One of the questions that comes up when someone notices that we carry country ham seasoning chunks here at Hobe’s Country Ham is “what do I do with them?” The simplest answer is to use them in any dish or recipe that you would use bacon or sausage in. Here are a few of our favorites.
- Alternative to sausage gravy and biscuits- Sauté a few country ham seasoning chunks until they reach the desired texture. Sprinkle in a touch of flour and cook over low to medium heat for 5 minutes or so until the flour is no longer white and has turned a nice golden or reddish color. Pour in your favorite dairy – we like heavy cream or half and half, but you can also use whole milk (low-fat or skim milk is not recommended). Pour in a little at a time until your gravy is the desired consistency, and then pour over your homemade or store-bought biscuits.
- Add to potato soup- Kick up the flavor of your next batch of potato soup by adding a few of our country ham seasoning chunks. Your family will love the added flavor. There are lots of recipes out there for potato soup, but one option is to fry up your country ham with some onions or leeks and then add vegetable broth (or chicken) along with raw diced potatoes. When the potatoes are fully cooked, you can serve it like that or use an immersion blender to mash some of the potatoes to make it thicker. You can also add some heavy cream or half and half to make it a creamy potato soup. If you want to get really fancy, look up recipes for Caldo Verde (Portuguese Soup) and substitute country ham for the linguica or chorizo sausage.
- Bean soup- You can literally add country ham seasoning chunks to any type of bean soup and get wonderful flavor. Use whatever beans you like or use several. Those 15-bean soup mixes are a great option, but cut back on the included seasoning packet, or it will come out too salty.
- Add to vegetables- If you can’t get your family to eat greens and other vegetables, try adding some country ham seasoning chunks! It might surprise you how quickly they’ll gobble them up.
Hopefully this has given you some inspiration, and you can take it from here. You’ll find our country ham seasoning chunks and other country ham products at local retailers. See where your imagination can take you!