Soak City Picnic Ham?

Damsel in dis Dress wrote on 15 Apr 2006 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

We have a regular ol' picnic ham in the fridge, waiting to become the
main dish at tomorrow's dinner. We usually buy the butt hams. Do I
remember correctly that picnics are saltier? Should I soak this thing
before cooking it?

Thanks,
Carol

If you're talking Pork picnic roll...The kind that comes wrapped in a
cheese cloth layer...I'd consider soaking as it is fairly salted. I do mine
in a crockpot (unsoaked) sprinkled with onion soup mix...about 6 hrs on
high...meat falls/pulls away from the bone and the gravy is inedible (too
salty) But the meat tastes wonderfull...Great pan fried the next day too or
addtion to salad. Up here they're around 9-11 Bucks for a 6-10 lb (3 to 4
kg) bone in ham... err roll.

--
-Alan

Damsel in dis Dress said:

We have a regular ol' picnic ham in the fridge, waiting to become the
main dish at tomorrow's dinner. We usually buy the butt hams. Do I
remember correctly that picnics are saltier? Should I soak this thing
before cooking it?

Thanks,
Carol

Picnics (pork shoulder or front leg) are often saltier than hams. They
are also greasier and have more gristle. I don't soak them, I just bake
them and a lot of salty water cooks out. Then I usually take them apart
before serving because they are not pretty like a ham. But they are
just as tasty; maybe better because that fat and gristle breaks down
with the long cooking and makes the meat moist and luscious.

Best regards,
Bob

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 19:17:23 -0500, zxcvbob <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Picnics (pork shoulder or front leg) are often saltier than hams. They
are also greasier and have more gristle. I don't soak them, I just bake
them and a lot of salty water cooks out. Then I usually take them apart
before serving because they are not pretty like a ham. But they are
just as tasty; maybe better because that fat and gristle breaks down
with the long cooking and makes the meat moist and luscious.

I haven't cooked a picnic in ages, but Crash and I both remember them
to be really stringy. Fortunately, we both love stringy ham.

So low and slow is the way to go? (That wasn't intended to be a poem)
Crash was talking about putting it on the rotisserie. Bad idea?

I always rip my hams apart and then slice the individual muscles, so
that part is covered.

Carol
--

Some people are like Slinkies... they don't really have a purpose but
they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

Stolen from "traid" on the IRC

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 23:39:25 GMT, Mr Libido Incognito <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

If you're talking Pork picnic roll...The kind that comes wrapped in a
cheese cloth layer...I'd consider soaking as it is fairly salted. I do mine
in a crockpot (unsoaked) sprinkled with onion soup mix...about 6 hrs on
high...meat falls/pulls away from the bone and the gravy is inedible (too
salty) But the meat tastes wonderfull...Great pan fried the next day too or
addtion to salad. Up here they're around 9-11 Bucks for a 6-10 lb (3 to 4
kg) bone in ham... err roll.

Crockpot! What a great idea! I wonder if I have a rack small enough
to put in one of mine.

I'm wondering why you would put salty onion soup mix on a salty ham?
I'm thinking fresh onion slices might be a good idea.

Carol
--

Some people are like Slinkies... they don't really have a purpose but
they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

Stolen from "traid" on the IRC

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 23:39:25 GMT, Mr Libido Incognito <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I do mine
in a crockpot (unsoaked) sprinkled with onion soup mix...about 6 hrs on
high...meat falls/pulls away from the bone

Follow-up. I informed Crash that we were cooking the ham in the
crockpot for 6 hours. Now he wants to cook it overnight. He wants a
pile of ham on his plate. No slices for the Crashman! I'm cool with
that. We can cook it overnight, but it'll be on low instead of high.
Thanks again for the suggestion!

Carol
--

Some people are like Slinkies... they don't really have a purpose but
they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

Stolen from "traid" on the IRC

Damsel in dis Dress said:

Follow-up. I informed Crash that we were cooking the ham in the
crockpot for 6 hours. Now he wants to cook it overnight. He wants a
pile of ham on his plate. No slices for the Crashman! I'm cool with
that. We can cook it overnight, but it'll be on low instead of high.
Thanks again for the suggestion!

Carol

Make sure you cook it on a rack or it'll be too salty to eat. (I'd use
an electric roaster)

Bob

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 20:05:34 -0500, zxcvbob <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Damsel in dis Dress said:

Follow-up. I informed Crash that we were cooking the ham in the
crockpot for 6 hours. Now he wants to cook it overnight. He wants a
pile of ham on his plate. No slices for the Crashman! I'm cool with
that. We can cook it overnight, but it'll be on low instead of high.
Thanks again for the suggestion!

