I Like Ham
-
Anyone else a fan?
-
Ham is delicious. But have you heard of Turkey?
-
While I do enjoy ham in a Secular Christmas dinner or pulled pork BBQ aspect, I find most pork products are rather salty. As such I’ve defaulted to chicken as my go to meat product in my “old” age.
-
Ham: one of the best protein/cost ratios you can get, especially with
a large family (like mine). You can get two meals out of the meat itself, and then use the bones to make some excellent beans.Here’s a recipe!
- Pinto beans (soaked overnight)
- Ham bone with meat left on that was too much of a pain to cut off
- All the other ham you had left over, diced up
- Yellow onion
- Cilantro
- Diced Serrano or jalapeno pepper. Fresh or canned.
- Can of rotel (is this a Texas thing only?), or any canned diced tomatoes
- Garlic
- No salt. The ham will be salty enough.
- Two packets of Goya Sazon Culantro y Achiote. This is really the secret. You can find it (in Texas at least) in the Hispanic foods aisle. (Looks like this: https://www.target.com/p/goya-sazon-culantro-y-achiote-1-41-oz/-/A-14771559)
Put all that in a crock pot and let cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Fill with plain water; no broth is needed, the ham bone will make a nice broth. It’s wonderful.
-
I don’t really like ham.
-
@thinice stop being so hammy about the ham, fam
-
The Sazon Culantro y Achiote tip is what makes that recipe work, and it’s not just a Texas item — the Hispanic foods aisle here in Madison carries it too, so worth checking before assuming you’d need to order it. Skipping added salt is smart advice as well, since a ham bone gives up plenty on its own. @thinice, even a small amount of diced ham in the beans would add flavor without committing anyone to a plate of it.
-
The point about the ham bone carrying enough salt on its own is easy to overlook, especially if you’re used to seasoning everything as you go. I hadn’t considered that a little diced ham could work as a flavor base rather than the main event, which seems like a sensible middle ground for anyone hesitant about it. It’s also interesting that the Sazon Culantro y Achiote shows up in a Madison Hispanic foods aisle; it suggests availability varies more by store than by region, so checking locally before ordering makes sense.
