I eat beyond my means. If I had to pay for every bite that goes into this spoiled little mouth o’ mine, I’m not sure I could keep my dogs in kibble.
Case in point: not only did we have Kurobuta ham for Christmas, we also had it for dinner and several lunches last week, and we’ll serve it again on biscuits with cheddar and chutney for my son’s engagement party (for 60 people!) in a couple of weeks. Oh, and there is Easter in between. (I think our multi-cultural household will refrain from serving it at Passover.)
Were we carpenters or novel writers, we would likely splurge on Kurobuta for only one of those aforementioned occasions. Luckily, we just happened to meet the folks from Snake River Farms, and they just happened to need recipes developed for their products, and we just happened to be able to oblige them. So we just happened to be able to eat Kurobuta ham any ole time.
At the risk of sounding like an ad for the company– and this is not: they pay us to develop recipes for them, not hawk their products– we should tell you why we love the ham as much as we do. It comes from Japanese Kurobuta, or black hog, pork. These heritage breed Berkshire pigs are humanely, slowly raised on small farms (no hormones, of course). All of that is very important, of course, but ultimately, the flavor and texture have to be worth the effort and resulting price– and they are. While most grocery store hams are plumped up with sodium and extenders, this is entirely different. The pork gets its flavor and texture from marbling and a light smoke over hardwood. The careful, thoughtful process really shows in the end result.
Here is the recipe we developed for Snake River Farms. You can also use this recipe on a regular ham and it will be delicious. (Just not quite as delicious).
| Servings 24 | |
- 1 14-pound whole bone-in ham
- 6 cups ginger ale,
- 6 quarter-sized slices fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 cup rum,
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
The recipe can easily be cut in half, in which case the cooking times for both the glaze and the ham will be significantly shorter.
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- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- With the tip of a sharp knife, score the fat coating in ¼-inch deep rows about 1-inch apart in two directions to form a diamond pattern. Place the ham, with the fat cap up, in a large roasting pan. Roast in the lower third of the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the ginger ale, ginger, rum and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until mixture is slightly syrupy and reduced to 1 cup, about 45-47 minutes. Stir in the mustard.
- After the ham has roasted for 1 hour 30 minutes, baste it with some of the ginger glaze. Continue roasting and basting the ham about every 20 minutes with the glaze until glossy and an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the ham registers 140°F, about 2-2 1/2 hours longer. Remove from the oven and let rest 20-30 minutes before slicing.
OMG, Snake river. You guys are my heroes, for reals. This is like an updated version of our Easter ham….. It’s inspiring me to get back to it!
Snake River Farms is the cat’s pajamas. For example– I never really cared much about corned beef until I had theirs, which I couldn’t stop eating. But maybe best of all is their prime rib, which sends me to the moon. And I am actually not even a voracious meat eater!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Can you please clarify- in step number three you mention both ginger ale and ginger but there is no ginger listed in the ingredients. Want our ham to turn out perfectly! Thanks!
Thanks so much for letting me know! I have added it back in: I use 6 quarter-sized sliced of peeled ginger to boost the ginger flavor of the glaze. Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday!