"VirginiaHam" news and stories

It would seem that providence has brought me a country ham. Upon reading a Facebook posting of mine last night, crowing about (okay, showing off), my haul of whole hog BBQ from Ed Mitchell's The Pit in Raleigh, a dear pal inquired as to the possibility of my acquiring a ham for him while I was still in North Carolina. My husband Douglas and I were planning hitting the road at an unholy hour this morning, so I gave a Chapel Hill Harris Teeter the ol' Tarheel try 'round about midnight. Plenty of Harris' She Crab soup, Duke's mayo, Cheerwine and Peanut Butter Moon Pies to be had, but not so much with the artisanal pig products. Well shoot! I'd tried.

When I was growing up in Virginia, my babysitter often referred to my family as "the carpetbaggers." This wasn't all that surprising; my parents were from New England, and the folkways of rural Virginia were somewhat bizarre to them. Even so, they quickly adapted and even learned to embrace the culture of the area. Because of their zealous adoption of all things Virginia, many of our major holidays were celebrated with a huge, salty Virginia ham.

When I undertook the reverse migration from Virginia to New York, I worried that I would not be able to get hold of real Smithfield hams. Luckily, however, one of my local butchers carries them; it seems that they are a standard Italian dish on the feast day of Saint Nicholas. As the butcher rang up my sixteen pound chunk of pork, he and I had an interesting conversation about the art of cooking Virginia ham. Interestingly, many of his customers are actually scared of Smithfield ham.

In truth, this isn't really all that surprising. After all, Smithfield hams are exceedingly salty, very ugly, and take a long time to prepare. However, they are also amazingly delicious, and constitute one of the most truly American of dishes. Luckily, they are also fairly simple to cook, freeze beautifully, and pretty much all of the leftovers are delicious.

The toughest thing about Thanksgiving is organizing the numerous things that you need to cook so that you don't find yourself worrying over oven space, calling friends to borrow their kitchens, or having to skip out on your own dinner so you can feverishly prepare dessert. The first way to deal with this is to make a list of all the items that you need to cook. For the basic Thanksgiving that I suggested earlier, here's the list:

Roast turkey with stuffing and gravy
Roast Virginia ham with honey mustard
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Traditional (candied) yams
Homemade cranberry sauce
Various pies with whipped cream

Of these items, the turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pies all need oven time; the rest of the items can be cooked on the stove top. Unfortunately, most of us are only working with one stove, which means that some items will need to be cooked in the days preceding Thanksgiving. Also, the turkey will need to be defrosted and the ham will need to be soaked (if you're using a pre-cooked ham, this isn't necessary). With that in mind, here's a good, basic plan for scheduling your (3:00 PM) Thanksgiving meal:

Sunday, 11/23: Unwrap the Virginia ham, scrub it, and place it in a water bath.

Monday, 11/24: Put the turkey in the refrigerator to defrost. Be sure to place a pan underneath to catch the drippings. Change the water in the ham's bath.

Tuesday, 11/25: Change the water in the ham's bath

Wednesday, 11/26: Roast the ham, glaze it, and cook the pies. Put the ham in the refrigerator.

Thursday, 11/27:
7:00 AM - Prepare the stuffing, clean and dress the turkey.
8:00 AM - Put the bird in the oven.
8:15-1:00 PM - In a relaxed, leisurely manner, make the sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, salad, and other dinner items. As you finish the dishes, check them off your list, and compliment yourself on your impeccable planning. Apply alcoholic beverages, as needed, to quell anxiety. Don't go overboard.
1:00 PM - When the bird is finished, remove it from the oven. If it takes longer than expected, don't get too worried; you've given yourself plenty of time. Let the turkey cool. Take the ham out of the refrigerator, set aside.
1:00-3:00 PM - Remove turkey stuffing, carve the turkey and the ham, arrange everything for the table. Prepare for whipping the cream by putting the beaters and bowl in the freezer, as the cream will whip faster in a cool vessel.
3:00 -4:00 PM - Enjoy your meal!
4:00 PM - Whip the cream and serve the pies.
4:30 PM - As the tryptophan coma starts to set in, tell your family to clean the kitchen while you watch the season's first showing of It's a Wonderful Life. Congratulate yourself on surviving Thanksgiving!