Some Tips for Heating, Refrigerating, Freezing....You might want to consider our experience with our PRE- COOKED products, whole Country Ham, Smoky Gourmet BBQ “Preacher” Ham and our Country Ham Half. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to call at 270-365-2482. • • ARE YOUR ICE PACKS MELTED? • • Please do not be deeply concerned about this. The ice packs are included to keep the products cool for only part of their journey and are expected to be melted by the time your product arrives to you. Our hams, bacon and sausage are smoked and do contain salt, which are both natural preservatives. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call me! But please be patient with us during our most busy season of the year. We can usually determine how long your package has traveled and where it has been. Our main goal is for you to be pleased with our products, derived out of our painstaking efforts. .......................................................................... HEATING INSTRUCTIONS: COLONEL NEWSOM’S AGED KENTUCKY COOKED COUNTRY HAM Cut out of the plastic vacuum bag and wrap tightly in foil. Place in baking dish and add a half inch of water in the bottom of pan. Cover top of the pan with foil again or use roaster top in place of last layer of foil. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat approximately 10-15 minutes per pound. You may take 30 minutes off of the total heating time for your whole cooked country ham. (Also note, different ovens heat at different rates.) For garnishing or for a pretty presentation, remove all foil after heating, score the top — fat side of the aged ham — in 1-2 inch squares, add pineapple rings, brown sugar topping, etc. of your choice. Adjust the oven to 425 degrees. Place ham (your cooked whole ham or cooked half) with pan uncovered now in the oven. Watch closely, browning for about a total of 15 minutes maximum, depending on oven temperature. Aged cooked country ham may be served at room temperature, warm or hot. The flavor of the aged ham actually strikes through best at room temperature. • For room temperature serving, simply remove your ham from the refrigerator, keep covered, but allow it to warm to room temperature: for whole cooked country hams, 6-8 hours. Allow the aged hams to stay out of the refrigerator long enough to come to room temperature. (This WILL NOT SPOIL THIS HAM. It is literally a miracle meat. In fact, in the refrigerator, it would dry out before spoiling if kept in foil.) Freeze before the meat becomes dry. SMOKY GOURMET BBQ “PREACHER” HAM Cut out of the plastic vacuum bag and wrap half or whole thoroughly and tightly in foil. Place in the baking dish. Heat at 325-350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes per pound. The Preacher Ham is more moist than the cooked country ham, so no water is needed in the bottom of roaster or pan. The Preacher Ham may be served with or without garnishing if you wish. Our 60-year-old process has a flavor which speaks for itself after heating. For glaze or garnish, remove foil after heating, place open in the pan after you’ve scored the top in 1-2 inch squares and garnished, raise oven temperature to 425 degrees and watch closely — heating only long enough to allow your toppings to brown or soak into the ham — approximately 15 minutes. You, please be the judge. The Smoky Preacher Ham may be served cold or at room temperature, also. QUICK REFERENCE ... HOW LONG CAN MY HAM BE REFRIGERATED before eating or freezing? SMOKY GOURMET BBQ “PREACHER” HAM Smoky Gourmet BBQ “Preacher” Ham will keep in the refrigerator for approximately 1-1/2 weeks for a large chunk stored in foil only. For tight vacuum sealed packages where meat is tight in the package, perhaps two weeks under the right conditions of cold temperature, tight vacuum seal etc. Is your meat loose in the package? Please cut out of the vacuum package and store in foil upon arrival. For serving two weeks later than arrival, you may desire to freeze pieces and thaw a few days before serving. COOKED COUNTRY HAM WHOLE Your whole cooked country ham will keep well in the refrigerator, particularly if it is tight in the vacuum packaging. If the vacuum packaging is loose, cut the ham out of it and wrap it in foil, covering two to three times, to store it well. If you are not using the ham within three weeks or so, it is recommended that you freeze it. Again, if the vacuum packaging is tight, you may leave it in its arrival packaging; however, if the wrapping is loose, cut the ham out of it and wrap it in foil, cover- ing two to three times, for freezing. HALF AGED HAM UNCOOKED For uncooked halves of our aged hams — as long as the plastic is tight to the ham, it can keep for 3 weeks or longer, however, due to the metamorphosis which occurs between the plastic and aged hams, the face of the meat may turn a bit white or gray. (This is not a concern for you.) — Just cut past until the meat is red again. If an uncooked half is loose in its packaging, please remove and store well in foil. Then it can keep for nearly a month. Simply carve away the face to where the natural red aged color appears again and begin to prepare. • • STORING IN FOIL OR VACUUM SEAL • • NOTE — Store all of the above choices of cooked meats in foil only. These meats do not store well in loose plastics, unless of course, you own your own shrink-seal-type or vacuum packaging machine. The tips provided for each cooked meat vary depending on climate, refrigeration, temperatures, etc. and are simply suggestions for you to use your own judgement with them, please.