Make sure you cook it on a rack or it'll be too salty to eat. (I'd use
an electric roaster)

Got a Nesco you can loan me? ;o)

Carol
--

Some people are like Slinkies... they don't really have a purpose but
they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

Stolen from "traid" on the IRC

Damsel in dis Dress said:

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 20:05:34 -0500, zxcvbob <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Damsel in dis Dress said:

Follow-up. I informed Crash that we were cooking the ham in the
crockpot for 6 hours. Now he wants to cook it overnight. He wants a
pile of ham on his plate. No slices for the Crashman! I'm cool with
that. We can cook it overnight, but it'll be on low instead of high.
Thanks again for the suggestion!

Make sure you cook it on a rack or it'll be too salty to eat. (I'd use
an electric roaster)

Got a Nesco you can loan me? ;o)

Carol

Sorry, I'll be using mine.

Bob

Damsel in dis Dress said:

We have a regular ol' picnic ham in the fridge, waiting to become the
main dish at tomorrow's dinner. We usually buy the butt hams. Do I
remember correctly that picnics are saltier? Should I soak this thing
before cooking it?

I only buy Smithfield wet-cured hams and they use the same
technique and brine to do both their picnics and whole hams
(shank + butt). Since they're fattier and have more area between
muscle sections, they may soak up more salt, but I've never
noticed them being saltier.

-sw

Damsel in dis Dress wrote on 15 Apr 2006 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 23:39:25 GMT, Mr Libido Incognito <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

If you're talking Pork picnic roll...The kind that comes wrapped in a
cheese cloth layer...I'd consider soaking as it is fairly salted. I
do mine in a crockpot (unsoaked) sprinkled with onion soup
mix...about 6 hrs on high...meat falls/pulls away from the bone and
the gravy is inedible (too salty) But the meat tastes
wonderfull...Great pan fried the next day too or addtion to salad. Up
here they're around 9-11 Bucks for a 6-10 lb (3 to 4 kg) bone in
ham... err roll.

Crockpot! What a great idea! I wonder if I have a rack small enough
to put in one of mine.

I'm wondering why you would put salty onion soup mix on a salty ham?
I'm thinking fresh onion slices might be a good idea.

Carol

Apparently most of the salt leaves and enters the drippings/gravy...
There is just a slight hint of onion left in the ham...

I just place the ham in the crockpot ensure the lid will fit...removing
some of the fat cap if necessary...sprinkle on the onion soup powder and
crockpots away! The ham comes out in 3 or 4 pieces and also the bone.

I do think all night even on low ...might be too long. But the cut of
meat is cheap enough to take that risk is it not?

--
-Alan

"Damsel in dis Dress" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

So low and slow is the way to go? (That wasn't intended to be a poem)
Crash was talking about putting it on the rotisserie. Bad idea?

Yes, picnics are tough and need the long slow cooking to break down the
collagen. Save the rotisserie for a loin.

On Sun, 16 Apr 2006 03:33:19 GMT, Mr Libido Incognito <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I just place the ham in the crockpot ensure the lid will fit...removing
some of the fat cap if necessary...sprinkle on the onion soup powder and
crockpots away! The ham comes out in 3 or 4 pieces and also the bone.

That sounds perfect. I'm still trying to figure out what to put under
the ham so it doesn't sit in its own injected juices the whole time.
I'll find out when I discover how tall the ham is in relation to the
crockpot.

Quoted message said:

I do think all night even on low ...might be too long. But the cut of
meat is cheap enough to take that risk is it not?

Yeah, the whole thing was $10 USD. We love overcooked roasts, etc.
Overcooked enough to be soft and/or stringy. So it won't really
matter if it gets too cooked. We'll have piles of strands for dinner,
then we can put barbecue sauce on it and have sammiches. I love ham
with bbq sauce!

Carol
--

Some people are like Slinkies... they don't really have a purpose but
they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

Stolen from "traid" on the IRC

On Sun, 16 Apr 2006 03:33:37 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Damsel in dis Dress" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

So low and slow is the way to go? (That wasn't intended to be a poem)
Crash was talking about putting it on the rotisserie. Bad idea?

Yes, picnics are tough and need the long slow cooking to break down the
collagen. Save the rotisserie for a loin.

Dang! We're REALLY going to need to stock up on pork next month. So
many good ideas!

Thanks,
Carol
--

Some people are like Slinkies... they don't really have a purpose but
they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

Stolen from "traid" on the IRC

Steve Wertz said:

I only buy Smithfield wet-cured hams and they use the same
technique and brine to do both their picnics and whole hams
(shank + butt). Since they're fattier and have more area between
muscle sections, they may soak up more salt, but I've never
noticed them being saltier.

I'll let ya know tomorrow. This dinner is getting more and more
casual. <G>

Carol
--

Some people are like Slinkies... they don't really have a purpose but
they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

Stolen from "traid" on the IRC

Quoted message said:

Crockpot! What a great idea! I wonder if I have a rack small enough
to put in one of mine.

Carol
-- Carol...make a rope out of tin foil and twist it into a circle to sit the ham on if you don't have a small enough rack. ..hth...Sharon

Some people are like Slinkies... they don't really have a purpose but
they bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.

Stolen from "traid" on the IRC