I am a fast learner, but I procrastinate at trying new things. I have tried using Instagram several times in the past, but ended up not being patient enough to figure it out. I’m trying again. I think the biggest thing is it’s pretty simple and I keep trying to make it do more than it is suppose to.
It also seems like a lot of work hashtagging everything. Am I missing something? Is the whole point to put up photos, hashtag the heck out of it and wait for someone to stumble across it while searching the hashtag? If so, I guess I’ll keep posting food with a link to this blog so maybe someone will visit here and get to know me!
Moving on – I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter Sunday! This year was a bit different for everyone. A lot of fire departments in our area took the Easter Bunny for a parade through town instead of the normal egg hunts. I’ve a feeling that will be a new tradition, especially since the children really loved it. It was so weird, not seeing the traditional Easter gatherings and activities. It was very odd to see televised church services with no congregation. Not having the hustle and bustle of the holiday gives you time stop and think about the real reason for Easter, and give thanks for that reason.
So our Easter was also a bit different. We did have the traditional ham, but in my effort to tame The Big Green Egg, we slow cooked and smoked it for about 4 or 5 hours. The pictures above can even begin to express to you the flavor this ham brought to our table. It was truly a perfect blend of salt, sweet, mustard tang, and smoke. Succulent and tender. Truly one of the best hams I have ever made and dare I say – tasted!
It was really an easy recipe to put together, the wait for it to cook was the worst part! I had about an 11 pound Cook’s ham shank. Cook’s hams have always been delicious, even if you don’t do a glaze, they are my “Go To” ham. And the price is always right around the holidays, mine was 79 cents a pound when I bought another $20 in other groceries.
I like the shank better than the butt end. I think there is more meat and it even seems to taste better. It is definitely easier to carve. The bonus is I will have a great bone for soup or ham and beans later this week. Usually the butts will be a bit more pricey, I think because there is less bone and more meat. The butt end is suppose to be more flavorful and tender because it has more fat, but I haven’t noticed any of the shanks I’ve used as being tough. Either way, my advice is always get a bone in ham, shank or butt, there is so much more flavor! I tend to stay away from spiral cuts as they seem to dry out too much during cooking.
I filled a disposable drip tray with quartered oranges and apples, and added a couple cups of water to make a citrus steam bath in the Egg. I scored the ham skin side up so as it cooked, it would open up and hold the glaze that would be added later. It was ready for the grill. I was holding the grill at about 250F indirect heat for the cook. I covered it with foil about 2 hours into the cook.
When there was about an hour left on the cook, I made a glaze out of a small jar of homemade peach jam, a couple teaspoons of Dijon mustard, and a little water to thin. When I glazed the ham, I made sure to get that glaze and bits of peach deep in the cuts. I glazed it heavily twice, about a half hour apart, my glaze was pretty thick, I didn’t want it running off the ham. I also had some left to glaze on the slices as the ham was cut.
I usually use apricot jam on my hams but I had run out and had a jar of peach, so I opted for that instead. I like the peach much better and it will probably be my choice for glaze going forward. I was worried about the dark areas that were getting darker, but it was mostly the skin. There was no need to be concerned about the “burnt ends” though, they were the most satisfying bits of salt and sweet. Those bites were the ones saved for last and absolutely divine! Sweet, salty, caramelized perfection!
In conclusion, the Egg and I came to an agreement on the ham, we worked together and helped each other make the best ham possible for Easter quarantine! Maybe the Egg and I will be friends after all. But we’ll see…..I have pork ribs thawing for later this week, I hope The Big Green Egg is still feeling friendly when the time comes for ribs!
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.
Desmond Tutu