# Can anybody tell me how to cook a ham like they were done 60 years ago?



## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

I grew up eating great baked ham on Sunday at home and at annual Church dinner-on-the-ground gatherings and such.

But I have not been able to duplicate it.

By trial and error, I have figured out some things that it was not:

It was NOT spiral sliced. 
It was NOT boneless.
It was NOT precooked.
It was NOT from a ham store like Heavenly Ham.
It was NOT covered with sticky brown sugar or honey or molasses and cloves.
It was NOT bought at Walmart.
I doubt that it was cooked with aluminum foil all over it.

I don't know if it was purchased as a "cured" ham or just a raw ham. I suspect that it was "cured".

What was served was just beautiful, tender, great tasting pink (but fully cooked) ham. 

Anybody know how I can do it?


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

I don't know how you can do it but now my mouth is watering


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## TerriLynn (Oct 10, 2009)

We have whole pigs processed for the freezer and our local meat processor/butcher (mom and pop place) cures the hams themselves. They are better than anything I have ever gotten from the regular grocery store. (This also holds true for their bacon, and ham hocks, btw.) 

You might try purchasing a ham from a place like this, our processor will sell individual cuts but you need to give them advance notice. I just cook my hams in a roaster and fill it about half way with water and bake for a couple of hours at 325*. Its always tender and so good.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

If you hang one and let it dry the flavor becomes more intense as it loses water


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## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

TerriLynn said:


> We have whole pigs processed for the freezer and our local meat processor/butcher (mom and pop place) cures the hams themselves. They are better than anything I have ever gotten from the regular grocery store. (This also holds true for their bacon, and ham hocks, btw.)
> 
> You might try purchasing a ham from a place like this, our processor will sell individual cuts but you need to give them advance notice. I just cook my hams in a roaster and fill it about half way with water and bake for a couple of hours at 325*. Its always tender and so good.


Thanks. I feared that was the answer. We don't have any mom and pop meat processors nearby.
In fact, we don't have many real butchers in grocery stores any more. We used to.

Nowadays the folks wearing the white aprons behind the meat display mostly just get it off a truck, re-package it, weigh it, label it, and put it on a shelf. A few will slice or grind meat for a customer but most won't.

ETA: Do you cover the roaster?


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## TerriLynn (Oct 10, 2009)

NRA_guy said:


> Thanks. I feared that was the answer. We don't have any mom and pop meat processors nearby.
> In fact, we don't have many real butchers in grocery stores any more. We used to.
> 
> Nowadays the folks wearing the white aprons behind the meat display mostly just get it off a truck, re-package it, weigh it, label it, and put it on a shelf. A few will slice or grind meat for a customer but most won't.
> ...


Yes I do cover the roaster. Do you know anyone around who raises animals? If you do, ask around and find out where they send THEIR meat to get processed.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Two recipes from a 1945 cookbook say to boil the ham first before baking.
Another cookbook from 1939 says to soak the ham in water overnight before baking.
My 1896 Fanny Farmer cookbook says just to boil it. My newer cookbooks don't say anything about boiling it first. Maybe that's what's missing.


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## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

TerriLynn said:


> Yes I do cover the roaster. Do you know anyone around who raises animals? If you do, ask around and find out where they send THEIR meat to get processed.


No, I don't really know anyone around who raises animals for food. 

Thanks.


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## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

Wolf mom said:


> Two recipes from a 1945 cookbook say to boil the ham first before baking.
> Another cookbook from 1939 says to soak the ham in water overnight before baking.
> My 1896 Fanny Farmer cookbook says just to boil it. My newer cookbooks don't say anything about boiling it first. Maybe that's what's missing.


That's interesting.

You may be onto something there. I have heard of folks boiling a ham. 

I kind of suspect that recipe is for when one starting with a raw (uncured) ham, but folks may have boiled even cured hams before baking them 60 years ago.

Maybe I need to ask some old timers from back home about it. Most of those who would know about it have passed on.

Thanks a bunch!


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## TerriLynn (Oct 10, 2009)

Sorry I wasn't more help. Back in the day they did boil the ham for a long time to leach some of the salt out of it, they also used to soak it in milk to get the salt out. The really old cookbooks are full of tips to try and salvage hams that were way to salty to eat, from the curing process.


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

For Thanksgiving, I put a run of the mill ham in a #10 Griswold dutch oven with four cans of pineapple chunks such that one can went in first to separate the ham from the bottom and the rest over the top. If I remember correctly, I put juice over the top of that--I just don't remember which kind. It was then placed in the oven for a few hours at 300°. Anyway, it turned out very well, especially for starting with a ham of no particular distinction.

I almost forgot--some of the juice collected when finished placed in a sauce pan with brown sugar made a fine glaze/dip for the ham.

I should also add that the Griswold dutch oven has a self-basting lid with ridges where fluid condenses and falls back down on the ham. If you do not have this feature, basting may be necessary.


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## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

TerriLynn said:


> Sorry I wasn't more help. Back in the day they did boil the ham for a long time to leach some of the salt out of it, they also used to soak it in milk to get the salt out. The really old cookbooks are full of tips to try and salvage hams that were way to salty to eat, from the curing process.


