Chef Dean
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Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Country Ham Steaks
Created by
Dry-cured country ham pan-fried in butter until the edges turn mahogany and crisp, served with optional red-eye gravy made from the drippings and strong black coffee. This is the breakfast that built the South.
Breakfast & Brunch
Southern
Weeknight
Comfort Food
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield4 servings
Country ham is not city ham. If you've only eaten the pink, wet, honey-glazed stuff from the supermarket, you've been missing one of America's great culinary traditions. True country ham is dry-cured for months, sometimes over a year, developing an intensity that approaches prosciutto. It's salty, funky, and absolutely magnificent when treated with respect.
The technique couldn't be simpler. You fry slices in butter until the edges caramelize and the fat renders crisp. The whole process takes ten minutes. What you serve alongside it is where personal history enters the picture. My people always wanted fried eggs cooked in the ham drippings, biscuits for sopping, and grits to catch the red-eye gravy.
Red-eye gravy mystifies outsiders. It's nothing more than coffee deglazed in the ham drippings, maybe a touch of sugar to balance the salt. The name comes from the eye of fat that floats on top, or perhaps from the fact that you need it after a night that left you red-eyed. Either explanation works. What matters is that the thin, dark gravy brings everything on the plate together.
This is breakfast at an unhurried pace. The kind of morning where coffee cups get refilled twice, where someone is always at the stove frying another egg, and the only schedule that matters is how long until everyone has eaten their fill.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
country ham steaks
Quantity
2 (about 1/2 inch thick, 8-10 ounces each)
unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons
divided
strong black coffee (optional)
Quantity
1/2 cup
brewed and hot
light brown sugar (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly cracked
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| country ham steaks | 2 (about 1/2 inch thick, 8-10 ounces each) |
| unsalted butterdivided | 3 tablespoons |
| strong black coffee (optional)brewed and hot | 1/2 cup |
| light brown sugar (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| black pepperfreshly cracked | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch cast iron skillet
- •Sturdy metal spatula
- •Sharp knife for scoring
Instructions
- 1
Temper the salt
Place the ham steaks in a large skillet and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then drain immediately. This brief blanch removes surface salt without washing away the ham's character. Pat the steaks bone-dry with paper towels. Moisture is the enemy of a proper sear.
Skip this step if you prefer your ham unapologetically salty, as my grandmother did. She'd just soak hers in milk for thirty minutes instead, which adds a subtle sweetness. - 2
Score the fat edge
Using a sharp knife, make shallow cuts through the fat along the curved edge of each steak, spacing them about an inch apart. This prevents the ham from curling into a dome as it cooks, ensuring flat contact with your pan and even caramelization across the surface.
- 3
Heat the skillet
Set your largest cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of butter and let it melt, swirling to coat the bottom. When the foam subsides and you smell something nutty, you're ready. The butter should be golden but not brown.
- 4
Fry the first side
Lay the ham steaks in the skillet. They should sizzle immediately upon contact. If they don't, your pan isn't hot enough. Cook undisturbed for three to four minutes until the bottom develops deep amber edges and golden-brown spots across the surface. Resist the urge to move them.
- 5
Flip and finish
Turn the steaks using a sturdy spatula. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan, letting it pool around the edges. Cook another three minutes until the second side matches the first. The fat edge should be rendered and crisp, almost translucent at the thinnest points.
- 6
Rest briefly
Transfer the ham steaks to a warm platter. They need only a minute or two of rest. Unlike fresh pork, cured ham won't release a flood of juices. It's simply waiting for you to decide whether you're making red-eye gravy or eating immediately.
- 7
Make red-eye gravy (optional)
Leave the skillet over medium heat with all its fond and rendered fat. Pour in the hot coffee. It will sputter and steam dramatically. Scrape up every browned bit from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Let the mixture bubble for two minutes until it reduces slightly and the color deepens to burnished mahogany. Spoon this thin, intensely flavored gravy over the ham and onto your grits.
The gravy should be thin, almost like strong coffee with body. It's meant to pool on your plate and mingle with egg yolks, not coat a spoon.
Chef Tips
- •Seek out country ham from Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, or North Carolina. Smithfield is the most famous, but small smokehouse producers often surpass it. A good country ham will have been cured for at least six months. The best are aged over a year.
- •Don't add salt to anything on this plate. The ham provides enough for the eggs, the grits, and probably the biscuits too. Season only with black pepper.
- •Save the bone if your steak has one. Freeze it for your next pot of beans, greens, or split pea soup. A country ham bone flavors a whole pot better than any ham hock.
- •If your ham seems impossibly salty even after blanching, try soaking the steaks in cold water or milk for an hour before cooking. Old-style cure masters sometimes went heavy on the salt, and there's no shame in tempering it.
- •Leftover country ham makes extraordinary biscuit sandwiches. Reheat gently in a covered skillet with a splash of water to steam it back to tenderness.
Advance Preparation
- •Country ham steaks can be blanched and patted dry the night before, then refrigerated uncovered to ensure a dry surface for better browning.
- •Bring refrigerated ham to room temperature for twenty minutes before frying. Cold ham hitting a hot pan cooks unevenly.
- •Leftover cooked ham keeps refrigerated for five days and reheats beautifully in a covered skillet with a tablespoon of water.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 85g)
Calories
335 calories
Total Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
8 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
95 mg
Sodium
1420 mg
Total Carbohydrates
3 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
34 g
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