I always process the ham bone first because there is enough flavor in that bone to make more than one pot. Just fill a big covered pot with water and simmer till the meat is falling off. Hours.... Then you have a whole pot of broth. Remove the bone/meat, cool ...even over night to remove the fat...I take the bone and remove all the meat...and take it apart where all I have left is the good meat..no fat...no gristle etc....Then I use it to make soup. Sometimes I will have enough for two or three pots of soup. I use one and freeze or can the others. Bean, potato is my favorite or peas...but use you imagination...even noodles and whatever suits your fancy.

By uncooked ham do you mean a fresh ham, which looks like a roast of pork? Fresh meat rather than smoked or cured? I love a fresh ham roast , especially the cracklins. This is a tried and true recipe. One I have been making for almost 20 years. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Pork - Fresh Ham With Cracklings And Pan Gravy ============================================== Adapted from a Gourmet Recipe 1 fresh ham (shank end leg of pork) olive for rubbing the ham 1 tablespoon coarse salt 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried sage 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard 12 ounces beer (not dark) For the gravy 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups chicken broth 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried sage 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled salt and pepper to taste . With a small sharp knife prick the ham skin all over, make 4 parallel 1/2-inch-deep incisions through the skin the entire length of the ham, and rub the ham lightly with the oil. In a small bowl rub together the coarse salt, the thyme, the sage, the pepper, and the mustard and rub the mixture over the entire surface of the ham. Put the ham on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan and put the pan in a preheated 500F. oven. Reduce the temperature immediately to 375 °F and roast the ham for 1 hour. Pour half the beer over the ham, roast the ham for 30 minutes more, and pour the remaining beer over the ham. Roast the ham until a meat thermometer registers 170°F.,(the amount of time will depend on the size of the roast) and let it cool on the rack in the pan for 15 minutes. Pull off the brown crisp skin, leaving the layer of fat on the ham, with scissors cut the skin into small pieces, and arrange the cracklings in one layer in a baking pan. Sprinkle the cracklings with salt and bake them in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until they are crisp and browned. Transfer the cracklings to paper towels and let them drain. Cut the remaining fat from the ham, slice the meat thinly across the grain, and arrange it on a platter. Keep the ham warm, covered. Skim off the fat from the juices in the roasting pan, add 1 cup broth and deglaze the pan over moderate heat, scraping up the brown bits. Transfer the liquid to a saucepan. In a small bowl whisk together the flour and 1/4 cup of the broth until the flour is dissolved and whisk the mixture into the deglazing liquid with the remaining 3/4 cup broth, the mustard, the sage, the thyme, and pepper to taste, and simmer the gravy, whisking, for 5 minutes. Garnish the ham with the cracklings and the watercress sprigs and serve it with the gravy. Serves 8 with leftovers. Gourmet March 1990

As to cooking turkey so its not dry, when cooking a turkey bird in the oven I usually use a Reynolds Oven Bag in an appropriate size for the bird. One time use, seems to cook more quickly than standard roasting, easy cleanup, so tender and juicy that it falls off the bone (both white and dark meat), resulting turkey juices easy to contain and use for gravy or whatever. The only slight disadvantage I've found is that if you're more interested in nicely roasted and crispy skin rather than a nice tender and tasty bird, you'll likely be disappointed. To that end, we cook turkey to eat, not to look at and take pictures of so no problem there. Too, the cooking bag probably won't work worth a flip if you usually stuff the bird with anything but the typical seasonings (onion, celery, half an orange, salt/pepper, fresh sage, etc.). Traditional cooking method? Probably not but once you try it, you'll make it one of your go-to methods.

I agree. Save the freezer space that broth takes up. At the beginning of lockdown mid March, I ordered a big bag of chicken backs and beef bones. Wrapped tight in packages for future broth. (I did make a batch right away)...made more broth as I had extra celery, leek tops, carrots, onions. I also purchased a ham that had a good decent fridge date and tackled that in small packages for soups, frittatas, etc. Wrapped the bone tight and made stock a couple months later. Takes the pressure off to save a chore for later or when desired....snow day pleasures. Fresh batch of warm soup. Maybe a bit odd?, but I learned this method for whole hams from an x-boyfriends Filipino mother 40 years ago. Soak the whole ham in 2-3 rinses of cold water in a stock pot. Third rinse overnight in the fridge. (or a cooler with ice packs if fridge space is limited). Fresh water next day with aromatics. (bay leaves, peppercorns, etc). Bring up to a simmer, then 1/2 hour. Drain and oven roast whole for a crowd, or a few slices roasted for just us for that nights meal. The rest goes in packages for the future once cooled. Freezer packs. Similar to prepping salt cod. A shocking amount of salt is removed. Just enough salt removed but not shocking. We are very sensitive to salt not using much daily.