24 Hour Ham Recipe

[mrb627]

I have been trying to recall a recipe or at least get some validation on the recipe in my memory.

I had a great Aunt whom is long gone that made the best melt in your mouth ham I have ever tasted. Actually, the last time I had it was back in the Summer of '78. That is how much it impacted my taste buds. Now, my recollection is that she seasoned the bone in ham the day before. Then double wrapped it in foil in the refrigerator. Finally, baking it off in a 225 oven for 18 to 24 hours.

I have found little information on the net relating my memory to an actual recipe, so I decided to ask the experts on our panel. Does my memory serve me correctly? Or should I be doing this differently?

I currently have a test ham in the oven. It is going on hour 14.

Malcolm

 

[jeffg]

Sweet. I can smell it from here.

What kind of ham are you using (raw, partially or pre-cooked etc)? If it comes out like pork jerky, your Aunt probably used the first or second of those.

 

[mrb627]

Bone-In

It is a half a bone-in ham. I shut the oven off and left it in for another hour. Just took it out a few minutes ago. Too hot to pick at, YET! The house smells like cloves, though. Awesome!

Malcolm

 

[cuffs054]

Malcom,
I tried this the other day and it was very tender. Half ham. 2 cups sugar (any color), can of pineapple (15oz any kind), small bottle of marischino (sp) cherries. Put sugar in crock pot. Pour PA and Cherries over it. 8-10hr on low. Fabu!

 

[mrb627]

Collapse

<GASP> It fell apart. With quite a portion of it ending up in my stomach. Absolutely delicious. Although the seasoning might need some adjustment, the ham did turn out amazingly tender. I'll have to work a little on adjusting the spices on the next one.

Malcolm

 

[rp2813]

I love ham, and falling-off-the-bone tender sounds excellent.  What type of seasoning did you use?  All I've ever put on a ham was a brown sugar & sherry glaze.  Dave doesn't like pineapple because it tends to make his mouth sore, although I maintain that once it's cooked it's less of an issue.

 

That crock pot recipe sounds so easy.  I may have to try it.  If I used sliced or chunk pineapple as opposed to crushed, Dave could work his way around it.

 

[norgeway]

I put..

pieces of pineapple studded with cloves,then spread thickly with brown sugar mixed with ginger ale, put the top on the roaster, and just like you did, cook it slowly for a long time, 275 to 300.

 

[xraytech]

I simply bake my ham in gingerale, then I drain it off and crust the ham in a paste of brown sugar and white vinegar

 

[mrb627]

Seasoning

I used one cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoon of dry mustard, 2 teaspoons of ground cloves. Blend these ingredients together. Coat the ham in yellow mustard then pack on this powdered mixture. Double wrap in foil and let rest in the refrigerator for 12 hours. Bake at 225 for 12 - 18 hours depending on size of ham.

My coating was good, but could have been sweeter. Like the jar a cherries idea. Heard of using a can of cola too.

Malcolm

( and at 225, you barely know the oven is on )

 

[brisnat81]

I do a par boiled and then glaze/bake

Put the Ham in a pot of cold water, with a handful of fresh thyme, some cloves and whole peppercorns

Slowly bring to the boil over a few hours, as soon as you get to the boil turn the heat off.
Refrigerate overnight in the pot with the liquid and then glaze and bake as usual.

Because it cools in the water it absorbs a large amount of the moisture which means it stays moist and succulent when you bake.

The Thyme gives it a strong flavor and the boiling takes some of the saltiness out of the ham as well.

It always goes down well, but you need a huge pot if you're going to do a full ham at once.

 

[frigilux]

This method for ham sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us, Malcolm. I'll have to give it a try one of these cold winter weekends.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

How I do ham:

Put a bone in 1/2 smoked/cooked ham in the smoker. Smoke for 4-5 hours over hickory with water pan full @ 225-250f. This gives you a double smoked ham that is butter tender. A couple cans of beer in the water pan are not a bad idea.
WK78

 

[vintagekitchen]

mmmm, slow cooked ham..

My family always makes what they call in this area a "lard can ham" ( apparently years ago when large stock pots were not so affordable, the ham would be cooked in a large metal lard can).

Take a whole country ham, scrub it with a stiff brush in cold running water to remove any traces of mold etc from the rind. Put the entire ham in a Huge stockpot, ( a water bath canner works well). Depending on the size of your pot you may have to cut off the hock.

Put into the pot 2 pounds brown sugar, a 2 liter bottle of pepsi, and a large can dole pineapple juice (some people skip the pineapple juice, we use it). Add water to cover the ham, and bring to a boil. Boil hard 2 to 4 hours, adding water as needed to keep the ham covered.

At the end of the time, while the ham is at a rolling boil, cover the pot, remove it from the stove, and put it into a large cardboard box lined with towels or blankets. Stuff more towels and blankets tightly around the pot, and cover it thickly with towels and blankets.

Close the box if it is large enough, if it isn't slip another box upside down over it. Leave the ham about 18 hours, (12 to 16 will do but it won't be as tender), up to 24 hours if need be.

When you remove the coverings and the lid, the ham will still be warm to hot. Remove ham, peel off rind, slice, pour the cooking liquid over the slices to keep them moist, and heat before serving if needed.

I promise it will be the best ham you ever ate in your life, and it keeps the oven free for all that yummy holiday baking.