40 clove ham

i find it curious that

some of the biggest insults we toss about

 malign an animal 

that brings such great pleasure

things like

don't be a pig

he's swine of the worst kind

this place looks like a pig pen

are part of our common vernacular

rather than

being nasty about the plucky porcine

we should be saying things like

your skin has the milky creaminess of caul fat

and honestly,

who doesn't think 

crepine

is a beautiful name for a girl

wandering the grocery store

looking for inspiration for our new year's eve buffet

i found a ham

on sale, no less

and couldn't resist

the swine song

of a

well spiced

lightly sweet

and

mouth-watering salinity

of the

ham of my dreams

40 clove ham
(printable recipe)

10 lb bone-in ham (cooked or uncooked)

1/4 cup pork spice rub--my recipe here...or use your favorite

1/2 cup honey

2 Tbs spiced rum

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp kosher salt

juice of 1 orange

2 Tbs cider vinegar

2 tsp pork spice rub

40 whole cloves

cut diamonds into the pork fat and rub with spice rub. randomly stud with the whole cloves.  bake for 1 hour in large roaster on a rack.  baste each 30 minutes with sauce.  bake at 350 until thermometer reads 145 (if using a cooked ham) or 160 (if using an uncooked ham).  let rest 20 minutes.  slice and eat

* a cooked ham will take about 15-18 min per pound. an uncooked ham will take about 18-22 minutes per pound.  you do not want a canned ham for this. this is meant to resemble a honey baked, or spiral ham...but i think this is much better a quite cost effective.

40 clove ham