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First in News
April 8, 2009
This year, glaze your country ham
By LANE GARDNER CAMP [email protected]
Country-cured ham is a standard addition to the Easter Sunday meal for many families. And while perfectly delicious by itself, ham can be made to taste even better by adding a glaze, which also can keep it moist and tender.
Judy Tripp has developed numerous glaze recipes she shares with customers of Tripp Country Hams in Brownsville. She and her husband Charlie bought the operation from his father after they married. It was founded in 1962.
"We do notice a small increase in business prior to Easter," Charlie Tripp said.
The business cures about 50,000 hams a year, Charlie Tripp said, and the hams are sold in West Tennessee, in Nashville-area stores and by mail-order nationwide. The business also cures and sells bacon.
Charlie Tripp knows all about slow curing hams, a special aging process he learned from his father, which the couple later modified based on recommendations from her grandfather.
"A good country ham takes time to produce," Charlie Tripp said. "We try to make sure we have the best country ham by not rushing the process."
Their products have won awards at ham competitions nationwide for years.
When it comes to combining ingredients for optional ham glazes, his wife is the company's authority, Charlie Tripp said.
Some glazes are for garnish, but mostly they are used as sauces, Judy Tripp said.
With spices added, a glaze will enhance and complement a ham's flavor, she said.
Ham glazes are characteristically thick and sticky but liquid enough to pour and spread. They usually are easy to prepare and customize, she said.
She cautions against overcooking a ham after glazing it, because it can cause the meat to become tough and salty, she said.
Judy Tripp's favorite recipe is pineapple and brown sugar glaze. Fruit and sugar are typical ingredients for glazes, along with fruit juices, honey, mustard, spices and wine or whiskey.
Her recipes also include honey glaze, brown sugar and sherry glaze, ginger ale and brown sugar glaze and cranberry glaze. All recipes are listed at www.countryhams.com.
The Web site also contains detailed instructions for frying, slow frying, grilling, baking and boiling country ham, as well as information about slicing, handling, storing and freezing.
Charlie Tripp said he provides the information because people are unaware of how to properly boil a whole ham or fry sliced country ham - as perhaps their parents and grandparents did."We always get comments from people saying they remember eating delicious country ham as a child, (but) they cannot remember how to prepare it now," he said.
Pineapple and brown sugar glaze
Recipe from Judy Tripp, Tripp Country Hams, Brownsville
• 1 small can crushed pineapple
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 small can sliced pineapple for garnish
• Cherries for garnish
After ham has cooled in water in which it was cooked, remove the rind from the ham and slash the fat. Mix one small can crushed pineapple and two-thirds cup brown sugar until smooth. Pour over fat of ham. Then garnish with sliced pineapple and cherries. Bake in a hot oven (400 degrees) for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Honey glaze
Recipe from Judy Tripp, Tripp Country Hams, Brownsville
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 t. prepared mustard
Remove skin from cooked ham. Slash fat. Mix ingredients and brush over ham. Broil fat side up 14 to 15 minutes.
Brown sugar and sherry glaze
Recipe from Judy Tripp, Tripp Country Hams, Brownsville
• Brown sugar
• Sherry
Remove skin from cooked ham. Sprinkle fat with ground cloves. Combine brown sugar and sherry. Brush over ham. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until coating is golden brown.
Ginger ale and brown sugar glaze
Recipe from Judy Tripp, Tripp Country Hams, Brownsville
• 1 cup ginger ale
• Ham stock
• Cloves
• Paste (see directions below)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 4 T. all-purpose flour
• 1 T. dry mustard
• 2 T. water
Remove skin from cooked ham. Place in roaster, fat side up. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour, basting frequently with mixture of one cup ginger ale and ham stock. Remove from oven. Cover with a paste made of one cup brown sugar, one-half cup molasses, four tablespoons all-purpose flour, one tablespoon dry mustard and two tablespoons water. Dot with cloves. Return to oven uncovered, and bake 30 more minutes.
Cranberry glaze
Recipe from Judy Tripp, Tripp Country Hams, Brownsville
• 2 dozen long-stemmed cloves
• 2 2-pound cans jellied cranberry
• 1 cup brown sugar
Remove skin from cooked ham. Score fat with sharp knife; stud with cloves; place in baking pan. Crush cranberry sauce with a fork, and combine with brown sugar. Spread one-half of mixture over ham. Bake at 350 degrees, basting with some of remaining mixture. Heat remaining mixture, and serve as sauce over cooked ham.
Hot Heavenly Ham hash browns
Recipe from Mike and Meg, Heavenly Ham, Jackson Ingredients for crust:
• 24-oz. package of frozen hash brown shredded potatoes, thawed
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 t. grated garlic cloves Ingredients for filling:
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2(11 oz.) cans of nacho cheese soup
• 1 T. flour
• 4 oz. jar of pimentos, drained well
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 11/2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1 1/2 cups Heavenly Ham, diced
• 6 slices of peppered bacon, cooked and crumbled
Put hash brown potatoes in a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Grease a deep 11-inch pie plate, and line with potatoes. Mix melted butter and garlic, and drizzle over potatoes. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes until browned. Meanwhile, in a food processor mix eggs, nacho soup and flour. By hand stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into potato crust. Bake about 50 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
Additional Facts - About mold
Charlie Tripp, president of Tripp Country Hams in Brownsville, said his company has had customers send country hams as gifts only to find out later the recipient threw the ham away because it had mold on it.
Mold on country ham does not affect the quality of the meat but indicates proper aging, much like mold found on fine, aged cheese, he said.
'Mold is usually an indication of a quality country ham,' he said.
If mold appears on a whole ham, it may be safely removed by washing the ham, using two parts water and one part vinegar, according to countryhams.com.
