BBQ MY WAY: Double-smoked ham gives pasta dish rich flavor - Evening News and Tribune

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Usually for our Easter dinner I grill lamb chops and serve with mint jelly, which I love. But this year there was a stealth-like coup that took place within the Lobeck family, forcing me to give up on lamb chops (someone who shall remain nameless thinks lamb tastes like pennies) and move to something everyone loves, that being boring old ham.

As I slowly warmed up to the idea, I decided to look into ways to improve the “ham experience.” What I came up with was a double-smoked spiral ham with a spicy apricot and bourbon glaze. And it was absolutely “sick.” (That means it was really good).

I’ll cover how I prepared the ham in a future BBQ My Way installment. Today’s column is what I did with some of the ham leftovers, and there was a lot as I smoked two hams. The following recipe will feed four.

Ingredients

2½ to 3 cups of ham, cut to bite-sized pieces.

½ box of rigatoni or penne pasta

1 bunch of asparagus

2 to 3 cloves of garlic, diced

½ cup of dry white wine

¼ cup chicken broth

¾ cup of Half and Half cream

¾ cup of shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese

Salt (we didn’t use any) and pepper to taste

Fresh parsley, chopped

Olive oil

Snap the asparagus at the point in the stalk where they easily break. This gets rid of the part at the bottom that is too chewy. Cut the asparagus to bite-sized pieces. Over medium-high heat and a touch of olive oil, saute the garlic and the asparagus for three to five minutes. Place the asparagus and garlic in a bowl to the side when the asparagus are bright green but still have a bit of crunch.

Add a bit of olive oil again and over medium-high heat, saute the ham. I did this to add color and texture. This took three to five minutes. Now add the wine and broth. Stir to bring the bits off of the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil, then lower to simmer and allow to reduce for five to seven minutes. You still want some liquid but only about half as much as you started with. Now add the cream and the cheese and stir until fully incorporated. Add more cream or broth at this point if you feel the need. Season with pepper, and maybe salt, but the ham provided plenty of salt for us.

Allow to simmer on low, stirring frequently. In a big pot of boiling water cook the pasta until almost done, “al dente.” Drain the pasta and add to the ham and cream sauce. Lastly, add the asparagus and garlic mixture. Allow the pasta to finish cooking in the sauce, folding it in, allowing it to take on the flavor of the ham and cream sauce. Plate immediately, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and a bit more shredded cheese. Enjoy!

The Link Lonk


April 15, 2021 at 11:00PM
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BBQ MY WAY: Double-smoked ham gives pasta dish rich flavor - Evening News and Tribune

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Pasta