yeah, but is it turkey, or is it ham?
― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 2 March 2006 12:42 (nineteen years ago)
I don't know how you would doubt this? A turkey duh. Ham usually but not always refers to a hog, no?
― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Thursday, 2 March 2006 12:46 (nineteen years ago)
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006020501651*Chuckling for that is a cute question* Actually ham is made by starting out as a roast from the hind leg of a hog. This is called a fresh ham. Before it is prepared it is no different than any other pork roast. How it gets to be a ham is something of a complicated story.
Hams are prepared in several different ways. They can be aged, cured, smoked or cooked. The ham you get at the store is generally wet or brined cured. This process involves injecting the ham with a combination of salt, sugar, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, sodium erythorbate, sodium phosphate, potassium chloride, water and flavorings. The ham is then cooked to a temperature of 150 degrees F. The combination of the chemical brine and the cooking will kill off bacteria and make a ham.
Now aging is a different process and does not necessarily require a brine of smoke. Hams are hung in a special room with exact temperature and humidity controls. Hams can spend as much as 5 years aging and will come out coated in a hard mold crust. Of course you scrap off and wash the ham before you eat it. It might not sound terribly appetizing but these hams can sell for a lot of money. Aging is done at about 75 degrees F to 95 degrees F at a humidity level of 55%-65% for at least 45 days. You need good air circulation to keep the surface of the meat dry to reduce mold growth.
Cold smoking is the way to smoke a ham. Cold smoking is done at temperatures under 100 degrees F and can go on for days or even weeks. Because the temperature is so low, bacteria is controlled by chemicals in the smoke and the slow drying process. A cold smoked Ham does require salt curing (typically in a brine) to keep the bacteria under control while the ham cures.
A turkey ham is turkey prepared the same way but made from turkey meat. It has the benifit of being low fat, therefore healthier.
― Autonomous University of Zacatecas (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 2 March 2006 12:46 (nineteen years ago)
Ham, in another sense, just means the upper hind leg of any animal. What we would call the thigh in humans. Strangely, turkey ham is usually made from the breast of the bird.
― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Thursday, 2 March 2006 12:57 (nineteen years ago)
All the healthiness of filthy, hormoned-pumped turkeys, combined with the salty, leave you thirsty for the rest of the day taste of ham.
Served with creamed corn.
― Dave will do (dave225.3), Thursday, 2 March 2006 13:33 (nineteen years ago)
Toikey Ham is an essential food group in our house.
― Raw, Uncompromising, and Noodly (noodle vague), Thursday, 2 March 2006 16:16 (nineteen years ago)
Way better than the depressing composite that is Turkey Bacon. Pigs say "yes," turkeys say, "no."
― Abbott (Abbott), Thursday, 2 March 2006 17:44 (nineteen years ago)
two weeks pass...
I just heard the inventor of turkey ham (and chicken nuggets too) Robert Baker died on Monday.
Um, thanks?
― Dave NSFW (dave225.3), Thursday, 16 March 2006 22:51 (nineteen years ago)