Maryland's Specialty stuffed Ham

Mention dishes associated with Maryland and anything with crab will come to mind.However there's one county, surprisingly a peninsula, that has a delicious specialty - stuffed ham. This dish is a big holiday one, popular for the upcoming Easter one.

Kim Severson wrote about this traditional dish of St Mary's County in today's New York Times Food section. It's one of America's most regional recipes, right up there with Jersey rippers (deep fried hot dogs) Cincinnati chili  and Robeson county collard greens. Every family in the county made stuffed ham. whether for Christmas, Easter and even Thanksgiving.Unfortunately it's disappearing thanks to a younger generation either moving away or having smaller families. People turned to family owned stores like the famed Dent's . It takes stamina and skill to boil about twenty pounds of cabbage and the Dents had this for two generations.The owner, who sadly died in his sleep not long ago, put the stuffed ham in egg rolls and on top of  pizzas .His cordon bleu chicken, traditionally stuffed with ham was filled with the St. Mary's County kind.  Another small store Murphy's Town and Country also makes the famed dish , around four hundred a year. Most go to church dinners but many still grace a large family's table. . The recipe could be a cousin of an old Lincolnshire dish chine in which a brined shoulder of pork is slashed and stuffed with herbs. It was boiled in a muslin case. It's more likely  to be derived from an Afro- Carib dish though, according to Joyce White, a Maryland food historian.Enslaved West Africans would season greens with onions and red pepper and stuff them into jowls or whatever piece of pork they had.

What makes this ham so special?It is the stuffing It is a combination of curly kale mixed with collard greens and watercress.. Yellow onions and scallions are also added along with black pepper , cayenne,and red pepper flakes for kick. Mustard and celery seeds are tossed in as well.It is not for the faint of heart novice chef. It does take more than a few hands. The original recipe, first published in 1834, called for smoked ham. This one requires the meat to be corned or having kosher salt rubbed on the surface, Place the ham in an unreactive  pan after salting or corning.. A glass one which won't react with the salt so stay away from aluminum or copper pans..cover it tightly with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for a few days. The day before it get's stuffed, rinse off the salt and soak the ham  in cold water over night in the fridge.The stuffing is chopped cabbage along with the onions and kale.. The ham should be boneless when stuffed. Think butterflied with the meat being splayed on the sides.The ham should also be slit to hold the stuffing. It will be packed in the greens as it's placed into a cheesecloth  "sack". Themmeat is cooked ,fifteen minutes per pound. A small ham could take about an hour and a half , a larger one could take three to four hours. after cooking, It's then drained in colander and chilled in the fridge for six hours before serving. It' s usually served on soft potato rolls ro slices of white bread.

Stuffed ham may be a Saint Mary's county specialty but any body from any other part of the country can also make t. It's a delicious blend of ham and greens, spiked with peppers. Try this traditiona dish and see what generations have raved about for decades.