Ham Novice

I made this for christmas last year and it was fricking delicious

pioneer woman ham

You're most likely talking about a plain, sto-bought ham cooked in the oven. Grew up eating those. When l came home from school, I'd grab a knife and cut the crispy skin off the ham for a snack as the ham cooled on the stovetop.

Shank ham has more bone. Buy a picnic, score it with a knife, and cook based on directions. No need to add seasoning.

You almost certainly are thinking city ham if what you're thinking of is your mom baking hams in the oven coated with brown sugar, pineapple rings, and cherries. They're wet brined and generally come completely cooked and really need only be gently heated through and scored to crisp up the outside with whatever glaze you wish. You can buy whole hams, butt ends, or shank ends, depending on how much you need and what textural and flavor nuances you prefer.

Country hams are usually what you're thinking of if you're thinking of salty, dry, funky fried breakfast ham steaks with redeye gravy. Country hams are heavily salted, cured, smoked, and aged. They can arrive cooked or uncooked. They are very salty and generally used in smaller amounts and for flavoring other dishes. Larger amounts generally need soaking and several changes of soaking water to pull enough salt out to make it useful. They're more prosciutto than ham sandwich. If you buy a country ham and throw it in the oven to make baked ham without really soaking it well to remove some of the salt, you're going to be disappointed with the near inedible hunk and wasting a good ham. I personally think that country hams are a waste in the oven and that preparation should be left to city hams, but that's just me.

Picnic ham isn't really ham, though it is damned tasty. The true ham is the rear leg of a pig. Picnic ham is the upper foreleg and part of the front shoulder of a pig that is treated and prepared like a true ham by the meatpacker. It's generally smaller than either of the true ham cuts.