don’t use curing salt you won’t have that pink color but it will taste just as delicious!
Our pastured pork is available each month to Big Island residents through our pork share, once you order be sure to send us a message requesting one of our ham steaks so you can make your own country ham.
Ingredients
2lb pork leg steak (uncured ham steak)
6 cups water
1/2 cup brining salt
1/2 cup honey
1 bay leaf
2-3 whole peppercorns
2 tsp pink cure salt (optional)
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
Method
First, make the brine by heating 6 cups of water in a pot, until hot but not boiling. Put salt, honey, spices, and pink salt( if you’re using it) into the water and stir until dissolved. Allow this mixture to cool completely. Place ham steak into a storage gallon size ziplock bag then, with help, pour the cooled brining mixture into the bag. Carefully, seal the bag, trying to remove any excess air pocket. Now place the bag in a bowl or container with a large lip in case your bag leaks (I used a glass baking dish) and put it in the refrigerator for 3 days. Turn the bag over once a day to make sure you get all that yummy brine and spice all over your ham steak.
On the third day remove the ham from the bag and give it a rinse under cool water. Now place in a baking pan and let come to room temperature, about an hour. Heat your oven to 300°F. Put a little water in the baking pan, enough to fill about 1/2 way up the side of your ham steak, drizzle with honey, then place in the oven. You can reapply honey while it is baking if you want a sweeter ham. Cook for about an hour and a half or until the thickest section reaches 135°F with an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the oven and allow to rest (it will continue to cook and reach 140°F as it rests.) Serve and enjoy!