Recipe - Roast Fresh Ham Tudor Style

1 Fresh ham or fresh pork
shoulder, whole or half,
Bone in or boneless
2 lg Onions, chopped
2 lg Carrots, chopped
2 Stalks celery, including
leaves, chopped
3 Cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon Brown caraway seeds
1 teaspoon Black caraway seeds (if not
available, use brown)
1 teaspoon Celery seed
2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
One half teaspoon Ground cloves, or 1 teaspoon
whole cloves
1 tablespoon Whole allspice, or 1
teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon Grated orange zest
1 tablespoon Black peppercorns
1 lg Bay leaf
Salt, to taste (optional)
1 One half cup Red table wine
One half cup Red wine vinegar
One half cup Olive oil
One half cup Cognac (optional)

Trim every bit of fat possible off the meat and discard. Place the meat in
a large nonmetal container.

Mix all of the other ingredients together and pour over the meat. Marinate
the meat in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to 8 days. Turn the
meat several times during marination so that no section is allowed to
become dry.

When ready to roast, transfer the meat to a large heavy roaster pan (an
enameled iron roaster with a lid would be ideal). Remove the bay leaf,
peppercorns, whole allspice and whole cloves (if used) from the marinade
and pour the marinade over the meat.

Roast the meat in a 350 F oven, basting frequently. Allow 30 to 40 minutes
per pound. The inside temperature should be 165 F to 175F as measured with
a meat thermometer. Remove the cover during the last One half hour. You should
be able to "cut with a fork" when done. If the pan becomes too dry, add
additional red wine and/or water, One half cup at a time. You will want at least
1 cup of liquid remaining in the panwhen the roast is done.

Transfer the roast to a carving platter and allow it to cool slightly
before carving. If desired, serve surrounded with small baked apples or
spiced crab apples.

HUNTER'S SAUCE: Strain the liquid and vegetables from the roasting pan.
Transfer the vegetables to a food processor or blender. Return the liquid
to the roasting pan and skim off as much fat as possible. Add One half cup of
hot water to the pan and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up the
particles adhering to the pan. Reduce the liquid to 1 cup.

Puree the vegetables in the food processor or blender. Add the reduced
cooking liquid and blend until smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan and
bring to a boil, stirring constantly. If the sauce is too thick, thin to
the desired consistency with hot water. Serve in a silver or pewter
pitcher, bowl or sauceboat.

[The Baltimore Sun; Dec 22, 1991]

Posted by Fred Peters.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini