Post-Fair Finally

The ham sale was a success. Miss Kylee made out like a bandit (a very grateful bandit). A big THANK YOU goes out to Bob Cope with Mid-MO Truck and Trailer.

THANKS BOB!!!

Curing of the HAM

The 4-H county fair is here again and this year is no different from last year...we country cured a ham. It is amazing to think that our grandparents had no choice but to cure hams (that is if they didn't want them to spoil) but we now only do it by choice. We truly have come a long way but despite all that I believe that curing hams is still a valuable skill and a great reminder of how good we have it.

Kylee worked hard on her hams.

She trimmed them with loving care.

And smoothed down fat with a smile.

Adding the cure it is always her favorite part. She needed a little help from our friends over at 4 Quarters Perry Locker but once she saw Kristen do it she remembered how to stuff a hock.

And stuff she did.

She enjoys stuffing the hock a little too much but that's just my opinion.

After a good trim, a lot of cure, and some pretty wrapping paper the ham is ready for hanging...at least 5 months of hanging.

It is amazing how this bloody, fatty, hunk of meat turns into...

This blue ribbon deliciously smokey country cured ham.

It smells so good she can hardly contain herself...goofy girl!

Tonight is the big sale. Wish Miss Kylee luck. Hopefully her ham sells well.

State Fair Update

A quick update on Miss Kylee Jo's ham that we took the Missouri State Fair. She placed 9th in her division. Not too shabby, top 10 her first year out. We couldn't be prouder and we are all looking forward to next years country cured ham.

Disappointed, Down But Not Out

The big fair sale was yesterday and all the livestock and hams were auctioned off, one by one. Before the sale each child lined up to have their picture taken with their show animal/ham. It was a day of preparation, mild chaos, and disappointment followed by confusion, anger, and one very sad little girl.

This was some one's idea of a practical joke. You see that ham with the Grand Champion ribbon on it, well, that is Kylee's ham. However, she didn't get Grand Champion...someone switched the ribbons.

We were congratulated by family, friends, and even our own club leader. I also spoke to the head of the livestock division from the Extension office about our winning the Grand Champion ribbon and no one said anything to us or Kylee until picture time--four days later.The sad part is that the head of the livestock division is also in charge of hams but apparently knows nothing about them. I asked simple questions like, "What paper work do we need to fill out to reserve the ham for state?" Her answer: "I don't know." Great leadership and organization.

The really sad part is that they knew about the ribbon switching and didn't fix it or tell us until we confronted them. Nice, right. Get a kid's hopes up, let them believe, then, rip it away. The fact that she didn't get Grand Champion isn't the real issue. Sure, we wanted to win it but she still has a blue ribbon ham and that is just fine by us. The real issue comes from the fact that they made my little girl cry and then had the "well, this stuff happens so just get over it" attitude toward her (one lady actually said that). It wasn't their fault, somehow it was our fault. Please explain that one to me. This is her first year in 4-H and her first time competing in anything--great first experience. Needless to say, my husband marched over to the Extension office and gave them a piece of his mind. They just argued with him. Go figure.

Oh, well. We know we don't have the clout, social status, or the elbow rubbing techniques to turn any heads and get a fair shake in 4-H but we still get the last laugh. No matter what the local yokels say we are still taking that ham to state and my baby still did a fantastic job on her very first country cured ham. We are also the only people taking a ham to state from Audrain county. Now that says something. I'm not sure what it says just yet but it says something.

State fair, here come the Windmann's and we are out for blood. 

4-H Fair Time **The Ham**

The county 4-H fair is just around the corner and I can't wait! You see, this is our first fair and our first ham...it is a really nice ham. We are hoping to place well, maybe even go to state but lets not get ahead of ourselves. 

Out of the bin the handsome ham emerges...

Kylee watches with anticipation

Down, down, down the handsome ham (and my handsome husband) makes its way closer to the waiting child  

Yeah, time to open the ham...it's just like Christmas. Not really, we don't give our children ham for Christmas but if you are looking for a nice holiday present for my husband a ham is a great idea. Just a thought....Oh, never mind...

Scrub, scrub, scrub the ham scrub the ham all clean...merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream...

If you have never made a country cured ham then you may be wondering why the ham needs a scrubbing. Well, I'll tell you...it's mold. Not a lot of mold so don't freak out and it doesn't effect the meat at all. But it has been dangling in a grain bin since February. Please, let me explain...

In order to make a country cured ham you need to first procure a nice USDA inspected, skin on country ham. You'll want to do this in January, February at the latest. Then, you trim the ham down to "doll" it up and make it perdy. After you've made it all perdy, you then rub it down and stuff the hock with a salt cure which is a mixture of salt, sugar, red pepper, black pepper, and any seasoning you might like. There are several different recipes but I like to keep it simple. Now, here is the fun part, you wrap the ham and all it's salty goodness in a brown paper feed sack and let it hang in a barn or a bin for a couple months. Yes, I said months. Take it down, wash it, re-cure it, re-wrap it, re-hang it...for another couple of months. Again, yes, I said months. Finally, in July you pull it down, wash it up, and prepare it for the fair. We smoked our ham. In fact, it is smoking right now. I told it about the hazards of such a nasty habit but it won't listen...that was a joke, son...I say, I say a joke...(name that character)

And there you have it! One country cured ham ready for show and sale. I have it on good authority that Miss Kylee has one of the best looking hams of the year. Wish us luck, I hope we take Grand Champion but either way we enjoyed curing the ham and plan on repeating the process next year.