I Ham Almost Finished

The final contestant in my country ham tournament of champions came yesterday, and I tried it this morning: Benton’s, from Tennessee.

I received 4 center slices with the bones removed. They were packed in vacuum bags. They came with directions that said to fry them for no more than 30 seconds on a side. You really need to have some grease standing by to get away with that. You need grease to provide thermal contact between the ham and the pan.

I fried a slice without water or grease, and then I used water to deglaze the pan and make a little red eye gravy. Then my wife and I tried the ham.

The bad: it’s salty. Somewhere between Newsom’s, which is fine, and Broadbent’s, which is too salty right out of the box. The slices were too thin at around 5/32″. It’s just a wee bit tough.

The good: classic country ham flavor, although not as pronounced as Newsom’s.

If I were going to go with Benton’s, I would buy a whole ham, slice it thicker, soak the slices for two days, and bag and freeze it. That would kill the excess salt and add moisture. I don’t think it would produce the nice texture Newsom’s has, however.

Maybe Benton’s would agree to sell thicker ham slices. That would be a good deal, because a sliced ham is only ten dollars more than an intact ham.

Benton’s says its hams are 9-10 months old on average, so call it 9. They sell older hams, too. Newsom’s starts at one year, which may explain a lot.

Curing is what makes a ham safe to eat. It takes a few weeks. After that, you can stick a ham in your unrefrigerated closet for a year without problems. It would continue to age and improve, as long as you didn’t overdo it. As I have said before, this could be a good way to avoid Newsom’s high prices and still get the same experience.

Benton’s has an interesting option: deboned hams that have not been sliced. I can get this for $133, which is not bad. They include the bones and trimmed bits, which is very important, because they are useful in soups and greens.

Yesterday, I used the bones from my Newsom’s ham to make Great Northern beans, and the result was glorious. I got rid of some of my unwanted Broadbent’s slices by using them in collard greens, and I made cornbread with a little bit of the grease from the beans. Food doesn’t get much better.

As I have often said, the price of ingredients has nothing to do with the pleasure food gives you. A really good pot of beans with cornbread on the side is as good as nearly anything, anywhere.

The beans cost me $3.98. The onions ran around $1.50.

The ham was so salty, I didn’t have to add salt to either dish.

I had some Oberholtzer’s sorghum syrup from Liberty, Kentucky, and I put it on buttered cornbread. You really have to try this combination to understand how good it is.

My cousin tells me my aunt now recommends Townsend’s sorghum, but they charge so much for shipping, I am not planning to try it. A Tennessee company called Muddy Pond will send you 64 ounces for $48, shipping included. That’s interesting.

It looks like my best sorghum deal is about twice as expensive as my best maple syrup deal, unless you count the $24 half-gallon of maple syrup I got at Rural King. That was an amazing buy.

Ronni Lundy, who wrote a very authentic Appalachian cookbook, recommends Oberholtzer’s and Muddy Pond. I trust her judgment. I’m going to try some Muddy Pond, since I am low on Oberholtzer’s.

I don’t see why it shouldn’t be possible for anyone with sorghum cane to make good syrup. You just boil the juice and bottle it.

Current tournament rankings: 1. Newsom’s, 2. Meacham, 3. Penn, 4. Benton’s. Broadbent’s is disqualified because I felt it was in a lower tier even after two tries.

It’s hard to be certain about the 1-2 and 3-4 rankings. They’re close, and besides, country hams are not completely consistent, so I can’t be sure I got hams that represent their companies perfectly.

I’m pretty sure Broadbent’s is not for me.

When I used to order Gatton Farms and Scott hams, things were simple. I got pretty much what I wanted.

The more I look at country ham, the more I think I should try curing one. It just has to survive a few weeks in my fermenting fridge. After that, I can put it anywhere.

The idea of buying a relatively cheap ham, meaning one that isn’t aged much, and letting it age in my laundry room is also tempting.

I guess I could even take a slice of Newsom’s ham and rub the rind on a new ham to transfer the correct mold.

Anyway, I’m nearly done with the ham tournament. I just have to try all the winners at one sitting.

I’m looking forward to getting it over with. When you eat a lot of country ham, the salt makes you retain water, and it wants to come out at 2 a.m. And 3 a.m. And 4 a.m.