Hams should always be soaked in water previous to boiling, to draw
out a portion of the salt, and to make them tender. They will
soften more easily if soaked in lukewarm water. If it is a new
ham, and not very salt or hard, you need not put it in water till
the evening before you intend to cook it. An older one will
require twenty-four hours' soaking; and one that is very old and
hard should be kept in soak two or three days, frequently changing
the water, which must be soft. Soak it in a tub, and keep it well
covered. When you take it out of the water to prepare it for
boiling, scrape and trim it nicely, and pare off all the bad
looking parts.
Early in the morning put it into a large pot or kettle with plenty
of cold water. Place it over a slow fire that it may heat
gradually; it should not come to a boil in less than an hour and a
half, or two hours. When it boils, quicken the fire, and skim the
pot carefully. Then simmer it gently four or fire hours or more,
according to its size. A ham weighing fifteen pounds should simmer
five hours after it has come to a boil. Keep the pot well skimmed.
When it is done, take it up, carefully strip off the skin, and
reserve it to cover the ham when it is put away cold. Rub the ham
all over with some beaten egg, and strew on it fine bread-raspings
shaken through the lid of a dredging box. Then place it in an oven
to brown and crisp, or on a hot dish set over the pot before the
fire. Cut some writing paper into a handsome fringe, and twist it
round the shank-bone before you send the ham to table. Garnish the
edge of the dish with little piles or spots of rasped crust of
bread.
In carving a ham, begin not quite in the centre, but a little
nearer to the hock. Cut the slices very thin. It is not only a
most ungenteel practice to cut ham in thick slices, but it much
impairs the flavour.
When you put it away after dinner, skewer on again the skin. This
will make it keep the better.
Ham should always be accompanied by green vegetables, such as
asparagus, peas, beans, spinach, cauliflower, brocoli, &c.
Bacon also should be well soaked before it is cooked; and it
should be boiled very slowly, and for a long time. The greens may
be boiled with the meat. Take care to skim the pot carefully, and
to drain and squeeze the greens very well before you send them to
table. If there are yellow streaks in the lean of the bacon, it is
rusty, and unfit to eat.