HOW TO COOK COUNTRY HAM SLICES

How to cook country ham slices is a post on how I like to fry my ham slices, make red-eye gravy and how to cook country ham slices in coca cola.  I don’t know many Southerners that dislike country ham.  I grew up on a small farm in Kentucky and raised my children on a farm as well.  We used to cure our own hams every year and country ham was something we could not wait for in the fall.  The hams always had to go through what we called the “June sweats”  while hanging in the smoke house before they were suitable to cut down and cook for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  My entire family loves country ham.  In fact, it is not safe if you have it on hand because whoever finds it in the fridge will cook it or eat it or even steal it!

We love country ham for breakfast with my mama’s cathead biscuits, some eggs, grits and red-eye gravy.

Cook country ham slices and make this gravy for a real breakfast treat anytime.

FRYING COUNTRY HAM SLICES

Country ham slices should be at least 1/4 inch thick, have some fat around the edges and be fairly large.  Heat a large skillet on top of the stove,  add a couple country ham slices and cover the skillet with a lid.  Do not remove the fat from the slices and do not add oil or butter to the skillet.  Turn the heat down to medium, cook on one side for about 2 1/2 minutes, turn the slices over and cook 21/2 minutes on the other side.  They should be brown and cooked after five minutes.  Remove from skillet and make red-eye gravy.

RED EYE GRAVY

Once you have removed your ham slices,  add 3/4 cup cold, black coffee to your skillet drippings and scrape loose any particles of ham from the bottom of the pan.  Add 1 cup water to the pan and bring to a low boil, uncovered.  Simmer gravy about 8 minutes to let it reduce and thicken.  Serve drizzled over ham slices, biscuits or dip ham biscuits in the gravy.  You can add some black pepper if you like but most ham is salty enough that you won’t need salt in the gravy.

COCA COLA FRYING METHOD

Cover the bottom of the frying pan with coke.  Enough to cover ham slices.  Add ham and bring to a low boil for about five minutes, uncovered.  The coke adds a bit of sweetness to the ham.

Note:  If you don’t like salty ham, you can always soak your ham in water for about 30 minutes, remove and pat dry before cooking.

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