COUNTRY HAM AND HOMINY HASH

Steps:

• Place the ham in a pot with the bay leaf and peppercorns. Cover with water and simmer for about 1 hour, until the ham is fork-tender (see Know-how, page 172). Add the potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes more, until the potatoes are just beginning to get tender. Strain the ham and potatoes from the pot, reserving about 1/4 cup of the liquid, removing and discarding the bay leaf, and set aside.
• Using two forks, shred the ham into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the potatoes, hominy, and onion. Stir in the reserved cooking liquid and parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Country ham is salty, so be sure to taste before adding any extra salt.)
• Heat the olive oil and butter in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the ham-potato mixture and spread into a flat cake. Cover with a splatter screen or lid and cook until crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and re-form the cake. Cover and cook, adding a little more oil if needed, until crispy on the other side. Remove from the heat and cover.
• Fill a large skillet with water about 2 inches deep and bring to a boil. Add the vinegar and salt and reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Add the eggs one at a time and poach for 2 to 3 minutes, until the whites set and a thin, translucent film forms over the yolks (see Know-how, page 86). Use a slotted spoon to gently transfer the eggs to a paper towel-lined platter to drain.
• Divide the hash evenly between individual serving plates, place 1 or 2 eggs on top of each, and serve hot.
• For a more rustic interpretation of this dish, make a hole in the hash, crack the eggs in the hole, and cover to fry, rather than poach, to your liking. For a sweet-and-savory combination, substitute sweet potatoes for the russets, and for a crispy finish, scatter fried oysters on top. Or, make a cheesy variation by layering the hash mixture with Gruyère cheese in a skillet to form one large cake and sauté until brown and crispy. Slide the cake out of the skillet and cut into 4 to 6 wedges, then assemble the dish as for the main recipe.
• Hominy is the name for corn kernels that have been hulled to remove the bran and germ. Lye hominy is hulled by soaking the corn kernels in a weak lye solution-a very traditional, centuries-old Native American method-and pearl hominy is hulled mechanically. It is then dried and either ground to make our beloved hominy grits or boiled whole to make what New Orleansians call "big hominy." You can buy hominy canned, meaning precooked, or dried, in which case it will need to be presoaked and boiled in the same manner as dried beans.