The receiver lifted and a calm collected and decidedly country voice answered the phone. I was much dismayed about the lack of response to my panicked emails. “Where is my Sunday ham Mr. Benton?” My precious beauty ordered only after hours of careful research and deliberation, was supposed to arrive on a Thursday afternoon.
I’d slipped out of the office a little early to wait at my doorstep, petrified that an unseasonably warm Spring day would render fat, and render my ham useless. Would I open the box to a puddle of oil and some country ham jerky? Mr. Benton politely laughed off my concern. My ham was just one day late, and he recalled a customer that had stored one of his specimens in the trunk of their car during summer. It would seem my ham was ready for the apocalypse.
Sure enough a day later I got home and there it was, safe and sound. A deep and porcine smokey odor wafted from the the box as I cut it open to find my ham double wrapped in butcher paper and stuffed in a fishnet cotton stocking. The smell was primal, setting off my dogs’ inner beast. Stomping around the house they followed my every move as I looked for a suitable cool and dry place for hanging. A hook in basement joist looked perfect till I secured my ham there with the knotted sock. It stretched some, the base of the ham hanging somewhat lower than I’d pictured and much too close to the dogs mouth that was now adorned with a tendril of drool. I’d finally decided on the front closet much to my wife’s dismay, and still a few of our coats smell as though we’d attended an evening bonfire.
Having found a home for my precious ham I turned my attention to the accompanying slip of paper stuffed in the sock looking for tips and tidbits of info. My dreams of a soaked and boiled, baked and glazed country ham began to fade when I saw my desired application was in fact not recommended.
Big Dog
Again the receiver lifted and Alan Benton listened to my concerns. I asked why the soak boil and bake methods I’ve seen cited for similar products was frowned upon, and what made this ham significantly different. When pressed Mr. Benton couldn’t give me anything concrete. Spice rubs smoke and cure times aside, country ham is basically country ham. “If you grew up in Virginia, and you like this sort of thing, then maybe you should soak and bake it. It’s your ham, and it’s your Easter Sunday, but I think it will come out dry, stringy, and taste like a shoe.”
I’d validated my hypothesis… but this hardly gave me confidence. Was I about to bake away 14 months and 15 pounds of craftsmanship and pride? What was the best way to serve this beast keeping in mind I had potentially 20 guests to feed. I set upon an email campaign determined to set myself at ease and find someone to substantiate what I had pictured as a perfect Easter feast. Newspaper editors food bloggers and flicker members I implored, but none of them got back to me. It was Thursday and my holiday loomed. Had nobody baked a Benton’s ham and lived to tell the tale?
After many unanswered emails I finally received a response from John T. Edge. I’d read about his personal accounts with Mr. Benton in Gourmet magazine. Surely he could offer some advice. When asked how he would prepare a Benton’s ham for a crowd he responded simply…
Maybe you could slice some off super-thin, and eat like Prosciutto; slice some thicker and lightly fry; and then bake the rest, whole. Like a Benton’s mixed grill?
So I went to the hardware store, and I bought a saw. The shank end I saved for slicing, and the remainder took a bath for a few days; And this was the Easter I had ham three ways.
It turns out that if you soak boil and bake a Benton’s ham you will end up with a somewhat dry and stringy supper. But as Mr Benton conceded that’s sometimes okay. More than half of my guests preferred this version, devouring the glazed bits of fat studded with cloves. The rest of us, the purists, preferred the thinly sliced ham with biscuits and relish. Salty smokey and intense the paper thin fat melted on your tongue while the remaining flesh required a more deliberate and satisfying mastication.
I never did try the pan fried version. Seasoned with brown sugar and coffee Mr. Benton claims it’s the best way to go. Thankfully I’ve got about 8 pounds of precious ham to go. But I suppose that’s another story.
Easter ham(s)
