Best Fresh Ham With Cracklings And Pan Gravy Recipes

HAM GRAVY

Steps:

• Into the pan that the ham was cooked in (or use bacon grease if you don't have ham juices), add the butter. Once melted, add 1/4 cup of the flour and whisk to combine. Continue adding flour, whisking constantly, until a smooth paste is achieved. Cook the roux over a medium heat until you get a nice deep golden color, about 3 minutes. Add the milk, whisking the whole time to prevent lumps forming. Cook until thick and season to taste. Serve over biscuits!

ROAST FRESH HAM WITH CRACKLINGS

Steps:

• Combine 4 quarts cold water, 1 cup salt, and the garlic, onion, peppercorns, coriander, bay leaves, and parsley in a container that is large enough to hold the ham, and stir until the salt is dissolved. Submerge the ham in the liquid and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days. (Alternatively, if you can't fit the ham in your refrigerator, brine it directly in a clean cooler, just adding a little extra salt and enough ice to keep the ham cold, draining a little brine and adding more ice as needed.)
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Drain off the brine, discarding all the seasonings, and pat the ham dry. Put a paper towel on top of a cutting board and set the ham on top of that so that it doesn't slip. With a sharp knife, score the skin with incisions that run the length of the ham and are about 1/2 inch apart, and then again the other way to form a crosshatch pattern. The incisions should just barely reach into the fat under the skin; do not cut into the meat itself, in order to help the crackling skin stay in one piece once it is crispy. Allow the ham to come to room temperature.
• Lightly oil and salt the meat, rubbing it in on all surfaces. Put the ham on a rack or on a few rolled-up sheets of aluminum foil in a large heavy roasting pan and put it in the oven. A 15-pound roast will take almost 4 hours total, while an 18-pounder will take as long as 5-about 15 minutes per pound. About 2 1/2 hours in, when the temperature of the ham hits about 130°F, raise the oven temperature to 425°F to crisp the skin (cover any areas that start to get too dark with a piece of foil). When the meat thermometer reads 145° to 150°F, remove the roast and allow it to rest, loosely tented with foil, for an hour or so before carving.

ROASTED FRESH HAM

Steps:

• Place a rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Trim skin and excess fat from ham, leaving a layer of fat. Score ham all over in a diamond pattern of 1/2-inch-deep cuts about 1 1/2 inches apart.
• In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and thyme, pinching and sifting mixture until thyme becomes fragrant. Pat mixture all over ham and into crevices.
• Place ham fat-side up on a rack in a large roasting pan and roast uncovered for 1/2 an hour. Turn heat down to 350 degrees, pour 2 cups wine and 1/2 cup water into pan and loosely tent with aluminum foil. Continue to roast, basting every hour. Add water to pan, if necessary, to keep pan juices from scorching; bake until a meat thermometer pressed into thickest part of ham reads 155 degrees, about 3 1/2 hours.
• Let ham stand 15 to 20 minutes before carving. Pour pan juices and remaining 2 tablespoons wine into a small saucepan and simmer about 2 minutes. Turn off flame, add half-and-half, and serve with ham.