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Saturday, December 23, 2023

Making Country Ham Broth

DO US A BIG FAVOR AND HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A GREAT 2024

That's our plan.

While I had often mentioned our country ham broth on this blog, I can’t find that I have ever documented the process so I decided to do so for our most recent batch.  We are very lucky to have a famous country ham and bacon maker (Benton’s Country Hams) within a 10 mile drive and they debone many of the hams they sell and the bones are free for the asking.  I stopped by the other day to buy a whole rib roast, which they also sell, for our smoked prime rib Christmas dinner and I picked up 10 ham bones while I was at it.

I added the bones to our 16 qt. pot, covered them with water, and simmered them on very low heat for about 14 hours.  


When cool enough to handle, I put the cleaned bones in a pan and the meat/fat into a bowl and left the broth in the big pan.



Then I separated the meat from the fat, which was a little tedious as much of the ham is in pieces about the size of my thumbnail.


Finally for this day, I chopped the ham into small pieces.

We then cooled the broth (the garage works in the winter) so the fat would harden on the top for easy removal on day 2.


Finally, we warmed it a little to get it back to a liquid and ran in thru a coarse and fine strainer to get the last of the chunks.

We measured it and realized we would get seven qts. so I made the chopped ham into seven equal piles and we added one to each bag and filled it with the broth. I was too busy and with dirty hands to get any pics of the straining and bagging process but we ended up with 7 quarts of very rich broth.

To use the broth, we add a quart of it to green and dried beans then add water to cover the beans and one bag of this rich broth is all that is needed.

I know, it would be easier just to freeze the bones or some hocks and even easier to just buy hocks when needed but since the broth is liquid, it will keep a long time in the freezer, the bones are free, and it gives me something to do.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/17-12/18/23 event dates

6 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas have a blessed one with family and friends!

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  2. Thanks for posting this. We have a Honey Baked Ham store near us and I've always wanted to stop in and get some bones for this very reason. Merry Christmas to You and Bev! Loved your Holiday email.

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  3. I've made ham broth before and it adds such great flavor to what you are cooking...we worth the work involved. Hope you, Bev and all your family have a wonderful Christmas. Karen

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  4. Hi Larry and Bev, Wow...you are dedicated for sure. This broth process took a lot of time and effort. Of course it will result in some fine meals down the line. We had a prime rib roast (not smoked) on Thursday with some friends from across the street...one of our many, many new houses. We got our roast from Fresh Market. I have had smoked prime rib roast before, many years ago in Kansas City at an 'upscale' BBQ restaurant. I was surprised at just how good it was. We've purchased ribeye steaks from Benton's on many occasions but for some reason I never thought about buying a roast there. Merry Christmas and have a Happy, Healthy New Year! Take Care, Dave and Laurie

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  5. Merry Christmas. We just watched a Guy Fieri show and he toured Bentons. I have had the bacon and ham in the past. Both were too salty for my liking. It is a flavor that a lot of people grew up with and really like. Maybe I should try again. Merry Christmas

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  6. Bookmarking this recipe! I don't know how I missed it.

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