Recipe Courtesy of Chef Isaac Toups, Toups’ Meatery, New Orleans
(Picture courtesy of Denny Culbert)

Boucherie ham is a uncooked ham, that means it isn’t cured. At a Boucherie, it will be injected with a brine that’s seasoned with an overt quantity of garlic powder. I favor contemporary garlic. By utilizing contemporary garlic to make the brine, you additionally find yourself with a garlic paste to make use of to kind a crust on the skin of the ham. At a Boucherie, you’d in all probability prepare dinner this on a smoker or in a Cajun microwave. This at-home model enables you to use your oven as a substitute.

(Serves 20)

Substances
1 (15-pound) uncooked ham, with pores and skin, shank, hock, and aitch bone (hip bone) eliminated
2 cups (100 cloves) garlic, peeled
1 (12-ounce) bottle fruit-forward beer (I take advantage of an apricot hefeweizen)
1 cup cane syrup (or honey)
1⁄4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons plus 4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons floor black pepper, divided
1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Gear
Giant deep roasting pan
1 (11⁄2-ounce) marinade injector
1  rolling pin, small baseball bat, or one other implement of destruction

Observe: The ham ought to nonetheless have the femur. The hip bone would possibly nonetheless be linked. You’ll be able to have your butcher take away the hip bone, or you should use a knife and brute drive to tear it off. I’d say simply ask your butcher to do it.

Technique
› Preheat the oven to 350°F.

› Wrap the ham in plastic wrap. Give it 9 or 10 good whacks with the rolling pin. Flip it and provides 9 or 10 extra good whacks. Flip it and provides 9 or 10 extra good whacks. Flip it and provides 9 or 10 extra good whacks. Beat the shit out of it. Severely….Tenderize.

› Put the garlic, beer, cane syrup, vinegar, 3 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a blender and mix on medium velocity for 10 seconds. Pressure the combination by pouring it by way of a fine-mesh colander or sieve right into a bowl (or another nonreactive food-safe container). As soon as this combination is strained, you’ll have your brine and a paste of garlic and spices leftover—don’t you dare throw that away. Pour the brine into one thing tall and cylindrical, like a consuming glass. (You’re going to be filling an injector with the liquid, so having one thing tall and cylindrical simply makes it simpler to fill the injector.)

› Fill the injector with the brine and begin with the ham fats facet up. Within the prime left nook of the ham, about 11⁄2 inches from the sting, press the injector about midway by way of the ham and inject 1⁄2 ounce (about 1 tablespoon) brine. Proceed doing this, shifting the injector 11⁄2 inches over and repeating, then 11⁄2 inches over and repeating, refilling the injector as vital. You’re going to make a grid on the ham each 11⁄2 inches (throughout and up and down) till you’ve coated the fats facet with a sq. grid of holes. Then flip the ham over and repeat. A few of the liquid will leak out, and that’s okay. As soon as the highest and backside are injected, inject alongside the 4 sides at equal intervals. If you happen to’re being sensible about this, you’ll do it within the pan you’re going to prepare dinner it in, so the juice stays contained and doesn’t run throughout your countertop.

› Place the ham in a big roasting pan, large enough to carry the ham. Season the highest with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Flip the ham over and season the underside with the remaining 2 teaspoons salt and the remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper. Take the reserved garlic mash and evenly distribute it throughout the floor of the entire ham. It gained’t unfold very properly, so press it and form of pack it on.

› Place the ham fats facet up and bake within the 350°F oven. After 11⁄2 hours, pour 2 quarts of heat water (simply scorching water out of your faucet) into the pan—not over the ham—and canopy it with foil. Put it again within the oven and bake for two extra hours, till the interior temp is 150°F (about 4 hours complete prepare dinner time).

› As soon as it reaches that inner temp, pull it out of the oven, uncover, take away the ham from the pan, and let relaxation for 20 minutes. Skim the fats from the jus within the roasting pan and discard; reserve jus. Then slice the ham, perpendicular to the bone, into 1⁄4-inch slices, although thinner than that’s higher. One of the best knife to make use of is a scalloped serrated knife. The pointed ones will simply tear the meat off; and since it’s so crusty, a traditional slicer isn’t going to slice into the meat. A scalloped serrated knife offers you higher management and nicer slices of ham. Though my dad would simply use his electrical knife—he loves any excuse to bust that fucker out. Pour reserved jus over slices of the ham earlier than serving.