Stuffed ham is a variety of
ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...
in which
cabbage,
kale,
onions
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...
, spices and
seasonings are chopped and mixed, then stuffed into deep slits slashed in a whole
corned or
smoked ham. The ham is covered with extra stuffing, wrapped in a cloth to hold everything together, and then boiled until the meat and greens are fully cooked. Stuffed ham is believed to have originated in
Southern Maryland
Southern Maryland is a geographical, cultural and historic region in Maryland composed of the state's southernmost counties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the state of Maryland, the region includes all of Calvert, Cha ...
, specifically in
St. Mary's County, and remains popular in that region to this day.
Often used as a
Christmas ham
A Christmas ham or Yule ham is a ham often served for Christmas dinner or during Yule in Northern Europe and the Anglosphere. The style of preparation varies widely by place and time.
Despite the common claim that the tradition of eating ham is ...
, this preparation has been popular for at least 200 years. Typically the ham has a distinctively spicy flavor due to added seasoning. Recipes vary widely, since they are traditionally passed down from one family member to another.
Salmonella vector
In 1997, improperly prepared stuffed ham served at the Our Lady of the Wayside Catholic Church fund-raising dinner in
Chaptico, Maryland
Chaptico is an unincorporated community in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. It lies on Chaptico Run, which forms a bay as it enters the Wicomico River.
History
''Chaptico'' may be Algonquian for "big-broad-river-it-is" and related t ...
was responsible for one of the largest multi-drug resistant
Salmonella Heidelberg outbreaks in Maryland which sickened 750 people and caused two deaths.
The
CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
documented the incident in the journal ''
Emerging Infectious Diseases
''Emerging Infectious Diseases'' (EID) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). EID is a public domain journal and covers global instances of new and reemerging infectious diseas ...
''.
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]
See also
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List of ham dishes
This is a list of notable ham dishes. Ham is pork that has been preserved through salting, smoking, or wet curing. It was traditionally made only from the hind leg of swine, and referred to that specific cut of pork."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Cur ...
*
List of smoked foods
*
List of stuffed dishes
This is a list of stuffed dishes, comprising dishes and foods that are prepared with various fillings and stuffings. Some dishes are not actually stuffed; the added ingredients are simply spread atop the base food, as one cannot truly stuff an oy ...
References
Further reading
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Maryland cuisine
Ham dishes
Smoked meat
St. Mary's County, Maryland
Stuffed dishes
American pork dishes
Cabbage dishes
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