country ham
See also: ham
A Southern-style dry-cured, aged ham, salted and hung to dry for months rather than wet-brined and smoked the way a supermarket "city ham" is. Far saltier and more intensely flavored than regular ham -- used in small amounts, diced or shredded, to season soups, beans, and greens rather than eaten in large slices the way a holiday ham would be.
Buying guidance
Sold whole (needing soaking and cooking before eating) or, more conveniently for cooking into a dish, already cooked and diced or sliced in vacuum-sealed packages -- the pre-cooked form is what a soup or bean recipe usually means. A little goes a long way given its saltiness.
Substitutions
- Regular cooked ham -- much milder and less salty; use more of it and season the dish's own salt more assertively to compensate.
- Prosciutto or another dry-cured ham -- a closer match in saltiness and concentrated flavor, though the specific taste differs.
- Bacon or salt pork -- different flavor profile (smokier, fattier) but fills a similar "salty cured pork" role in a pot of beans or greens.
Tips & common mistakes
Salting a dish to a normal amount before tasting is easy to overdo when country ham is already in the pot -- hold off on added salt until near the end and taste first, since the ham itself can carry most or all of the seasoning a dish needs.
Storage
A whole uncut country ham keeps for a long time at cool room temperature or refrigerated, much like a cured salami. Cut or diced country ham should be refrigerated and used within a week or so, or frozen for longer storage.