SUBMISSION THREAD for Ham Challenge (CLOSED)

Grilled Ham and Pimento Cheese Sandwich – with Raspberry & Caramelized Onion Chutney, and Homemade Pickles



Well you know I had to make my ham from scratch for a ham challenge, so I grabbed a fresh pork ham and began there. After the ham was smoked, I decided to make a Grilled Ham and Pimento Cheese Sandwich with Raspberry & Caramelized Onion Chutney, and Homemade Pickles. A grilled ham and pimento cheese sandwich is always good. Using homemade smoked ham brings the sandwich to another level. I wanted to add another layer of flavor with something sweet to accompany the pimento cheese, so this is where the chutney comes in. And the tang of fresh homemade pickles as well as the crispy bite you get was exactly what it needed. This sandwich was incredible!



Here’s the fresh ham, ready to begin.



Removed the aitch bone from the butt side of the ham because it’s easier to remove raw than cooked.



Removed the skin and cut the ham hock off. I like removing the hock because it cooks much quicker than the ham and then I get a great ham hock to use in another recipe. Once the ham is trimmed, I made my brine with salt, sugar, prague powder #1, and pickling spice. Then I injected the ham as much as I could with the brine. Finally, I let the ham sit in the brine for about 7 days to make sure the cure worked into the whole ham, and it took me that many days to get a free day to smoke all day long.




The ham after it was pulled from the brine/cure.



A couple of hours into the smoking process. I smoked at 275-300 for a total of 9 hours.



This is how the ham looked when the hock was pulled, still about 5-6 hours to go.



The final smoked ham. Once pulled, I let it cool on the counter for an hour, then placed it in a thick poly bag and covered it with ice in an ice chest so it would cool down.



The next day, I pulled the ham from the cooler and took the bone out.


Broke the ham into pieces for further use. I have a fantastic bone for red bean gumbo as well as diced ham.



Beautiful pieces of ham for future use and a couple of lucky friends.




Made the pimento cheese with freshly grated yellow and white cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayo, pimentos, a little Worcestershire, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.




Made the chutney by chopping the onion, then caramelizing in a saucepan. Added raspberries, apple cider vinegar, honey, and maple syrup.


Made the pickles by slicing pickling cucumbers and brining in vinegar flavored with salt, sugar, fresh garlic, fresh dill, black peppercorn, coriander, red pepper flakes, and mustard seed.




I broke out my little slicer and sliced some of the ham.



Time to assemble the sandwich. Buttered two pieces of bread, then turned them over and added pimento cheese, chutney, ham, and pickles. Finally, the sandwich was grilled in a skillet.



The sandwich came out amazing. It was hard to get pictures of it, so I hope these pictures do it justice.

I was going to make some ham from a piglet I shot to make some spam to make some musubi...but then I left my extra upright freezer door open when I was thawing my chest freezer and lost a TON of good stuff including said piglet . So I'll just sit here and sulk

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500 Day

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So you dry aged that thing for 500 days? Must had some pretty wild flavors. I been getting into DA some beef at home in a dedicated fridge and the flavors it produces are amazing.

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So you dry aged that thing for 500 days?

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The 500 days from the time salt hit flesh to the time blade hit flesh.

At 1 day per kilo, I cured the leg for 4 days, rinsed it, then began drying it out. After 336 days, I applied sugna to the exposed flesh and aged the leg another 100 days. I then removed the keg from the dry aging chamber, vacuum sealed it and left it for 60 days. I got impatient otherwise I would have went for longer aging. It's really good. Doesn't have the lactic flavor and aroma of Prosciutto di Parma, nor the nuttiness of Pata Negra, but it's very nice to eat.

Croque Monsieur - Hot French Ham and Cheese Sandwich


Prepared in a college kid's apartment. One working burner, and I had to buy a Pan at Payless Grocery Store to cook it on.

First, I made a bechemel sauce - butter, flour, milk, cream, salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg.


I buttered 4 slices of sourdough bread with the bechemel.


I added two slices of Swiss Cheese, some dijon mustard, smoked Ham, and more dijon mustard to two of the slices of bread.


I topped each sandwich with two more slices of swiss and the other piece of bread/bechemel.


I toasted both sandwiches until the sourdough bread was browned.


I topped each sandwich with more bechemel, freshly grated Gruyere and grated parmesan


I put the sandwiches on a cookie sheet and into the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. I then turned on the broiler for 3 minutes and took them out. I cut them and served them hot.


That is a lot of calories, but delicious...

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500 days from the time salt hit flesh to the time blade hit flesh.

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I got impatient

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I guess TF so

Thats pretty cool, thanks for sharing.

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Big Dropper is disqualified...

I'm sure there is something in the by-laws regarding statute of limitations on how long back you can start preparing your meals for this challenge...

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There is no such rule that I'm aware of. If you made it before and have pictures, then you can submit it. Why would you have to make a dish again just to submit it? The more submissions the better. I'm sorry I can't participate very often.

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to make some spam

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I’m sorry for the loss of your freezer contents, NOLAGT, but since I made spam from pork that I did NOT kill, I might have a chance.

Will post later!

Damn. I am sincerely sorry.

I can't even imagine how intense that thing must be.