Eating Smithfield County ham uncooked??

Kent said:

Hi,
Has anyone tried eating a Smithfield County ham or a "country ham" without
cooking it?

Why couldn't you? It's a finished product. From the Smithfield
Collection website:

" As prescribed by law and strictly adhered to by our
curemasters, our world famous Smithfield Hams are first dry salt cured,
then slowly smoked to perfection using oak, hickory and apple woods.
Aged for nearly a year, our Smithfield Hams are carefully cooked and
closely trimmed for your holiday table. To serve slice "tissue thin" to
properly capture the unique Smithfield taste and delight your guests.
Each cooked Smithfield Hams is vacuum sealed. "

Incidentally, this is the best kind of ham to use in Chinese recipes
that call for ham. -aem

Quoted message said:

I [snip]
Any discussion about this always brings about the risk of trichinosis. [snip]

I don't see why. -aem

Kent said:

Hi,
Has anyone tried eating a Smithfield County ham or a "country ham" without
cooking it? I've been chasing this question on the internet unsuccessfully.
Smithfield ham is produced pretty much like proscuito, except for the
smoking. In theory, it should be safe to eat raw. I have tried a thin slice
once or twice. It's quite tasty, though at some point you start worrying
about exogenous little bugs.
Any discussion about this always brings about the risk of trichinosis. A bit
moot, as there hasn't been a reported case of trichinosis in this country
for a long time.
Thoughts, or have you tried it?
Thanks
Kent

I tried it, and I don't think you'd like it. It's kind of like
chewing on uncooked bacalao (dried salt cod), except it's pork.

It's dried and salted to an extreme. Bone dry and completely,
utterly, hammered with salt. Prosciutto is not a good comparison
as it has far less salt and much more moisture. Ever hear
of anyone having to rehydrate prosciutto?

The reason for soaking and heating country ham it is to make
it palatable, it's not a safety issue.

--
Reg

aem said:

Incidentally, this is the best kind of ham to use in Chinese recipes
that call for ham. -aem

Which is no doubt why they are usually available in Asian
markets. In fact, the very first time I tasted a country ham it
was uncooked. Salty, but oh so tasty.

nb

notbob said:

aem said:

Incidentally, this is the best kind of ham to use in Chinese recipes
that call for ham. -aem

Which is no doubt why they are usually available in Asian
markets. In fact, the very first time I tasted a country ham it
was uncooked. Salty, but oh so tasty.

nb

Yep. 99 Ranch in the Bay Area is where I get mine.

--
Reg

On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 12:22:43 -0800, "Kent" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi,
Has anyone tried eating a Smithfield County ham or a "country ham" without
cooking it?

Doesn't need cooked. I eat smoked, raw wet-cured hams (AKA "Ready
to Cook" Hams, not "Heat and Serve"😉, too.

There aren't any dangerous bugs in a country ham. If there were,
they would have eaten much of the ham during curing.

Quoted message said:

Any discussion about this always brings about the risk of trichinosis. A bit
moot, as there hasn't been a reported case of trichinosis in this country
for a long time.

As several people mentioned last time you claimed this, there are
at least a dozen cases of trichinosis reported every year.

-sw

Reg said:

Yep. 99 Ranch in the Bay Area is where I get mine.

Last I saw they were a mere $2/lb there 18 months ago. Which I
thought was an outstanding price; Half the price you'd pay for
the cheapest "Ham and Water Product" from the deli. Someone just
mentioned they only sell the Gwaltney now.

Here in Austin they're $3/lb at the second most expensive grocer
in town (Whole Foods being the priciest). We also get the
Smithfield dry cured slab bacon (nothing to write home about) for
$5/lb.

-sw

Steve Wertz said:

Reg said:

Yep. 99 Ranch in the Bay Area is where I get mine.

Last I saw they were a mere $2/lb there 18 months ago. Which I
thought was an outstanding price; Half the price you'd pay for
the cheapest "Ham and Water Product" from the deli. Someone just
mentioned they only sell the Gwaltney now.

Here in Austin they're $3/lb at the second most expensive grocer
in town (Whole Foods being the priciest). We also get the
Smithfield dry cured slab bacon (nothing to write home about) for
$5/lb.