Oh, no. Thanks a bunch. All help is much appreciated.

I'll get there (a good ham) eventually.


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## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

IndyDave said:


> For Thanksgiving, I put a run of the mill ham in a #10 Griswold dutch oven with four cans of pineapple chunks such that one can went in first to separate the ham from the bottom and the rest over the top. If I remember correctly, I put juice over the top of that--I just don't remember which kind. It was then placed in the oven for a few hours at 300°. Anyway, it turned out very well, especially for starting with a ham of no particular distinction.
> 
> I almost forgot--some of the juice collected when finished placed in a sauce pan with brown sugar made a fine glaze/dip for the ham.
> 
> I should also add that the Griswold dutch oven has a self-basting lid with ridges where fluid condenses and falls back down on the ham. If you do not have this feature, basting may be necessary.


Good info! Thanks!

I definitely would need to baste it. Wonder if I could cook it in one of those oven bags? I've used them occasionally for whole turkeys and they keep turkeys nice and moist.

I kind of think my mama cooked shank portion hams---not butt portion. Probably because we were so poor.  Not sure that would make any difference in how one cooks it.


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

I don't know about the bag. I have never tried using one. The unfortunate truth is that trial and error includes error, but you will find what you are looking for as long as you don't give up.


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## snowlady (Aug 1, 2011)

I do remember mom boiling the Easter ham. She’d do that Saturday afternoon then baked it on Sunday. We used a mix of Sprite, yellow mustard and brown sugar to baste it.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I only know that 60 years ago my folks if they bought some thing for Easter Sunday dinner it was what they called a picnic. I'm not sure but believe it was a front shoulder instead of a rear quarter. 

The main Easter dinner meat that picnic 60 years ago I never want to have to suffer thru eatting ever again. stuck with so many cloves to hold the raw pine apple rings then drowned with Vernoirs ginger ale as it baked in moms fire wood cook stove, to me tasted horriable. Wouldn't wish that mess on any one ever. Sure glad she also stewed chicken and made dumplins to go with it. 

Ham at my house today is a whole bunch better. injected with real honey, glazed with real honey and basted with real honey for the sweetest mildest meat. Also buy it fresh butchered from a farmer stay away from the grocery store stuff.


Throw the pine apple on the cottage cheese and leave it off the han, Nasty stuff on ham.

INGREDIENTS

1 (4 to 5 lb.) - fully cooked boneless ham 
1 can (8 oz.) - pineapple slices. **** delete this ingredient.
1/3 cup - honey 
1 Tablespoon - ground mustard 
DIRECTIONS

Bake ham on rack in shallow baking pan at 325°F for 1 hour or to 120°F on meat thermometer. *Drain pineapple; reserve liquid. Combine reserved liquid*, honey, mustard mix well. Score top of ham, if desired. Generously brush honey mixture over entire surface. Bake about 30 to 45 minutes longer or to 140°F; baste every 10 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

I personaly do not believe cloves or pine apple belongs on ham unless you want the horriable stuff my mom used to fix.

 Al


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## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

Thanks IndyDave, snowlady, and alleyyooper. I do appreciate all feedback.

Sounds like store-bought ham may be one of my problems. (My daddy would have called them "factory hams".) 

Commercialization has killed a number of great tasting foods like peaches, watermelons and some other foods that used to be delicious. Young folks growing up nowadays do not have a clue what a great home grown peach or watermelon tastes like.

And I agree, alleyyooper, that pineapple and cloves don't belong on ham. Mama probably couldn't afford them anyway.


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## snowlady (Aug 1, 2011)

The ham mom cooked would have been from a home butchered hog. I remember them sending hams, some sausage and bacon to be cured or smoked somewhere else. Now, I buy a bone in not spiral sliced ham. It pretty much just needs heated thru.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

NRA_guy said:


> I grew up eating great baked ham on Sunday at home and at annual Church dinner-on-the-ground gatherings and such.
> 
> But I have not been able to duplicate it.
> 
> ...


It sounds like just a good old fashioned baked ham to me. Buy yourself an unadulterated fresh ham. Place in a roasting pan, add some fresh clean water, an inch or so deep in the pan. Stick the whole thing in the oven with the lid on. Let it sit and bake 1 1/2 hours at 350. When internal temp gets to 160 170 your ham is cooked! Allow to cool a bit on platter while you peel the hide off, slice and serve.


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## Northof49 (Mar 3, 2018)

The soaking of the ham would have been a dry smoke cured hanging ham. You may also remember them cooking a fresh cured ham. (non-smoked) This is something they would have considered a delicacy as with no freezer they could only serve it within 1-2 weeks after butchering day. The meat still looked pink like ham from the saltpeter used in curing.
Usually roasted in heavy cast iron at a low and slow method. All day roasting, not the 1-3 hours we do today.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

North of 49 Hit on some things ,before refrigeration was everywhere many things were done differently and by differently I mean lots of salt and salt Peter. 

It’s one reason he was common for families to split a hog 

If four families with four hogs split four Ways they got four times as many butchering days and four times as much freash meat.


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## dyrne (Feb 22, 2015)

How about a really old style pork roast?


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