Country Ham and Caramelized Onion Scones
Real salt-cured country ham is a precious commodity in our house, and I try to make the most of every morsel. Combining the salty, meaty bits with sweet, tender caramelized onions is a winning combination, and a great way to use the crumbly ham bits left after reserving the more perfect slices for the holiday dinner table.
Yield: 6 large or 18 mini (about 1 ½”) scones
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 20-30 minutes
9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups, spooned; 255g), plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon (12g) baking powder
2 teaspoons (8g) sugar
1 teaspoon (4g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
3 oz. cold unsalted butter, grated while frozen
3 oz. country ham bits
¼ c. caramelized onions
¼ c. sour cream
¾ c. buttermilk
1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp. water
Maldon Sea Salt
Sweet Hungarian paprika
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400°. In a small bowl whisk buttermilk and sour cream until smooth. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add cold butter and toss to coat with the flour. Stir in country ham pieces and toss until well combined, then stir in buttermilk mixture to form a stiff dough.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 9” round. Using half of the onions, spread 3 lines of onions across HALF of the dough leaving some of the dough exposed between the lines, and fold in half, gently pressing the halves together.
Press into a 9” round again and spread the remaining onions across HALF of the dough in 3 lines, this time perpendicular to the first lines (this distributes the onions and allows the dough to stick together), fold the halves together again to enclose the onions, and press together.
For a third time, press and shape into a 9” round and fold. Now press the layered dough into a 7-inch round no less than 1” thick and cut into 6 wedges. (For mini scones, press dough into a 20” long log and cut into 18 wedges.) Arrange on a parchment-lined half sheet pan and refrigerate 10-15 minutes. Brush with egg wash. In the palm of your hand gently crush Maldon sea salt into smaller pieces and sprinkle each scone with a pinch of salt then a pinch of sweet Hungarian paprika.
Bake until puffed and golden, about 25 minutes (smaller scones bake 15-20 minutes). Let cool at least 5 minutes. Serve as a snack, with eggy brunch dishes, or alongside hearty soups and stews. Leftovers can be stored up to 24 hours in an airtight container, then briefly warmed in a 350° oven to serve. Wrap individually to freeze.
I had never heard of Country Ham until I met my husband, a 6th generation Virginia boy whose ancestors immigrated from County Cork, Ireland and settled in Virginia. Country Ham was expected at every Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner table without exception. As the new wife of a male only child, my mother-in-law was anxious to share her cuisine and family recipes with a daughter. I was honored that she treated me like her own.
The process of soaking and cooking a salt-cured ham is best learned from a seasoned cook. Nothing was written down; it was all done by reading the signs and following time-tested methods - and using Mom’s special meat fork. One couldn’t properly judge the tenderness of the ham without “the fork”. I was eventually trusted enough to help bone the cooked ham and coat it with the traditional combination of brown sugar and cloves. Hams were always made at least several days before the big dinner and refrigerated. Slicing the cold ham became my job as well, which involved keeping all the spectators and scrap-snatchers at bay.
I watched and learned, but failed to write down the process, probably for the same reasons that Mom never did. Aunt Jeanne to the rescue! Jeanne married Mom’s younger brother and they’d been close friends since childhood. Jeanne wrote it down, and thanks to her my daughters now have a documented recipe as well. And I inherited the fork.