We are planning on cooking a nice big ham for Christmas dinner along with a few sides. We are not interested in getting a honey baked ham (many of the people here do not like them)
Anyhow, I'm wondering if you could tell me what your favorite cut of ham is? We'd like one that is pretty meaty and not too fatty. Any suggestions?
And what would your favorite recipe be? Thanks!
Well with a genuine half ham, you have two choices, butt or shank. The shank is the lower end of the ham shoulder and includes some of the leg. It is the neater, easier to carve, and better looking of the two if you're carving at the table. The draw back is there is a bit more peripheral fat to deal with. The meat is more flavorful, (ie more pork flavor) but slightly tougher than the butt end as well. But neither end of the ham is overly fatty or tough imo. The Butt end is the upper portion of the shoulder and includes the joint itself. It is a bit more difficult to carve into pretty little slices due to its shape and bone structure but has less fat and is more tender overall. It used to be, the Butt end was more coveted and more expensive per pound but that has changed in many places. To tell the difference, the shank looks sort of like a funnel shape. The Butt end looks like one butt cheek. But note that it is not the Pig's butt.
Ham is not to be confused with Picnic ham, or a Picnic shoulder which is not really ham at all but comes from the front shoulder. Boston Butt also comes from the front shoulder.
The vast majority of hams these days come pre cooked. To get a raw one these days, I have to go to a specialty place. None of the supermarkets here even carry them any more. Warm it up low and slow covered. High temperature cooking will dry out the outside before the inside warms up. Note that you don't have to get a pre cooked ham to 165 nor should you. If you wish to glaze it, pull your ham out just before it is finished, heat your oven to high temp, then when your oven heats up, put it in glazed. Keep a sharp eye out because you'll want to pull it right when that glaze sets.
As to which I prefer, shank. But the difference is very small and I'd be perfectly happy with a butt end as well.
What i would suggest considering is what flavor of ham do you want.
With all the honey cures, brown sugar cures, maple cures, Virginia style, etc in addition to the good ole smoked, there's a lot of choice.
