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Roast Fresh Ham

Source of Recipe

From "The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen" by Matt Lee and Ted Lee


Recipe Introduction

"Though much ballyhoo is made of pork these days in the South, especially concerning barbecue, the truth is that pork of any kind was relatively scarce on Charleston tables until late in the twentieth century. Sure, a cured country ham might be brought back from the mountains of North Carolina (where pork was more common) on a rare occasion, but according to many Charlestonians we've interviewed over the years, the love for pork chops is a post-Vietnamese-era thing, with a few exceptions. One notable pork event, as recalled by a few locals who otherwise never ate it, was the roasted fresh ham at Easter. This roast, usually around eighteen pounds, happens to be one of our favorites, for the purity of the pork flavor and for its caramelized fat. And it grants us a perfect excuse to drive to one of the few independent butchers remaining in the area (D.C. Burbage Retail Meats, in Goose Creek, or Marvin's Meats, in Hollywood), the sort of place where a whole fresh ham, trimmed to order, is no problem at all—and inexpensive to boot. (Walk into a supermarket and ask for a whole ham, and you're likely to be treated as if you were speaking a different language.) A whole fresh ham is now a tradition for us, and it makes for a magnificent special-occasion dinner for a crowd."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 (16- to 18-pound) fresh ham, skin removed but as much fat as possible left on
â—¦ 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
â—¦ 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (from about 14 stems)
â—¦ 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary (from about 5 stems)
â—¦ 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons dry white wine
â—¦ ¼ cup half-and-half


Recipe

Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425° F. Trim any remaining skin and excess fat from the ham, leaving a layer of fat up to ¾ inch thick. Score the ham all over in a diamond pattern of ½-inch-deep cuts about 1 ½ inches apart.

In a small bowl, combine the salt, black pepper, thyme, and rosemary, pinching and blending the mixture with your fingers until the thyme is fragrant. Pat the mixture all over the ham and into the crevices.

Put the ham, fat side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Decrease the oven temperature to 350° F, and (taking care to avoid pouring the liquid directly into rendered fat) pour 2 cups of the wine and 1 cup of water into the pan; loosely tent with aluminum foil. Continue to roast, basting every hour, and adding water as necessary, to keep a â…›-inch depth of juices in the bottom of the pan, until a meat thermometer pressed into the thickest part of the ham reads 145° F, about 3 ½ hours.

Let the ham rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Pour the pan juices and remaining 2 tablespoons wine into a small saucepan and simmer for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the half-and-half, and serve the gravy with the ham.

Serves 12 to 14