I *used* to get country style ham, including Smithfields, at the
various italian delis. They were numerous at one time. Now that
they're just about all gone, it's either an Asian store or mail
order.

--
Reg

Kent wrote:
:: Hi,
:: Has anyone tried eating a Smithfield County ham or a "country ham"
without
:: cooking it? I've been chasing this question on the internet
unsuccessfully.
:: Smithfield ham is produced pretty much like proscuito, except for
the
:: smoking. In theory, it should be safe to eat raw. I have tried a
thin slice
:: once or twice. It's quite tasty, though at some point you start
worrying
:: about exogenous little bugs.
:: Any discussion about this always brings about the risk of
trichinosis. A bit
:: moot, as there hasn't been a reported case of trichinosis in this
country
:: for a long time.
:: Thoughts, or have you tried it?
:: Thanks
:: Kent

Where's Wertz when we need him?

BOB

--
Raw Meat Should NOT Have An Ingredients List

Steve Wertz wrote:
:: On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 12:22:43 -0800, "Kent" <[email hidden]>
:: wrote:
::
::: Hi,
::: Has anyone tried eating a Smithfield County ham or a "country ham"
without
::: cooking it?
::
:: Doesn't need cooked. I eat smoked, raw wet-cured hams (AKA "Ready
:: to Cook" Hams, not "Heat and Serve"😉, too.
::
:: There aren't any dangerous bugs in a country ham. If there were,
:: they would have eaten much of the ham during curing.
::
::: Any discussion about this always brings about the risk of
trichinosis. A bit
::: moot, as there hasn't been a reported case of trichinosis in this
country
::: for a long time.
::
:: As several people mentioned last time you claimed this, there are
:: at least a dozen cases of trichinosis reported every year.
::
:: -sw

There you are. (see my previous post!)

BOB

--
Raw Meat Should NOT Have An Ingredients List

In article <[email hidden]>,

Reg said:

I tried it, and I don't think you'd like it. It's kind of like
chewing on uncooked bacalao (dried salt cod), except it's pork.

It's dried and salted to an extreme. Bone dry and completely,
utterly, hammered with salt. Prosciutto is not a good comparison
as it has far less salt and much more moisture. Ever hear
of anyone having to rehydrate prosciutto?

The reason for soaking and heating country ham it is to make
it palatable, it's not a safety issue.

This is was true for the majority of country hams (from the USA) that
I've tried but I found an exception. One brand was quite edible when
sliced thinly. I *think* it was from either Burger's Smokehouse or an
outfit called Mom 'n' Pops, if memory serves. It was very lightly smoked
and the cure was weighted towards the sugar. The age of the ham is also
a factor (obviously).

D.M.

Quoted message said:

I tried it, and I don't think you'd like it. It's kind of like
chewing on uncooked bacalao (dried salt cod), except it's pork.

It's dried and salted to an extreme. Bone dry and completely,
utterly, hammered with salt. Prosciutto is not a good comparison
as it has far less salt and much more moisture. Ever hear
of anyone having to rehydrate prosciutto?

The reason for soaking and heating country ham it is to make
it palatable, it's not a safety issue.

We had much the same experience a few months ago with a Smithfield Country
ham. It was extremely tough and salty. We didn't know what to do with it,
and ended up throwing it out.

Dave

Kent said:

Hi,
Has anyone tried eating a Smithfield County ham or a "country ham" without
cooking it?

I make a version of the country ham, but use the pork loin. Its
somewhat like Canadian bacon. After I cure it, I let it hang for at
least 90 days then smoke it.I cut it very thin then & warm in a hot
skillet for 5 or 10 seconds a side. Smithfields are quite pricey and Id
hate to see you eat raw and not enjoy it

v/r
Jim

jim said:

I make a version of the country ham, but use the pork loin. Its
somewhat like Canadian bacon. After I cure it, I let it hang for at
least 90 days then smoke it.I cut it very thin then & warm in a hot
skillet for 5 or 10 seconds a side. Smithfields are quite pricey and Id
hate to see you eat raw and not enjoy it

You age it, then smoke it?

That's odd.

-sw