Ham Roast 411…or 911

Suzanne Welander Blog Meat August 7, 2015 | 0

“What can I do with a ham roast?” We hear this, a lot. Fear the ham roast no more. We’re here for you with super-easy and varied suggestions for using this versatile cut.

What is a “ham roast” anyway? The ham roast is not cured ham. It’s an uncured cut of meat, just like other roasts. The ham roast is cut from the hind leg and has a fat cap on the outside. Sometimes the ham roast has a bone; occasionally it’s a hollow round bone with marrow. This cut is as lean as the center loin though not as tender, with longer muscle fibers and less marbling than you’ll find in a shoulder roast or a Boston butt.

before: the ham roast, packaged.

after: egg poached in salsa & pork.

Tips for Cooking a Ham Roast

Keep the fat! You don’t have to eat it—we enthusiastically do—but do keep the fat intact during cooking to maximize flavor. Chop it up and mix some or all of it into the shredded meat, after cooking. Or not.
Be gentle with heat. Use lower temperatures and longer cooking times than you’d normally use for a roast. Because marbling/fat is mostly on the outside of the ham roast, it’s more sensitive to heat.
Shred it by hand: Ham roasts rarely fall apart after cooking. It’s easy to shred the meat, however, pulling it apart by hand after it
after: shredded and tossed with marinade, diced onions and tomatoes.

has cooled a bit, or using a knife to push rather than cut the meat apart with the grain. Place shredded meat in a bowl, and add cooking liquid or chopped fat until you have the succulent consistency you like.
Brine it: Brining boosts the moisture content of the meat, particularly helpful with this lean cut. Riverview customer Francois recommends this brine: Boil 1-1.5 cups of water with ½ cup Kosher salt, some sugar, and any other flavors you want to add: star anise, juniper berries, black pepper corn. Mix that with 2 ½ – 3 cups of icewater (or ice and water) to quickly cool it down; add thawed roast and brine for about 3-5 hours. Pat dry and roast.
Cutting Before Cooking: Because it’s so lean, a raw ham roast is perfect for cutting into smaller pieces. Partially thaw the roast in the refrigerator until icy, but not completely thawed and soft. In this state, precise cubes and paper-thin slices are easily cut. Low temperature/slow cooking times are always best for larger pieces like cubes. Thin slices, however, can be quick-cooked as a stand-in for recipes calling for slices of center cut loin. They’re a bit tougher, but cost less!

Easiest cooking: Unwrap, rinse, place in crockpot with with a little bit of water. Cook on low setting for 7 hours or so. There’s no need to add salt, pepper, or other flavorings at the start of the cooking process. After cooking, cool and shred. Mix with reserved cooking liquids and sauces, spices, and marinades.

Cooking frozen meat? Yes, you’ve been told not to do this. For cuts of meat that cook quickly, it won’t work. The outside will be done, while the inside remains raw—probably not what you’re going for. It works here because the roast cooks for such a long time. Use a meat thermometer to measure the temperature of the interior meat near the bone; 150 degrees F is a good target.

Easiest flavoring: About ½ to a full cup of Goya’s Mojo Criollo marinade is all you need. Look for it in the international section of your conventional grocery store. A single bottle will last for a very long time in the refrigerator.

30 Recipe Ideas

Fajitas
Pork satay with peanut dipping sauce
Stir fry strips with Thai red curry sauce
Stir fry in oyster sauce with broccoli
Stir fry with minced garlic, deglaze wok with rice wine
Stir fry & glaze with Vietnamese caramel sauce and serve over salad with red onions & cilantro
Skewer cubes marinated in oil & rosemary with veggies for shish kabobs
Stew cubes of pork with roasted peppers, chipolte/adobo chili sauce, or molé. Molé!
Make chili with braised chunks of pork
Hot & Sour Chinese Soup
Moo shu pork
Cut into thin steaks and grill
Cut into ½” steaks and pound even thinner, wrap around a cheesy filling, roast, and cut into pinwheels to serve. (Not sure this will work, on second thought.)
Cut into ½” steaks and pound even thinner, bread and fry for chicken fried pork steak, serve with mashed potatoes & gravy made with the pan drippings or with chicken stock
Roast, and cut (or pull) into strips and toss with BBQ sauce for sloppy joes
Roast, and cut (or pull) into strips, serve on sandwich with fresh radishes, chevre and roasted eggplant.
Roasted pork on grilled cheese sandwich, topped with tomato chutney or fig preserves.
Bahn Mi: roasted pork, paté, cilantro, quick-pickled carrots, on crusty baguette.
Pan grill thin slices for breakfast, serve over biscuits with gravy.
Pork roast with apples
Cut into cubes, brown, and stew in white wine, stock, mushrooms & onions. Reduce pan liquids and add mustard, pepper and cream to finish.
Roast pork with sweet & sour chili cilantro sauce
Roast pork & escarole soup with pasta
Pork & noodle soup with shiitakes and snow cabbage
Five-spice pork stir fry with soba noodles
Pork scaloppini with herbed noodles
Larb! Dice partially thawed meat into smaller cubes, marinate in lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chile flakes, stir fry with minced ginger and serve with slivers of onion and cabbage leaves for wrapping.
Mojo de Ajo Tacos: Stir fry short strips with liberal amounts of mojo criollo marinade and make tacos with corn tortillas and shredded cabbage served with lime wedges.
Something with a dried fruit glaze (apricots, maybe?) and almond slivers, on cous cous, perhaps?
How about anything with a ground cumin spice rub? Pat cubed meat dry, toss with flour (w salt, cumin & pepper), brown cubes on high heat, lower head and sauté with onions & butter, add a lot of light red wine & stew, covered, in the oven for a good long while until tender. Reduce sauce if needed.
And, of course, you could cure the entire ham roast into ham.