It's hardly surprising that a cookbook that begins with a pig slaughter and ends with trying to sneak a whole ham past airport security (TSA officer: "Is this human?") had me hooked from the word "ham."
In this witty, often hilarious, ode to pork’s most-beloved primal cut, Scarbrough and Weinstein obsess upon ham of every ilk. From rarefied dry-cured imports like Culatello di Zibello and Jamón Ibérico to down-home country hams and popular wet-cured varieties like Honey Baked, the authors delight in it all. Start cooking the book with their recipe for Roasted Fresh Ham with a Maple-Spice Glaze. If you’ve had only cured hams, this luscious roast is a revelation. After that, let your appetite guide you where it will: perhaps toward Asia for vinegary Filipino Twice-Cooked Pork.
This luscious volume covers four types of ham: Fresh Ham, including recipes for a Ham Tagine and Steamed Ham Buns; Dry-Cured Ham in the Old World, with recipes for Chilled Honeydew Soup with Frizzled Ham and Prosciutto-Wrapped Meatloaf in a Vinegary Tomato Sauce, as well as a menu for A European Ham Party; Dry-Cured Ham in the New World, offering Jerk-Style Country Ham and Pineapple Tamales and a Glazed and Roasted Country Ham; and Wet-Cured Ham, featuring an Iberian-Inspired Frittata and an over-the-top Mac and Ham and Cheese.
The chapters are divided by region and type of ham: dry-cured hams from the old and new worlds, wet cured and fresh hams. Within each are frank discussions, such as whether that Madrid butcher really should be dangling his jamón serrano over the doorjamb, or if we are just a bunch of uptight Americans fueled by our obsession for the latest SubZero products.
With incredible photography; invaluable information about buying, preparing, and serving ham; and dozens of globe-trotting recipes, Ham: An Obsession with the Hindquarter is the only guide you'll ever need to this luscious, versatile delicacy.
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