Sweet Tea–Brined Country Ham from ‘The Southerner’s Cookbook’
This week, we’re spotlighting recipes from The Southerner’s Cookbook: Recipes, Wisdom, and Stories by David DiBenedetto with Phillip Rhodes and the Editors of Garden & Gun (Harper Wave), an award-winning magazine that celebrates the best in Southern culture. Try making the recipe at home and let us know what you think!
Photograph by Peter Frank Edwards
by David DiBenedetto with Phillip Rhodes and the Editors of Garden & Gun
Sweet Tea–Brined Country Ham
Serves 28 (with plenty of leftovers for biscuits)
The country hams of the south, like the famous Serrano hams of Spain and prosciutto of Italy, rely on a salt cure that removes water from the meat until there’s not enough moisture left for microbes to grow, a vital step in the days before refrigeration. With originsin Depression-era Savannah, this recipe takes inspiration from Harriet Ross Colquitt’s The Savannah Cook Book, using tannins in tea to tame some—but not too much—of a country ham’s saltiness and turn it into a holiday table centerpiece. Slowly braising the untrimmed ham in beer and molasses helps infuse moisture back into the meat, which is naturally basted by the thick fat cap before it’s peeled away and replaced with a rind of sugar. The result blends the authentically rugged flavor of country ham with the sweetness and more-moist texture of city ham. “Fortunately,” writes Colquitt, “this is not quite as complicated as it sounds.” And it isn’t, although it does take time. As for that, here’s another pearl from Colquitt: “It would not be old-fashioned Southern cooking if time were an object or substitutes used.”
1 (14- to 16-pound) uncooked bone-in country ham, such as S. Wallace Edwards & Sons, hock end removed, rinsed, and scrubbed to remove mold and excess salt
20 teaspoons loose black tea
1 (15-ounce) jar dark molasses (not blackstrap)
About 6 (12-ounce) bottles Shiner Bock beer
1 cup dark brown sugar
24 to 32 whole cloves
TIP: If you’ve ordered a quality whole ham for this recipe, it may still have the hock attached. Ask your favorite butcher to trim the hockso the ham will fit in a roasting pan before you start cooking.
In a large stockpot, bring 2 gallons of water to a boil over high heat. Stir in the tea leaves and half of the jar of molasses. Turn off the heat and let the mixture steep, about 1 hour. Pour 1 gallon of the mixture over the ham, and top with fresh cold water to cover (a spare cooler is the ideal vessel for this). Chill for 12 hours, then drain and cover with the remaining 1 gallon tea mixture and fresh cold water to cover. Chill for 12 hours more, then drain and rinse the ham, and prepare to cook it.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Place the ham fat-side down in a large roasting pan with a lid (or tent with foil). Add the remaining half jar of molasses and pour in enough beer so that the liquid comes about halfway up sides of the ham. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and continue to bake for 1 ½ hours. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn the ham fat-side up (spearing it with carving forks helps secure it for turning). Cover again and bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours more, until it comes to an internal temperature of 140°F. Remove from the oven and let the ham cool in the liquid. Raise the oven temperature back to 400°F.
Pour out the liquid from the roasting pan and discard it. Carefully carve the rind and most of the fat from the top of the ham, leaving about 1/8 inch of fat covering the exterior; discard the rind and excess fat. Cover the ham evenly with the brown sugar, pressing to help it adhere. Stud the ham evenly with cloves. Return the ham to the oven and bake uncovered for 15 minutes to allow the sugar to melt into the fat and form a flavorful dark brown crust. Remove from the oven and rest for at least 30 minutes. Thinly slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
Reprinted with permission from The Southerner’s Cookbook by David DiBenedetto with Phillip Rhodes and the Editors of Garden & Gun (Harper Wave).
More Southern recipes to make at home:
Emeril’s Spicy Buttermilk Fried Chicken
How to Make the Perfect Biscuit
Chocolate Chip Georgia Pecan Pie
