At just about any groaning board feast in America, ham is the pièce de résistance. Late at night, when you're hungry, you can pull into any Allsup's or gas station in New Mexico and grab a ham sandwich. Delis sell sliced ham in prodigious amounts. And grocery stores carry bone-in hams, spiral hams, canned hams, etc. The history and proliferation of ham is a culinary tale of super-size proportions.

Ham is the hind leg of a pig above the hock joint that is cured by salting and drying, brining and sometimes smoking. While these days ham almost always refers to this cut of meat from the swine family, in the past it has referred to the hind legs of many animals that were cured, including beef, mutton, goat, venison, badger and wild boar. When I lived in Raton, I had bear ham, and it was one of the most delicious hams that I've ever eaten.

If you know the answer to this question, you have my true admiration and respect. As with so many (too many, perhaps) things gastronomic, the French take credit for this. The Romans first wrote about the Gauls preparing hams by brining and curing them around 200 B.C. The Gauls were renowned pig breeders and great devotees of pork. After salting this cut of meat, they would then smoke the hams for two days. They then rubbed them with oil and vinegar and then hung them up to dry to preserve them.

Know your ham

In his writings, Cato described that after the French began curing hams, the practice spread to Italy, and then the rest of the world. Following is the International All-Star Ham Team.

Jambon de Vendée: This ham was called "bacon" in medieval times. It is salted with sea salt, dried, and flavored with eau de vie (pear or plum brandy) and herbs, such as rosemary.

Prosciutto: The most coveted prosciutto hams come from central and northern Italy (Tuscany and Emilia), and include Prosciutto di Parma, and those of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, such as Prosciutto di San Daniele. It is usually thinly sliced, and is often served with melon or fresh figs.

Mainz Ham: This German ham is brined, desalted, soaked in brandy or wine lees (the yeasty residue remaining in the cask after wine fermentation) and then smoked.

Bradenham Ham: This delicate English ham is cured in molasses with juniper berries and spices, aged for at least six months, and then smoked. A properly prepared Bradenham has a shiny black exterior.

Prague Ham or Prager Schinken: This Czech ham is salted and cured in brine for several months, after which it is smoked with beech wood.

Jamón Serrano: This Spanish dry-cured country ham is prepared by covering the raw ham with salt for about two weeks, washing off the salt, and hanging the hams to air dry for about six months. The hams are then hung in a cool, dry place for another six to 18 months, depending on the ham's size.

Irish Ham: Irish hams are brine cured and then smoked over a peat or juniper fire.

Smithfield Ham: This is the best Virginia ham, which takes its name from this small town on the James River. These hams come from razorback pigs, which feed on acorns and beech and hickory nuts for nine months. They are then put into the peanut fields, and feed on corn, as well. They are salt cured, then spiced and slowly smoked to perfection using oak, hickory and apple woods. Genuine Smithfield hams are aged for nearly a year.

Kentucky Ham: This ham comes from Hampshire hogs, which feed on wild acorns, beans and clover. As it gets closer to ham time, they are penned and fed grain. The hams are salt cured for about a month, smoked over oak, apple and hickory wood for another month, and then aged for
10 months to a year.

The 'matanza'

In New Mexico, the pig the center of attention at a celebration known as the matanza. During these family and community celebrations, a pig (or sometimes, a goat or sheep) is roasted underground. Clarence Maestas, at the State Records Center and Archives, filled me in on the process. After the pig is killed and gutted, it is given a hot bath, and the hair is scraped off. After scraping, the skins are returned to the boiling cauldron to render any remaining fat. The cleaned, de-fatted skins are hung to dry, to be used later in the preparation of chicharrónes. A pit is then dug 3 to 4 feet deep. Pumice rock is heated in a fire and the stones are placed in the bottom of the pit. Corrugated tin is placed on top of the rocks. The pig is wrapped in aluminum foil and placed on the tin. There are then alternating layers of dirt, rocks, corrugated tin and more dirt up to ground level.

The pig is often stuffed with corn, cucumbers and squashes. Every part of the pig is consumed except the hair and entrails. The roasting time for the pig will vary from 12 to
16 hours, depending on the size of the hog. The fire has to be tended throughout the night to maintain the proper roasting temperature, and during this vigil spirits are imbibed and stories are shared among the fire tenders. It takes about 26 to 28 hours from starting the fire until the pork is on the table. If cooked correctly, it is incredibly tasty and tender.

