The Revival Of Lamb Ham: A Colonial Tradition Renewed
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courtesy of Sammy Edwards
Courtesy of Sammy Edwards
Roast rack of lamb or a platter of fume, glassy ham — which cup of tea should be the centerpiece of the Easter table ? Lamb is fat in religious symbolism : A sacrificial lamb was first served by jewish people on Passover, and Christians frequently refer to Jesus as the lamb of God. But ham feeds more guests and makes tastier leftovers. soon, we may not have to choose. Third-generation country-ham curemaster Sam Edwards, of Surry, Va., and shepherd Craig Rogers, owner of Virginia ‘s Border Springs grass-fed lamb farm, are resurrecting the “ lamb ham. ” The give daintiness was a fastness of American foodways in colonial times, gracing the tables of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington .
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Courtesy of Peter Taylor
Courtesy of Peter Taylor
Using lush, Katahdin sheep from Rogers ‘ farm and applying Edwards ‘ traditional smoking and cure facilities, the dish is a true “ area ” ham that takes six months to produce. It is, Rogers gushes, “ stunning, like nothing I have had before. The richness of the lamb, coupled with strategic arms limitation talks and hickory smoke, creates this pantry, nutty, affectionate smasher. How did something so tasty disappear sol completely for sol long ? ”
It was David Shields, a professor of English at the University of South Carolina, and author of the fair published southerly Provisions : The Creation and Revival of a Cuisine, who first stirred Rogers ‘ matter to in lamb overact. In 2013, Shields sent Rogers a note about the prevalence of lamb and mouton ham in the 1800s, first in England, and then in colonial America. “ In the british Isles the mouton overact was winter fare, a cured haunch of a 14-pound [ lamb ] that would come to the table for slicing when company came or when the home needed something full-bodied and comforting, ” Shields tells The Salt. “ Prior to the nineteenth century, it appeared at one of two meals : at breakfast, for its rich nutrition, or at late supper for its way of complementing a nightcap. ” british colonialists brought the dish to America, where a sugar-cured, smoked kind became popular in Kentucky, and a fume lamb ham adorned sideboards in Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson served lamb ham, “ not besides sternly salted, ” at a breakfast of eggs, coffee, and dry-toast, or in the flush with Madeira wine at Monticello. By the 1850s, lamb and mouton hams were a have of the Southern board deoxyadenosine monophosphate well. Says Shields, “ Americans loved lamb overact because it tasted to them like venison — and they thought it was the best possible accompaniment to a field glass of bourbon. ”
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courtesy of Sammy Edwards
Courtesy of Sammy Edwards
indeed what happened to lamb ham ? Why did it disappear, and how did pork ham come to dominate ? According to Shields, there was a two-pronged attack on mouton and lamb in the early twentieth century. “ The gospel of fiber, animal purity and colon health preached by James Caleb Jackson, the Kellogg brothers, and Charles William Post cleared kernel of any kind from the good morning meal, ” Shields says. “ And then there was the greater economy of prepping commercial lamb for roasting quite than curing it. ”
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Pork ham — easy to cure, replete with fat, and substantially larger than lamb — took its place at dinners and holidays. Edwards ‘ family has been dry curing hams since 1926, and their Surryano ham is widely regarded as one of the most brilliant prosciutto in America. “ Dry cure ham is not all that different than fermenting wine or distilling whiskey, ” Edwards says. “ We are engaging in a controlled zymosis process, and that ‘s what gives the kernel its flavor. This lamb ham is angelic, buttery and smoky, with precisely a touch of lamb relish. ” Edwards and Rogers say the intersection has good received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and should hit the shelves in 2016. The creators are toying with the identify “ lamón ” as play on the spanish parole for ham, jamón. “ Sam and I call ourselves the Johnny Appleseeds of lamb hams, ” says Rogers. “ rather of bringing apples to America, we ‘re letting people taste what Thomas Jefferson and George Washington would have enjoyed. The american larder was built on area ham. now those who do n’t eat pork can have a taste of what they ‘ve been missing. ” If a class seems besides long to wait, Rogers recommends cooking your own “ city ” cured lamb ham, like the ones crafted by Charleston chef Kevin Johnson, owner of The Grocery ( see recipe below ).
Recipe: The Grocery’s Lamb Ham
1 leg of lamb 1 gallon urine 350 grams kosher salt 300 grams brown carbohydrate 50 grams Insta Cure No. 1 ( curing salt ) 10 grams crushed peppercorns One lemon, sliced 2 sprigs rosemary 10 grams fennel seed, crushed For rub 2 tablespoons footing fennel seed 2 tablespoons coriander seed
Read more custom BY HOANGLM with new data process: How to make nightshade jam | The Survival Gardener
Chili eccentric, big nip Directions
- Dissolve sugar and salt in boiling water
- Cool to room temperature
- Add remaining ingredients and pour over deboned leg of lamb
- Cover, refrigerate and brine for 6 days
- Pull out and let dry in cooler for two days
- Coat with a mixture of ground fennel seed (2t), coriander seed (2t) and chili flake (big pinch)
- Roast tie or put in bag
- Smoke at about 200-225 degrees until internal hits about 150 degrees (about five to six hours)
- Cool
Jill Neimark is an Atlanta-based writer whose employment has been featured in Discover, Scientific American, Science, Nautilus, Aeon, Psychology Today and The New York Times .
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