Clockwise from top left: After a day of soaking, the ham changes the color of the water in the cooler. Next, the water is drained, leaving a bigger, more pliable ham. Finally, the water is replaced for a second day of soaking.
I remembered the ham around 2 a.m. this morning, after dining out with a friend and watching a couple of old movies on TCM.
At least there's not much skill or finesse needed to pull the plug on the cooler and refill it. At 2 a.m., that's about all we could manage.
So no new photos today, but rest assured, the ham is getting bigger and more moist. We measured it today and figured it would just fit into my nephew's turkey fryer pot. We're borrowing it tonight at a New Year's Eve party.
To get the ham ready for the New Year's Day lunch, I'll need to allow four to five hours for boiling, then at least another two hours for baking. The instructions come from "The Gift of Southern Cooking" by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock (Knopf, $29.95), a favorite for its authentic, carefully tested recipes.
When I bought the ham, Wes Swancy assured me it would keep in the refrigerator for at least a couple of months. Good thing. Even with 12 for lunch tomorrow, I'm sure we'll be eating leftovers for weeks.
