Battle Ham: Part 1

Crock Pot Ham with 2008 Castle Rock Pinot Noir: 5/5

For the holidays my family tends to keep it traditional—turkey for Thanksgiving, ham for Christmas. But since my family resides from mid-Wisconsin, to lower Illinois, the holidays are usually held on a day that is most convenient for everyone. That happens to be tomorrow.

So as I was debating dinner for Michael and I’s Christmas, I was struck with an idea. Since my mom was making ham, why don’t I make a ham as well, and compare the two! Too much ham you say? When it comes to Christmas, you can never have enough ham.

Lo-and-behold, with the few remaining hams in the grocery store on Christmas Eve, I was able to score a $20 ham for $8. With some sides in mind I grabbed a bottle of wine, and headed home to tackle the hunk of meat.

Most likely, my mom will prepare her ham in the oven, or a roaster pan. She’s been known to buy a spiral cut ham, which makes perfect slices, and usually comes with a glaze packet, so I wanted to do the opposite. A ham in the Crock pot is as easy as any other meat in the crock-pot, all you have to do is let it cook for 8 hours.

With the meat simmering away, Michael and I spent the day making doughnuts, candy cane cookies, and a souffle so Rachel, my veggie friend, would have something substantial to eat when it came time for dinner. Following Mark Bittman’s spinach and cheese souffle recipe, my souffle did not fall! Needless to say, for my first souffle, I was very thrilled. (Julia Child’s Recipe is very similar and can be found at, http://www.bigoven.com/160575-Spinach-and-Cheese-Souffle-recipe.html)

About 3 hours into the cooking of the ham, the smell was already unbearably intoxicating. The smell of salty ham and cloves combined with baking cookies, and A Christmas Story on repeat, filled our apartment with yule tide merriment.

When it came time to glaze the turkey, I looked for a recipe a bit out of the ordinary. While most recipes called for corn syrup and brown sugar, I found one that called for coffee and apple cider vinegar http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/11/Brown_Sugar_Ham_Glaze1602.shtml. Since the meat was so tender and falling apart, I decided to modify the glaze into more of a jus, so that the meat could soak up the flavor.

Now ham is technically a red meat, which traditionally is paired with red wines. But concerned that a Cabernet would over power the delicate flavors of the souffle and the sweetness of the sweet potatoes, I opted for a lighter red. Rachel is originally from Sanoma County, California, so when I found a bottle of 2008 Castle Rock Pinot Noir, out of Mendocino County, a hop jump and a skip away from Sanoma County, I thought it was fitting.

With an alcohol content of 13.8% the Pinot would have a nice medium body. Described as having notes of raspberry and strawberry, I thought the lighter flavors would pick up on the smokiness of the ham, the savory souflee, and the sweet, sweet potatoes. Although a young red, the wine would have just that bit of tannin to compete with the fat content of the ham.

To keep the integrity of the souffle I decided to serve everything family style. Which was fitting with it being Christmas and all. The three of us sat, new, hungry, friends, and the feast was complete, except for the sweet potatoes, which joined the party after a bit of a marshmallow catastrophe.

Soaking up the smoky flavor of the cloves, and just a hint of bitterness from the coffee, the ham was divine. Of course, since it was not spiral cut, Michael and I ravaged over chunks of meat, but we didn’t mind. The meat was juicy and tender, retaining it’s juices from the crock pot. Mixed with the souffle the effect was almost that of a ham cheese and spinach omelet, a pleasant and unexpected surprise.

The wine had a wonderful medium body, and was a gem to sniff. The rich fruity flavors, contrasted nicely with such a wintery meal. Coating my palate the wine felt like silk, sloshing over my tongue and sliding down my throat. The effect was everything I wanted it to be, the ham did not over power the wine, nor the wine the meat or the souffle.

I don’t know if my mom’s ham will be able to compete with mine, but to her benefit she will have the added effect of family, love, and that magic that comes from mom’s cooking. But for now, I am going to choose my ham and wine as the perfect pair.