Foolproof Homemade Ham

~ Agata @BarkTime

Unless you are a vegetarian I bet there is some ham in your fridge most days… after all it is the most popular sandwich filler. Yet why pay shop prices when you can make your own? Real ham, real meat flavour slightly enhanced with spices… perfection!

Foolproof Homemade Ham. It might not be a very sophisticated recipe, there is no brining and no glazing but if you buy a proper quality piece of meat, ideally from your local butcher, you will understand why it is so good. The real taste of meat, slightly enhanced with salt, pepper and garlic… trust me, if the quality of meat is good, this is all you need to make it work.There is a lot of different methods of cooking a ham. Some take more time than others so to get you started lets create a super tasty, totally foolproof homemade ham. It really doesn’t requires a lot of time or effort or many ingredients.

Ingredients:

  • ~2kg pork shoulder off the bone
  • 10 cloves of garlic
  • 1tbs good quality salt
  • 1/2tbs coarse ground pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 240C.

Prepare a large roasting tin. (i.e. get it out the cupboard and ready).

Wash and pat dry the pork shoulder.

Peal the garlic cloves and cut them length wise in half.

Using a sharp narrow knife make deep holes in your pork; stuff each of them with a garlic piece making sure the garlic is entirely enclosed inside the meat (any part of garlic left “outside” your pork will potentially burn leaving a bitter taste in its place).

Stab your meat until all the garlic is hidden, try to distribute it around the meat as evenly as possible.

Massage the salt into the meat and allow to rest for 5 min or so.

Sprinkle with pepper and pop into the oven.

Roast at 240C for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 180C and let it sit in the oven for additional 2 hours.

When the time is up, remove from the oven and allow it to rest.

Once cooled, it’s time to eat!

Foolproof Homemade Ham. It might not be a very sophisticated recipe, there is no brining and no glazing but if you buy a proper quality piece of meat, ideally from your local butcher, you will understand why it is so good. The real taste of meat, slightly enhanced with salt, pepper and garlic… trust me, if the quality of meat is good, this is all you need to make it work.Foolproof Homemade Ham. It might not be a very sophisticated recipe, there is no brining and no glazing but if you buy a proper quality piece of meat, ideally from your local butcher, you will understand why it is so good. The real taste of meat, slightly enhanced with salt, pepper and garlic… trust me, if the quality of meat is good, this is all you need to make it work.This is a super simple recipe. Normally we will carve a few pieces and have it hot for dinner, treating it like a roast, and then use all the “leftovers” as ham.

It might not be a very sophisticated recipe, there is no brining and no glazing but if you buy a proper quality piece of meat, ideally from your local butcher, you will understand why it is so good. The real taste of meat, slightly enhanced with salt, pepper and garlic… trust me, if the quality of meat is good, this is all you need to make it work.

Have you ever make ham at home?

Foolproof Homemade Ham. It might not be a very sophisticated recipe, there is no brining and no glazing but if you buy a proper quality piece of meat, ideally from your local butcher, you will understand why it is so good. The real taste of meat, slightly enhanced with salt, pepper and garlic… trust me, if the quality of meat is good, this is all you need to make it work.

5 thoughts on “Foolproof Homemade Ham”

  3. Oh, home baked ham. Now you’re talking. I firmly believe simple recipes are often best and when you’ve got a good joint of meat to cook, why spoil it with lots of sauces and spices. Like you we’ll cook a ham joint for a roast dinner, and then eat the leftovers cold in sandwiches or salads. Tx

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