GERMAN COTTAGE HAM (smoked pork butt) AND GREEN BEANS

This is a one-dish meal you will find on many tables in areas of the Midwest settled by German immigrants. Fresh horseradish or an assertive mustard is the condiment of choice.

Serves 6 to 8.

1 (2-pound) cottage ham or smoked pork butt (see Note), or 1 (2—pound) piece of Canadian bacon
1 1/2 pounds green beans
1 medium yellow onion, quartered
1 1/2 pounds new potatoes

Place the ham in a large stockpot with enough water to reach half way up the sides of the ham.
Add the beans and onion. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer gently, covered, for 2 1/2 hours or until the cottage ham is just tender.

Add the potatoes and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes more. Remove the ham, slice it, and serve it hot, with the potatoes and green beans.

NOTE: A cottage ham is a cured and smoked pork shoulder. Some butchers and grocery stores sell it under that name, while others call it smoked pork butt.

Cottage hams vary from butcher to butcher. If you buy yours without plastic wrap, just rinse it off briefly and put it into the pot. If you buy yours wrapped in plastic, rinse it off for at least 5 to 10 minutes, as it is likely to have more salt and sugar brine.

Cottage Ham is available from good butchers, such as Avril and Son in Cincinnati or Lindy’s Meat and Sausage in St. Louis, and by mail order, from The Smoke House Market in St. Louis. Alternatively, use Canadian bacon, which your butcher will sell you in a two-pound piece.

Avril and Son
33 East Court Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
513-241-2433

Prairie Home Cooking

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