Recipes to die for — almost

Several years ago, during a tailgating event on opening night at the Santa Fe Opera, I prepared a Ham Braised With Maple-Raisin Sauce. This turned out to be the best-tasting ham I've ever had. It happened that one of our tailgaters had suffered a heart attack during the past year and his doctor had told him to avoid salty meats. As the tailgater strode past me on his way to the ham platter — for the third time — he had a big Cheshire cat grin on his face and said, "I don't care what my doctor says. I may have another heart attack, but I'm certainly having another slice of that ham." But as they say, everything in moderation.

HAM BRAISED WITH MAPLE-RAISIN SAUCE

Single 7- to 8-pound fully cooked bone-in shank-end ham

6 cups water

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup granulated maple sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 cup apple juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (or 10 cloves stuck into ham)

2 cups raisins (10 oz.)


Put ham cut side down in a large, deep, heavy pot (about 10 quarts) and add water and syrup. Bring liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to low and gently simmer ham, covered, until tender, 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Uncover and cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When ham is cool enough to handle, remove from pot, reserving cooking liquid, then cut off any rind and excess fat, leaving a thin layer. Transfer ham to a roasting pan. Whisk together sugar, mustard, apple juice, and ground cloves, if using, in a bowl, then spoon over ham. Add raisins and 1 cup reserved cooking liquid to roasting pan and bake on middle oven rack, basting occasionally, until ham is glazed and juices are bubbling, about 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature

Cook's note: Ham may be simmered 1 day ahead, then cooled and chilled in the pot with cooking liquid, uncovered. Bring ham to room temperature before baking.

HAM AND GREEN CHILE BITE-SIZE QUICHE

(Makes 3-1/2 dozen)

3/4 to 1 cup finely diced ham

3-4 tablespoons (or more, to taste) roasted, peeled and chopped green chiles

1/4 cup minced green onion

1-2/3 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

Pastry for a double-crust pie

5 large eggs

1-2/3 cups sour cream

Heat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured board, roll out the pastry dough 1/16-inch thick. Using a 3-inch cutter, cut out 42 circles; re-roll scraps as needed. Fit circles into bottoms and slightly up sides of lightly greased 2-1/2-inch muffin pans. Meanwhile in a medium bowl, mix together ham, chiles, onion and cheese and divide equally among muffin cups. In large bowl, beat together eggs, add sour cream and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1 tablespoon into each muffin cup. Bake until puffed and light brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes; lift out. Serve warm or let cool on wire racks. If made ahead, wrap cooled quiches airtight, and refrigerate overnight. Reheat, uncovered,
in a 350 degrees oven for about 10 minutes.

HAM HASH

(Serves 4)

1/2 pound braised or baked ham, minced

1 cup diced cooked potatoes

1/2 cup minced onion

1/3 cup chopped green pepper

1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 tablespoons minced parsley

Salt and black pepper to taste

4 tablespoons clarified butter

Minced parsley

In a bowl, combine 1/2-pound braised or baked ham, minced, 1 cup diced cooked potatoes, 1/2 cup minced onion, 1/3 cup each of chopped green pepper and chopped red bell pepper, 2 tablespoons minced parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. In a heavy 8-inch skillet melt 2 tablespoons clarified butter over moderately high heat. Add the ham mixture and press it down evenly in the pan. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook the hash until the underside is browned and crusty. Loosen the hash from the pan with a long metal spatula and invert it onto a plate. In the pan melt 2 tablespoons more clarified butter, slide the hash into it, and brown the other side. Turn the hash out onto a heated serving plate, top with eggs prepared any style, and garnish with minced parsley.

HAM, PROVOLONE AND RED PEPPER BUNDLES

(Serves 2)

3 thin slices (3 ounces total) prosciutto, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chipotle or regular mayonnaise

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

2 sandwich rolls, split

1/2 cup (about 1/2 of a 7-ounce jar) roasted red bell peppers, drained and cut into 1/4-inch strips

4 ounces sliced provolone cheese


Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise and marmalade.

Spread mayonnaise mixture on the cut surfaces of rolls. Fill sandwiches with prosciutto, roasted peppers and provolone cheese. Wrap in foil. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

To heat individual sandwiches in the microwave oven: microwave uncovered on 100 percent (high) power for 45 seconds; turn and heat 6 seconds at a time until heated through.