Recipe

Martha Stewart’s Country Ham Hack

Glaze it quickly with cognac, then serve it alongside these Angel Biscuits with mustard dip

Recipe by Martha Stewart

November 19, 2024

Photo: Dana Gallagher

“It is really hard to find a well-prepared country ham these days,” writes Martha Stewart in her new cookbook, Martha, The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen. (Also find her zippy mint julep recipe here.) “I can still order one for holiday parties from the Loveless Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee, which is where I learned how to cook it carefully and well.”

But to make a similar version at home, Stewart offers this simple method that involves a cognac-spiked glaze. “The method of cooking in this recipe is unusual, but it eliminates the much more difficult process of boiling a country ham prior to skinning, scoring, and glazing,” she writes. “Try this—you will be surprised by how perfectly the technique works and you will certainly love the taste: The cognac brown-sugar glaze enhances each small, thin slice. I serve the country ham atop angel biscuits with a wonderful mustard dip.”

“Martha: The Cookbook” by Martha Stewart. Copyright © 2024 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia LP. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Dana Gallagher. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

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Glazed Country Ham

Serves about 20

Ingredients

- 1 (16-lb.) country-cured ham
- 4 cups packed brown sugar
- 2 cups cognac
- Angel Biscuits (recipe follows), for serving
- Brooke’s Mustard Dip (recipe follows), for serving

Preparation

Clean the ham with hot water and a stiff brush. Soak the ham for 24 hours in cold water to dilute the salt. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Wrap the ham well in parchment-lined foil and place in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the ham sit for 3 hours in the oven; do not open the door. After 3 hours, turn on the oven and bake at 500°F for 15 minutes. Turn off the oven but do not open the door. Leave the ham in the closed oven overnight.

Remove the ham from the oven and unwrap. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a sharp knife, trim the rind and all but ⅛ to ¼ inch of the fat from the ham; then score the fat in a tight diamond pattern.

In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar and cognac to make the glaze. Spoon half the glaze over the ham and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Spoon the remaining glaze over the ham and bake for another 20 minutes. Slice the ham into very thin slivers and serve it atop angel biscuits, with Brooke’s mustard dip. The ham can be served hot or cold.

Angel Biscuits

Makes 32 (2¼-inch) square biscuits

Ingredients

- 2 (¼-oz) envelopes of active dry yeast (4½ tsp. total)
- ¼ cup warm water (100°F to 110°F)
- 5 cups unbleached all-purpose ﬂour, plus more for dusting
- 2½ tbsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces; plus 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 cups buttermilk

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Combine the yeast and warm water in a medium bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in the butter pieces until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the yeast mixture and buttermilk. Turn out onto a floured board and knead the dough until it is smooth and no longer sticky.

Roll out the dough to a ½-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with a knife or biscuit cutter and set on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with the melted butter and bake until lightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

Mustard Dip

Makes about 1⅔ cups

Ingredients

- ¾ cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup dry mustard
- ½ cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt

Preparation

Mix distilled white vinegar, dry mustard, and white wine or dry vermouth in a porcelain or stainless-steel bowl. Cover and let stand overnight.

Beat the eggs with sugar and kosher salt until very light and foamy, about 3 minutes.

Add the mustard mixture and cook in a double boiler (or in a stainless-steel bowl over a pot of simmering water) until thick, approximately 1 hour, whisking occasionally. Let cool and refrigerate until ready to use.