What's Your Holiday Tradition, Severna Park?

Our holiday tradition requires a drive south to St. Mary's County a few days before Christmas to pick up two corned hams and kale and cabbage stuffing to make the authentic Southern Maryland stuffed ham. Because the ham and dressing must stay chilled, we pack a large cooler for transport and begin preparing the ham usually that evening or the next day.

My husband, R.M. Hunt IV, brought this recipe to Severna Park many years ago from his hometown in St. Mary's County. He now prepares at least two hams every year, right before Christmas, with our brother-in-law Elliot Anderkin.

R.M. stuffs and wraps the hams (see recipe below) and Elliot cooks them outside in heavy stainless steel pots, checking them periodically throughout the night.

Once the hams are cooked, it has become a tradition to share a platter with many friends and family. A large plate is a centerpiece at the annual Adam's Ribs Christmas party where fellow Parkies look forward to the Christmas ham they refer to as "Green Ham" because of the greenish color of the stuffing.

How to make Southern Maryland Stuffed Ham (our version):

• One 20-pound corned ham

Stuffing:

• About 7 pounds of finely chopped cabbage, kale and white onions seasoned with mustard seed, celery seed, crushed red pepper and cayenne pepper. (The stuffing also can be ordered already prepared at grocery stores in southern Maryland during the holidays).
  You may need to add additional spices to satisfy your tastes. We like it SPICY.

• About three packages of cheesecloth.

• One ball of cotton string.

Now for the fun part, it gets messy:

Remove the bone from the ham, or have the butcher do it beforehand.

Lay ham open on a table or kitchen counter with plenty of newspaper to catch the stuffing that doesn't make it into the ham.

Firmly stuff the mixture inside the cavity of the ham. The more stuffing the better—pack it tight. Once that is done, it is ready to be wrapped with several layers of cheesecloth. Pull it all together and tie very securely with cotton string.

We then place the ham in a white cotton pillowcase; knot the top if possible to make a loop so you can retrieve your cooked ham out of the pot when done. It will be heavy. We boil the ham in water, outside, in a converted beer-keg-turned- cooker using propane and a ring burner.

A 20-pound ham with about 7 pounds of stuffing will take about 6 to 7 hours (once the water has reached a slow rolling boil, start timing it).

When the ham is done, remove it from the pot and drain. Once drained, it needs to be chilled down immediately. We find this time of year, if the weather is very cold, putting the ham on a screened-in porch to keep the neighborhood animals at bay a good option to get it cooled down quickly.

If that's not an option for you, put the ham into an ice bath, cooler or refrigerator. The ham should get to a comfortable 40 degrees ASAP. Once the ham has sufficiently cooled, remove all outer wrappings and string.

Slice the ham in thin slices, apply liberal amount of dressing to plain white bread. Small potato rolls are also good, especially if sharing with a crowd or serving at a party.

By no means should mayonnaise, mustard or a condiment of any kind be applied when eating stuffed ham—that is considered sacrilegious in St. Mary's County.

There are variations on the ingredients and seasonings that make up the stuffing mix; it is a centuries-old recipe, indigenous to southern Maryland.

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