The Colorado statesman., 1912-03-09
REALLY LUSCIOUS HAM
MANY WAYS FOR ITS PERFECT
PREPARATION.
Size of the Article, as Well as In.
dividual Taste, Has to Be Con-
sidered-Method of Deal
ing With Small Ones.

The various ways of cooking ham,
each tried by those who have prac-
ticed it, are too numerous to mention.
Some steam the ham first, then cover
with a coating of -four and water and
bake in an open pan. Some boil the
ham and finish in the oven and others
Soak the ham for two days in cold wa
ter and then roast on a spit over a
dripping pan. 1t depends on the size
of the ham and on the cooking range,
and personal tastes.
There are few sugar cured hams in
this progressive age, so the mode of
cooking must necessarily change and
the flavor that was once given to
the meat by long smoking after it
had been STEPPED in honey or syrup,
be added in the process of cooking.
An excellent cook says she selects
ham weighing about twelve pounds.
A smaller one Is apt to have too
much bone, with a goodly thickness of
fat on one side, for ham that is
too lean will not be fine flavor, and
prepares it thus:
Soak for twelve hours. Trim aawy
the rusty parts from the underside
and the edges. Scrub the whole ham
with stiff brush. Stick few whole
cloves into the ham and sprinkle over
with pepper and light brown sugar.
Make a paste of flour and hot water
and cover the bottom of the ham
with it, place in the baking pan skin
side up and cook. allowing twenty
Aun mil fA ha md DO Cfn a
now and then. When done peel off
the crust and the skin and dredge
over lightly with flour Put into the
oven again until Drowned.
If you have savory roasting pan
one that has close-fitting cover
and oval bottom-you have the best
possible means at hand for baking
ham, and you will not need to look
at 1t after you have put it in the
oven until it is done for these pans are
self-basting. Wash the ham and dot
over with the spice Put in the roas-
ter and add one cup of cider, sprinkle
with sugar and put in the oven. Cali
fornia hams are small and sweet and
just the thing to cook with cabbage II
you are a real housekeeper and can
have such good things and they are
nice, too, when steamed.
These little hams are sure to be
very salty and will need to be soaked
over night, at least, to freshen them.
The writer thinks the best way to
cook a small ham is in a paper bag,
for then all the flavor and rich juices
are saved. Prepare the ham. Do not
| forget the cloves, and If you are fond
of spice, mix little cinnamon with
the sugar you rub over it. Dredge
the ham on the top side with flour,
place in a cooking bag, seal, and fold
over the ends. Add no water or other
moisture. Bake a little less than the
usual twenty-five minutes for each
| pound. Watch the clock and do not
cook too long.
When done puncture the bag and
drain the juice and fat into a small
| bowl. Set this aside until cold and
you will have a cake of the finest
| sort of shortening, and the liquor,
which is the real essence of the ham,
may be thickened into gravy or used
| to season some vegetable dish.
Serve the ham while hot and use
any that remains when it is cold. You
will find it hard to decide whether it
is best in the first state or in the
last.