Last night I hosted a holiday potluck for a small crowd of friends. As with Thanksgiving, I took responsibility for the main meat dish, leaving sides to my guests. Since no holiday feast would be complete without a ham or a turkey, and since I made turkey for Thanksgiving, it was clearly time to try a ham.
Cooking a ham through traditional means is a slow and boring process. At 20 minutes per pound, a 10 pound ham takes nearly 3 1/2 hours of cooking time! As with a turkey, a ham is prone to dry out from such a long stay in the oven. And who has that kind of time? Fuck slow food. Free time is the critical resource in my life, and I'd rather be enjoying time with my guests than fussing over the oven.
Clearly, a more efficient cooking solution was needed. A solution with rapid heat transfer! A solution with effortless seasoning! A solution to lock all that delicious moisture inside the meat! A solution with 35 pounds of peanut oil, 10 pounds of propane, a big-ass pot, and significant risk to life and limb!
After last night's adventure, I have deep-fried the following in the last two months:
- a 15 pound heritage turkey
- a 10 pound ham
- a 5 pound chicken
A few short minutes after lowering the ham into a pot of boiling peanut oil, my whole back yard smelled like fast-food. Think "bacon french fries." Just 45 minutes later, the cooking was done. The meat's outer surface was seared into an amazing crust of deep red-brown, and the juices were safely locked inside. A few pieces of crusty skin hung precariously from the meat. We broke off some of these "ham chips" and verified that they were, in fact, totally delicious.
Win.
Kemi made eggnog with soy milk and raw eggs. DQ made potato gratin. There were veggies and chocolate and wine and gifts. And a big snuggle-fest in front of the fireplace.
Win.
Tonight we (hopefully) make gingerbread houses and blitztort.
Win.
Happy holidays.
