For those of us who have moved around a bit, we find regional type foods that we fall in love with and then have to jump through hoops to try to get when we moved out of the region.
When we moved to Kentucky, we were introduced to burgoo, which is pretty similar to an Irish stew, but in Kentucky, it’s mostly made with mutton. Having never eaten mutton, there was a ‘twang’ to it that I didn’t like. We lived there 9-1/2 years and at some point, I said to myself . . if I’m going to live here, I’m going to learn to like it and learn to like it I did and now I miss it so much! Almost like gumbo in Louisiana, everyone’s burgoo tasted different and the one I liked most was at a local restaurant, The Moonlite. Just thinking about eating there makes me want to make a trip back to Owensboro, KY.
Another thing we came to love while living in Kentucky was country ham. I had eaten that before but it was almost a staple in Kentucky. It was readily available in the grocery store and on lots of menus in local restaurants. We were able to get it some in Missouri but in Texas . . forget it! I’ve looked for it when we were in larger cities and couldn’t find it anywhere.
While in Missouri, Chad told me that one of the Wal-Mart stores, about 30 miles from where he lives, had country ham. We went! I got 5 packages for Chad and 10 packages for us.
Country Ham
This weekend, we had a treat for breakfast . . country ham!
Breakfast
One morning, we had fried eggs, country ham, fried apples and English muffins. The next morning, we had country ham with pancakes. Maybe if I can get Vince used to having country ham for breakfast, he’ll send me back to Missouri for more! 🙂
This is an interesting accounting of how to make a country ham. It seems like a lot of work and potential for problems with the curing time . . achieving the correct temperature and humidity so I think we’ll just buy our country ham.
shirley says
My grandfather used to raise butcher his own hogs and cure his meat. I can still smell and taste that ham. Oh so good. He never learned how to read or write and would not use a telephone but died a wealthy man. You could not beat him at a game of cards. When asked why he did not go to the land run he said he did not have money to get there so he did not start out well off.
Patti Tappel says
You know, I’m only about 40 minutes from burgers!! They also have a huge mail order business!!! Oh and did I mention there is a new quilt store in California Mo near Burgers that I haven’t checked out yet? Come see me!
Kay Sorensen says
Don’t tell Vince, but you can order Country ham from Amazon!
There are some foods that I order regularly from Amazon since I can’t get them where I live.
JudyL says
Yes, we have ordered them before but they’re way, way more expensive than we can buy them for when we’re somewhere that has them so we don’t often have such a strong desire that we’ll pay twice as much . . except for crawfish! 🙂
Toni now in Washington says
I moved to a small town on a Peninsula. There are a total of three grocery stores. It is ONLY about 45 minutes to one with more selection but locally I am unable to find……gnocchi (I tried making it myself but wasn’t happy with the recipe I used) and fresh lemongrass. I may try growing this myself. I love that in this day and age there are many great ethic foods that we we now crave. I remember moving to AZ when I was twelve and there was tacos and tostadas as part of the school lunch. Coming from Oregon, I had never heard of them!
Toni now in Washington says
I should have said ethnic and regional foods! Living on the coast I now take steamed clams and fried razor clams for granted.
Diana in RR,TX says
ham is one thing we do splurge on by having it shipped from VT! Growing up my parents used to stop at Harrington’s for cob smoked ham It’s not like anything we have found any where else. So about twice a year I order enough to stock up for a while. It is one of Dad’s favorites. Galen’s Dad also smoked hams and shoulders and we would get them and take them home with us.
Linda H says
Oh, fried razor clams … you just made my mouth water!! I love country ham … when DH and I got married (we eloped to Wiliamsburg, VA) we loved country ham so much we brought one back with us … a WHOLE ham! It took quite a bit of prep to remove the salt/skin and then you warm it up but oh, was it ever worth it! BEST ham & biscuits we’ve ever had!
Brita says
I tried country ham once but found it was really, really salty. Do you cook it in a way that makes it less so?
Betty Woodlee says
Brita, if you find country ham too salty soak it overnight, this will remove some of the salt.
Carol says
I had relatives in KY that we visited most summers. Always had country ham and red eye gravy for breakfast. I never got used to it and glad I didn’t. So salty it can’t have anything good for you in it.
JudyL says
I think that a lot of them nowadays aren’t nearly as salty. There’s a lot of salt that goes into the curing but it’s been a long time since we had any that we felt was too salty.
Robin says
Here in Tennessee, the way to eat country ham is on a biscuit. I don’t really care too much for country ham but I do like it thinly sliced on a biscuit. Every time I return to Ohio, I have to bring back boxes of potato chips that are only made near where I grew up along with 2 different varieties of candy. Plus depending on how much room in the car and the weather temperature, I have been known to bring back, donuts, pizza, cheese and local cantaloupes!
Carol margrave says
Love country ham! One of my favorite things. Of course being from Ky I was weaned on it.
Ruth says
A friend of mine gave me a recipe for cooking a Virginia ham, which is cured by rubbing a salt concoction all over it. I had to soak it overnight, cut off as much fat as I could, and withstand the tang of the cooking fat as it heated in the oven.
It was Delicious!! Not like regular ham at all. And the leftover ham keeps well, because of the effect of the curing salt.