How To Cook A Country Ham & #BeeSweet (Honey Giveaway!)

I know I normally post recipes that are Primal/Paleo, which means no sugar added… But sometimes, I do like to have things on the sweeter side, and when I do, I want them to be NATURAL! So that means honey, agave, stevia, or even sugar, but never artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sweet & low, etc, or even high fructose corn syrup.

For that reason, when I got the opportunity to try Nektar Naturals, which are a crystallized honey pellet with a bit of pure cane sugar, I thought I’d give them a shot!

One thing that appeals to me as someone who travels a great deal is the fact that it’s honey without the mess! I have gotten sticky honey all over the place, and have also had to deal with bottles I couldn’t get open, or honey that has solidified in the bottom of the jar that I have to do some extra work to get to use!

So here we go – Let’s #BeeSweet!

Does that put this song in your head?

Two weeks ago, I shared a recipe for Ham that was totally savory. Ever eat something, think “Wow, that was really good and we hadn’t had that in a while?” and then make it again right away? That was our ham situation, but we decided to make it differently!

I learned quite a bit in this process – like that there are city hams (pre-cooked) and country hams (cured) and that you have to cook them differently! We got ours from a farmer’s market, and it was a big country ham!

First I thawed it out. Then I “scored” it, which means using a knife to cut lines into the sides. 

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and put your scored, thawed ham into a roasting pan. In the pan, put a couple tablespoons of the vinegar of your choice – ACV, balsami, regular, red wine, whatever you choose! Then put water in the pan until there are a couple inches of water in it. 

To find out your cooking time, multiply the number of pounds of ham you have by twenty minutes. That is going to be the TOTAL time  you cook it! 

Take your total time and subtract 30 minutes, and put your ham in the oven with the timer saying that time. 

When the timer goes off, take it out, and here’s where the fun begins! 

I sprinkled a couple tablespoons of the Nektar Naturals on the ham, along with some seasonings (thyme, garlic, and cinnamon) and put it back in the oven for 30 minutes, and then “ta-da!” Amazing ham. 

I served it with broccoli and raw, grassfed butter! 

[Tweet “How to cook a sweet country ham via @Mandelicious – and a giveaway! 😉 “]

You know that I am making “Primal Split Pea Soup” with the carcass/leftovers now, too! 

Anyway, you can get Nektar Naturals to either make ham, or sweeten your tea, or whatever you’d use honey for at Walmart, or, if you follow the directions below, you just might win one, and get it delivered to your doorstep in a pretty little package like I did! 😉 

Here is how to enter the giveaway! 

Nektar Naturals #BeeSweet Giveaway!

I wish you luck and sweetness in the New Year! 

What would you like to see me Primal-ify in 2016? 

Don’t forget to check out my jamberry for a good cause party on facebook and my “Design Your Best Year Ever” group – details on both in my last blog! 😉 

xoxo, 

Mandie 

P.S. 

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