Red-Cooking Ham
We're dancing around here. Seriously. Dancing. And we're white boys. We don't dance. Without biting our upper lips. But we're doing it anyway because our book, HAM: AN OBSESSION WITH THE HINDQUARTER, got nominated for a James Beard award! Holy cow. Or pig. Or something.
We cannot believe it. We were nominated for one of the most prestigious awards in the country for a book that is at the heart and soul of who we are: Bruce's crazy-good recipes and my rather fractured take on the narrative that is our lives.
To celebrate, I thought I'd put up one of Bruce's favorite recipes: a red-cooking ham. It's a traditional Chinese braise, named for the fact that soy sauce takes on a red cast when long stewed--this time with a fresh ham, a gorgeous, decadent pork-out for the table. I had intended to blog this recipe in the weeks ahead; but with the nomination today I thought, oh, what the heck. Let's all get us a big taste of our favorite back-side. So without further ado. . . .
You're going to need a fresh ham--not smoked, not cured, not (God forbid) canned. You may have to order it from your neighborhood supermarket, but you can almost always find fresh hams at Latin American markets and most Chinese markets.
You want a 5-pound (2 1/4 kilogram) bone-in, half ham, shank or bone end--it doesn't matter which because you're going to braise this thing until it's falling off the bone. Why a ham and not a shoulder? Because a shoulder is too fatty, too unctuous. You're not making pulled pork here. You want the chew and texture of a fresh ham--that is, the best pork roast you can imagine.
If the fresh ham has a lot of fat around its edges, trim this down to about a 1/2-inch (1 cm) rim. Also take off the rind if it's attached. (In the picture above, you can see ours had too much and needed a trim.) If any of this bothers you, ask the butcher at your market to do it for you.
Now get cooking. Heat 2 tablespoons (30 ml) sesame oil in a large Dutch or French oven over medium heat. Add the ham and brown it all over.
And I mean, all over. Mess up your stove. Get it dirty. Look at that top picture--note how Bruce has browned the heck out of that thing on all sides, even along the edges. It'll take you about twenty minutes for a ham that big, but it's crucial to the success of this dish.
Once the ham has been well browned all over, transfer it to a cutting board. Now build the aromatic broth in the pot. Add 12 thinly sliced scallions, a four-inch piece of fresh ginger cut into thin julienne strips, 4 chopped garlic cloves, 4 cinnamon sticks, 2 star anise pods, the shredded zest of an orange, 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns, and 1 teaspoon bottled hot Chinese chile sauce (preferably one with dried black beans in the mix).
Stir it all over the heat about a minute, until fragrant; then pour in 3 cups (700 ml) reduced-sodium chicken broth, 3/4 cup (180 ml) soy sauce (feel free to use reduced-sodium soy sauce), 3/4 cup (180 ml) Chinese Shaoxing wine or dry sherry, and 3 tablespoons (45 grams) packed dark brown sugar.
Stir over the heat until the brown sugar dissolves and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Put the ham back in the pot and cover it tightly. And note: the liquid needs to come between a third and halfway up the piece of meat. If your liquid doesn't, add more broth to compensate.
Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer very slowly until the ham is falling-apart tender, about 6 hours, turning that big hunk of pork backsidedness in the broth every hour or so for the first 4 hours.
Remove the ham from the pot and set it on a cutting board. This is tricky because it won't hold together. Use two big spatulas and don't carry it across open flooring--unless you want a mess to clean up or a dog on meat alert. Strain and defat the sauce; return it to the pot. Pull the meat off the bone and chunk it into big hunks. Throw that back in the sauce to reheat over medium heat and serve in bowls. It's great on its own, over white rice, brown rice, cooked barley, or soba noodles.
I swear it'll win an award at your table.
Mark Scarbrough | Posted on Monday, March 21, 2011 at 5:24PM | in Bruce's Asian Obsession, Comfort Food, Hunks of Meat, Main Courses braise, braised pork, comfort food, fresh pork, ham, pork, red-cooking ham
Reader Comments (7)
I can almost smell it - the photo looks sooooo good! And congratulations!
See, just that bottom photo is sooo homely, and sooo familiar, that it's making me all emotional.. :)
I can't tell you how happy I am for you guys, such a fabulous and well deserved honour! All power to you! Dance away, preferably with a collie.. :) xx
Congratulations!
I am so, so happy for you both! Ever since I have discovered your cookbooks and food writing, I have firmly believed that you don't get the recognition or attention you deserve in the food world. This is the real deal--congratulations and felicitations!
Thanks for the congrats, you all. To be flat honest, I cried and laughed--almost at the same time. Then we started dancing.
M.
Congratulations! The recipe sounds wonderful!
Stefanie.
Wow, congratulations on the Beard nomination! It's a fantastic book, and deserves the recognition.
The top photo is mouth-wateringly gorgeous--great browning!