St mary's county stuffed ham

Yield: 12 servings

Measure Ingredient
4 pounds Kale; thick stems removed
1 medium Cabbage; cored, and
\N \N Cut into wedges
6 bunches Wild field cress; if possible,
\N \N Or watercress; tough stems removed
6 bunches Green onions
½ bunch Celery
¼ cup Salt
1 can Mustard seed -; (1 1/4 oz)
2 tablespoons Crushed red pepper
1 \N Corned ham - (10 to 12 lbs); fat removed,
\N \N Boned and tied; or a fresh ham
1 \N Clean extra-large white cotton T-shirt
\N \N === GARNISH ===
\N \N Watercress
\N \N Sliced ripe tomatoes

Clean and coarsely grind or chop all the vegetables. Put them in a large deep tub and work in the salt, mustard seed, and red pepper with your hands. Place the ham on a large baking sheet or tray with an edge. With a boning knife, cut deep half-moon slits in the ham. Starting at the butt end, make a row with 4 slits, about 2-inches apart, across the ham. Move about 2-inches down and make a second row across with 3 slits, making sure the slits are not parallel to the first row. The following row below will have 4 slits, and the next row 3 and, if room, a final row with 4 slits. It will create a checkerboard effect. With you fingers, poke some of the vegetables into the holes, filling them. Turn the ham over and repeat the process of cutting the slits and filling them. Spread out the T-shirt on a clean tray. With scissors cut it up the front and lay it open. Spread half of the remaining vegetables on the T-shirt and place the stuffed ham on the vegetables. Pack the rest of the vegetables over the top of the ham. Bring up the T-shirt over the ham, stretching it. Tie the ham round and round with strong twine, adding a loop for lifting. Put a small rack in the bottom of a deep canning kettle and half fill the kettle with cold water.

Put in the ham and add additional water to cover. Put a lid on the kettle and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer slowly 4 hours. After 4 hours, remove from the heat and take the lid off the kettle. Leave the ham in the pot liquor overnight. In the morning, drain well, put the ham in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for 1 day. To serve, cut away the T-shirt and lift the ham onto a large platter. Scoop up any vegetables remaining on the shirt and pat them all over the top of the ham and around the edges.

Decorate the platter with watercress and tomatoes. Carve the ham into thin slices, exposing the green veining. Serve ham cold or slightly warm with the extra greens. This recipe yields 12 to 15 servings.

Recipe Source: COOKING LIVE with Sara Moulton Recipe courtesy of John Shields, "Chesapeake Bay Cooking" From the TV FOOD NETWORK - (Show # CL-9109 broadcast 04-16-1998) Downloaded from their Web-Site -

Formatted for MasterCook by Joe Comiskey, aka MR MAD - jpmd44a@...

~or- MAD-SQUAD@...

10-10-1998

Recipe by: John Shields

Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

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