Coffee Ham & Eggs

Posted by BBQ Resources at 3/22/2009 8:13 AM
Categories: Recipes
I love ham and eggs and I enjoy making our own hams with Les Noiracochon, so that we can tailor the flavour profile to match our own preferences.  However, sometimes I'm not so keen on all the brine curing and waiting, waiting, waiting for the end result.  I mean, I am seriously yearning to try the Blackstrap Molasses Country Ham recipe we have hanging right now, but it's a 4 month process to get that puppy ready to eat. From starting it just after Christmas until being ready for Easter is definitely some serious waiting time for dinner!  So, with that in mind, I came up with some 'instant ham' ideas.  One I did recently and really like is this:

Instant Coffee Ham
- 2 slices of pork shoulder blade steaks, about 1/2" thick each
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Dizzy Pig Red Eye Express (or any coffee flavoured bbq rub)

Blend the cure, sugar and spice blend together well, then coat the steaks thoroughly and massage into the meat.  Put into a Ziploc bag and place in the fridge for 3 days, turning at least once a day.  You will begin to pick up the amazing smell through the Ziploc; it's an outstanding aroma!



After the three days of curing, rinse off the curing mixture and soak the steaks in cold water bath for 1-2 hours, changing water at least once.  Pat dry.  Feel free to add another light sprinkle of the coffee rub if you like, or proceed direct to the fry pan or grill.  Grill/fry until thoroughly cooked, about 12-15 mins over medium heat, flipping halfway through.  If pan frying, you could even scrape up the resulting 'fond' (the browned and caramelized bits stuck to the bottom of a skillet after cooking a piece of meat) and add some liquid coffee to make some 'red eye gravy' to pour over the steaks.  

Serve these with some eggs and hash browns and you are good to go for a (nearly) instant ham and egg breakfast!  As a side note, the shoulder blade steaks have quite a bit of internal fat and connective tissue which some people may not enjoy (i.e. my wife).  This recipe could probably also work well with a fresh slice of ham steak (not previously cured) or thick-cut portions of pork loin.  They also market pork 'sirloin steaks' which are cut from between the shoulder and the start of the loin, making them leaner than this shoulder blade, but not as lean as the loin.  Might be a good choice if you can find them in a uniform slice!



Qfan

 

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