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Country Ham with
Redeye Gravy
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fascinated me throughout my life, and
after
sixty-five years I have come to the conclusion that perhaps American
cookery
is one of the most fascinating culinary subjects of all.”
~ James Beard
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La Belle Cuisine
Country Ham with Redeye Gravy
Saveur Cooks Authentic American:
Celebrating the Recipes and
Diverse Traditions of Our Rich Heritage
by the Editors of Saveur Magazine, 1998, Chronicle Books
 
The Genuine Article
“In Trigg County, Kentucky, ham is
a way of life – and like life itself, not neces-sarily governed by scientific
principles. If you ask a ham maker like Audrey
Pool how he smokes his
specimens, for instance, he’s apt to reply, ‘I know it
sounds like a
smart-aleck answer, but I do it till I run out of smoke.’ Trigg
County hams,
in other words, are made by tradition rather than by recipe.
That’s just the
sort of folksy approach that the USDA frowns upon; hams
sold commercially
must be produced according
to consistent standards, which
are concerned with
hygiene but not necessarily with quality. That means that
unless you visit
Trigg County or some other area of the rural South that spe-
cializes in ham
production, you’re unlikely to encounter the
real thing. There
are some
credible approximations, though. The Southern-style country ham
originated
in Smithfield, Virginia, in the mid-1600s, and today that
town re-
mains the
capital of high-quality commercial country ham production.
Other
good
examples of the genre are made in Georgia, Tennessee, even
Vermont
– but
Smithfield remains our favorite not-quite-Trigg-County ham.”
“Fried country ham with redeye
gravy (which gets its name not from the
ocular condition of those who make
it early in the morning, but because
the coffee, when stirred into the pan
drippings, swirls like the eye of an
angry red hurricane) is the centerpiece
of a classic Southern breakfast;
just add grits and biscuits. (If you start
with a whole country ham, see
below for how to prepare it.”
One
1/4-inch-thick slice of Smithfield or
other country-style ham
(recipe follows),
with fat untrimmed
1/2 cup boiling coffee
1. Fry ham
in a large skillet over medium heat, turning once, until
browned
on both
sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a
warm plate.
2. Add
coffee to skillet and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up
any
brown bits
on the bottom of the pan. Pour gravy over ham.
Boiled Country Ham:
1 whole 14-16-pound country ham
1 cup cider vinegar
2 cups apple juice
1 cup sugar
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
To cook a
whole country ham, cut off the hock (saving it to flavor
black-
eyed peas,
beans, or
greens), then, where the ham gets wider, use a hack-
saw to cut
about 8 slices 1/4 inch thick for frying as in the recipe above.
(You may
ask your butcher to make these cuts for you.) Soak remaining
bulky part of
original ham overnight in cold water (spiked with cider
vinegar) to cover.
After soaking, wash in fresh water, and scrub with a stiff brush. Rinse
ham
well, then put in a large pot with cold water to cover. Bring to a
simmer
over medium heat, then add apple juice and sugar. Reduce heat
to low and
simmer 15 – 20 minutes per pound. When done, remove
from heat and allow to
rest in cooking liquid until cool enough to handle. Remove from pot and trim
off the hard exterior and most, but not all, of
the fat. Combine bread
crumbs, brown sugar, and pepper. While ham is
still warm, pat mixture all
over (it will harden as ham cools). To serve,
slice ham from hock side in
small thin slices.
Featured Archive Recipes:
Emeril's "Country" Ham with Red-eye
Gravy and Creamy Grits
Vicksburg Stuffed Baked Ham
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