I have a couple slices of country ham that are 1/4" thick and I’m not sure how long to cook it to determine if it’s cooked all the way thru cuz it seems like I always over cook country ham.
I set the oven on 350* put the ham on a cookie sheet lined w/foil and baked it for 18-20 minutes. Do you think that’s long enough to cook the meat thru and not have it be dried out?
Under cooked pork isn’t a good thing to eat.
Kathy D
Actually country hams aren’t cooked. They have been hung for at least a year and salt cured. You can buy packaged baked country ham in slices in many stores in KY. Just fry it on medium until it is hot all the way through is all you have to do. As you have found overcooking makes it about as palatable as shoe leather. Curing ham in KY is similar to what is done in other countries (Italy and Spain) and they don’t cook it at all.
How to Make a Country Ham
By Tonya Nusser, eHow Contributor
[b]A country ham is different from most hams that you find in your local grocery store. A country ham has been dry-cured and aged for at least a few months before it is sold. Country hams are also known as Virginia hams, and are sometimes called Kentucky- or Tennessee-style hams. A country ham can be a delicious part of any special dinner, but it does take some special preparation.
.Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions.Things You’ll Need:
Country ham
Wire brush
Water
Large bowl or ice chest
Heavy roasting pan
Oven or smoker
Preparing Your Ham
1
Unwrap the country ham from the cloth that it came wrapped in. You will likely find that it looks dry and may have mold growing on the surface. This is completely normal.
Scrape away the curing sediment and/or mold with a wire brush and rinse the ham well. You may need to cut some of the rind away if there is any mold that cannot be scraped off of the ham.
2
Fill a large bowl with cold water to place your cleaned ham in. You will need to soak the ham for two full days prior to serving. If your ham is too large to fit in the refrigerator, a medium-size ice cooler will also work. Depending on the saltiness of the ham, the water should be changed every 10 to 12 hours if it is soaking in the refrigerator and every four to six hours if it is soaking in a cooler. When crystals start to form, it is time to change the soaking water.
3
Rinse your ham and dry it thoroughly before placing it in the roasting pan or on the smoker. You may also want to trim away excess fat if necessary before placing the ham in the pan or smoker.
There are several recipes that you can use to cook your ham. If you are baking it, cook at a low temperature of 300 degrees F for three to four hours. If smoking your ham, smoke at a low temperature of around 250 degrees F for around five to six hours. No matter how you cook your country ham, it must be brought to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees F.
Basting with your favorite basting liquid will bring a new and different flavor to your country ham while adding moisture.
.[/b]
Gee…I learn something new everyday…
Thank you for the info.
Well I guess I cooked the ham ok, hubby said it didn’t taste like eatin the bottom of a shoe and he ain’t dead from eatin raw pig. lol Guess I did somethin right.
I am originally from KY. and we used to go to Kentucky Lake to fish. I’m talking about 12 to 16 people, and some one always brought a Country Ham. We used to fry it for Breakfast. One morning I had a piece of ham that was wrapped in foil in the fridge, and I assumed it had been cooked the day before. It sure was chewy as I was eating it and everyone was laughing! Turns out it hadn’t been cooked. I didn’t die from eating it, and I guess it was because of the curing process which does cook it to some extent.
Pat
Actually, raw ham or pork, seldom makes you sick. Its not the bacteria in pork thats bad, like in hamburger or chicken, rather its the parasitic worms within the meat. Only thing that kills them is heat, and it takes a lot. Ergo why pork must be cooked to a higher temp than chicken.
The parasite is called Trichina. It lives in muscle tissue, and takes several years before it does any damage. And even then, some people live with it and have no problems at all.
The worms are so small, they don’t show up on ex-rays.