In How to Cook a Pig & Other Back-to-the-Farm Recipes, Betty Talmadge follows the Lucille Ball hunt-breakfast story with a menu and its recipes. Country ham takes its place alongside cheese grits, biscuits and Sally Lunn bread. The recipe bears the family name.
FROM THE COOKBOOK · PAGES 26–27
Talmadge Country-Cured Ham
Wash ham thoroughly. Place it in a large container or sink filled with lukewarm water and soak overnight.
Drain ham and place in roaster. Pour 2 pints of Coke or fruit juice and an equal amount of water over ham. Cover with lid or foil and bake at 350° F. approximately 20 minutes per pound. I usually bake a 15- or 16-pound ham at least 5 hours.
Remove outer skin from the ham and cut off excess fat. Score remaining fat in diamond shapes and insert whole cloves.
Combine 2 cups of brown sugar with 2 cups of pineapple juice and bring to a boil. Use this to baste the ham as it bakes for about 20 minutes more in a hot (450° F.) oven. Or use one of the more elegant glazes (see index).
Serve thinly sliced—slices should be no thicker than ¼ inch—on a platter garnished with fruits. Before serving I sometimes decorate the ham with whole canned red crab apples, white grapes, preserved kumquats, pickled peaches or whatever fruit I happen to have. Or shave the ham into thin slices to put between biscuits.
Source: Betty Talmadge, with Jean Robitscher and Carolyn Carter, How to Cook a Pig & Other Back-to-the-Farm Recipes (1977), pp. 26–27. Transcribed from the cookbook; original wording retained.