Linda I can't remember if you have a pressure cooker. I know we discussed it in one of the dog food threads. If you do, read on and think about this! If not, read on and wish you had one! Yesterday Brockley let me use his electric pressure cooker to make a late lunch of a bean soup with a meaty ham bone pulled from my freezer. I'm impressed that I made the soup with white beans that I boiled for 3 minutes and then let soak covered, off the heat, while I cut up an onion, some celery, carrots and 3 small potatoes. Added about 2t of Italian herb blend and some red pepper flakes and cooked it all (with the ham bone and with about 5 cups of water and 4 cups of chicken stock)under pressure for 18 minutes and then took out about 2 cups of the veggies and blitzed them with the stick blender to thicken the soup a little. Cut the meat off the ham bone and sprinkled on some fresh parsley and voila, bean soup for lunch in just about an hour starting with unsoaked beans and a frozen ham bone. I was delicious and I have 2 quarts left for a quick meal later in the week. After lunch I put five pounds of chicken thighs in the PC and a cup of brown basmati, a cup of steel cut oats and two diced sweet potatoes in my rice cooker to start Brockley's food for the week. I added about two pounds of green veggies after the chicken was cooked (I take off 3-4 cups of chicken stock to freeze for us to use later) and cooked his food an addtional four minutes in the PC. Brockley did not leave the kitchen all afternoon. Lee PS we had some more of the soup tonight and it was even better than yesterday. I really liked that the quick cooking under pressure left the beans soft and tender but with integrity, that is no popping skins, and that the ham did not have a washed out taste and yet flavored the soup well. I don't think I'll bother to plan for soaking beans the day before anymore - this was perfect.

Yes Ann, I cut the ham before cooking. That way it always tastes fresh for each useage. We love ham also. I don't post on WFD because it's only on the weekends that I cook for both of us. During the week, when it's just me, I POOF from my stockpile of freezer entrees, sides, veggies, & desserts. It's a pick 'n choose, mix 'n match sort of thing. Stuff is already cooked...just nuke & eat. :) Tonight I'm POOFING Mac 'n Cheese w/Ham (today's threads gave me a craving!) & a baby spinach side salad. Dessert will be peach crisp made with fruit I put up this summer. DH told me at noon he's planning on grabbing a ready-to-cook stuffed chicken breast (I make them up for the freezer a dozen at a time) for his dinner & have roasted butternut squash with onions, cranberries, & walnuts (also prepared here & taken by him to NY frozen). He's having a slice of brownie-pecan pie for dessert. He loads up his ice chest every Sunday night & takes enough meals for the week. Anyway, we cook weird around here so I never have 'cooked all at the same time' type of meals to post on WFD. This morning, I made up enough Sloppy Joe filling for about 10 sandwiches. DH loves Sloppy Joes during Monday Night Football. He grills my homemade rolls (again...frozen individually), nukes the filling, grabs a beer, & he's set for the game. lol /tricia

I looooooooove the clovey bits, they're the best part. I've also used apple juice on a ham when I didn't have pineapple, and it was good. Our hams come with the skin still on. If yours does, cut around the shank and carefully peel off the skin (so the skin is still on the shank end), leaving the fat intact, then score the fat (not all the way through) in a criss-cross pattern.

You can't "assume" anything.... But if you want flavor, choose a cut with bone and less water. If the cut says "natural juices" there is 7-8% added water, and the best choice. Ham "with water added" 12-15%. Ham and water product - more than 15%. So check the label. You also find the "experts" don't agree which is "best". Cook's Illustrated says to "choose the shank end because the butt has less desirable meat, more membrane, fat, and gristle. Configuration can be more difficult to slice." Another opinion: When choosing a half ham, the butt end is meatier and less fatty than the shank end. However, the shank end is easier to carve because of its simple bone structure. Both are good choices, but shank end is preferred. I go by how many servings of meat I need and the amount of water in the ham, as well as price. -Cook's Illustrated estimates that you'll get 3-4 servings per pound of bone-in ham. "Most half hams range in size from 7-10 pounds, serving 20-30." -Martha Stewart says, "A 16-pound ham can feed 18-20 people (estimate about 3/4 pound per person for a bone-in ham and 1/2 pound for boneless)." -Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly - "The Complete Meat Cookbook" write that a whole ham weighing 10-20 pounds "will serve 20 people, probably with leftovers. A 6-to-8 pound shank (end) will serve 10 to 12 people, a 6-to-8 pound butt (end) 12 or more." They go on to say, "allow 8 to 12 ounces for a bone-in ham per serving, 6 to 8 ounces for a boneless ham." -The USDA recommends 1/4 to 1/3 pound of boneless ham per serving, 1/3 to 1/2 pound of meat per serving of ham with little bone, and 3/4 to 1 pound of meat per serving of ham with large bone.