How long has it been since you tasted a bite of ham and thought, “Roast pork”? That’s what ham is, right?
Modern store hams have put such a premium on moistness – not only brining but pressure-injecting solution into the haunches – that biting into a chunk can be a bit like chewing Play-Doh.
Not this fella on my table last night. The crusty bits are what set the kids to fighting 
most, but the meat is distinctly sweeter, and less salty. Last year we bought half a pig from Native Offerings, an organic farm in East Otto, in Cattaraugus County. The pigs graze and root outside, and feed on the odds and ends of the farm’s core business, which is a subscription farm (also known as “community supported agriculture”).
Sure, these porkers ended up just as dead as factory raised pigs. But they got to be pigs while they’re alive - not just hooved biomass converters standing in their steel shoeboxes, waiting for the next needle or feeding tube.
The farmer calls when the pigs are ready for slaughter, and you go over the list to customize your pig. How thick do you want the chops? How many to a package? Do you want the hocks? Fresh or smoked? Do you want the liver? The lard?
As you march down the list, the little feller gets a name. I couldn’t help it, that’s the old farmhand in me. You give your life so that my family eats, and I will name you: Mr. Tasty.
We got a call from the packer in Strykersville when it was time to pick up our boxes of pork parcels. He came neatly wrapped in white paper, stamped with the cut, and tubes of sausage. Every time I sit down to the table, I remember.
“Hey, that’s Tasty.”
The ham in the picture was scored, smeared with a mixture of brown sugar and ordinary yellow mustard, blended half and half. Placed in a baking dish containing half an inch of water, it was baked at 350 F for two hours, basted with pan juices about every 20 minutes.
2 Comments
February 5, 2007 at 9:15 am
Those photos look amazing!
May 3, 2007 at 11:06 am
The crackling is the best bit, not very healthy though.