Cracklin'-Fresh Picnic Ham with Apple-Cranberry-Pomegranate Salsa
Ask your butcher: While a holiday ham traditionally consists of a cured, brined, or smoked cut of pork from the hind leg, we're taking liberties with the word "ham" and choosing the best cut for this job: the shoulder. Order a skin-on fresh picnic ham, aka the picnic cut, a forgiving, economical joint that will give you the juiciest results.
Gallery
Recipe Summary
Ingredients
Directions
Chef's Notes
Roast like a pro: First, plan ahead. A bone-in roast this thick requires two days of seasoning to allow the salt to penetrate to the bone. (That's as many days as ingredients required to flavor this budget-minded wonder.) Second, score the skin using a box cutter or razor blade so the fat renders as it cooks and the exterior turns potato chip crunchy.The right temp: Because we're talking shoulder, go for an internal temp of at least 175°, which will encourage the connective tissue to break down and intramuscular fat to melt.