12-Hour Fresh Ham with Gremolata
If a ham hasn't been cured, what is it? It's the most tender, moist pork roast of your dreams, that's what. You may not be able to find an uncured ham in your grocery store, but ask your butcher, or a pig farmer at your local farmer's market to put one aside for you. (Also called a "fresh ham," or "country ham.") Smoking, or curing a ham completely changes the flavor of the meat, and also gives it that pink color we associate with hams. But a fresh ham looks like any other pork roast you've cooked. It's just larger, moister, and more flavorful.
Be prepared to invite a lot of guests though. These babies can weigh anywhere from 12 – 25 pounds with the bone in. And be prepared to start cooking well ahead of time. We roast our fresh hams for 10 hours, overnight usually, at a very low temperature. The fat melts into the meat, and by the time we pull it from the oven it's barely holding together. Which makes it even more delicious. You can use this same method as a starter for your favorite barbecue pulled pork recipe.
But we love the clean flavor of a fresh ham so much that we usually simply pair it with a traditional french parsley/garlic/lemon/anchovy sauce called Gremolata. (You can leave out the anchovies if you prefer.) Truly mouthwateringly delicious.
Ingredients:
For Ham:
17-20 lb fresh ham, bone in.
20 fresh sage leaves
20 cloves peeled, whole garlic
Salt/Pepper
For Gremolata:
1 cup flat parsley leaves, chopped very fine
3 tablespoons fresh lemon zest, chopped very fine
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 t anchovy paste (more to taste)
1 cup best quality olive oil
Heat oven to 225 F.
Place ham, fat side up, in very large roasting pan with rack. With sharp knife, score fat diagonally and crosswise in one inch intervals, without piercing flesh below the fat. At the intersection of each diagonal score, cut a deeper 1/2 inch-wide slit. (It may pierce flesh. This is ok.) Fill each slit with either garlic clove, or rolled up sage leaf, alternating between the two. Sprinkle entire ham with salt and pepper.
Place ham in oven. Cook at that low temperature for approximately 12 hours. Begin checking at around 10 hours, but be prepared to roast up to 14. Roast until meat is very loose and internal temperature is about 130-140F. Carefully transfer to large platter. (Meat may begin to fall away from bone and be difficult to transfer.)
Prepare gremolata the last few hours before roast is finished. Chop zest, parsley and garlic together, mincing into almost a paste. Put anchovy paste in small bowl and add a little of the olive oil. Stir until combined. Slowly add more olive oil, continually stirring so that paste remains incorporated. Stir in parsley, lemon, garlic.
To serve, slice ham (or simply pull off pieces if too tender to slice) and spoon gremolata over.
