BBQ mama chooses to pick ham

If you've ever dreamed of doing a job that is unusual, intensive, tasty, aromatic and, OK, hellish - pick a ham. I should know. Some weeks, I pick at least 30 pounds of ham.

By "pick" I don't mean "select." That's easy compared to what I do.

My youngest son, Steven Gemperlein, owns Porky's Smokehouse, a deli/restaurant north of Pittsburgh where he smokes hams, turkeys and cheese. Patrons adore his hams and sandwiches with picked ham doused in pungent barbecue sauce.

Ham barbecue sandwiches have a bit of history in my family. When my children were young, their father would travel to the now-defunct Isaly's in Kittanning every Sunday after Mass to buy piles of what is known in the Pittsburgh area as "chip-chopped ham." Essentially, this was ham shaved so thin you could almost see through it. Lots of people in western Pennsylvania, including my family, used tangles of chip-chopped for sandwiches. They also often doused it in barbecue sauce and served it on rolls.

Steven's sandwiches are related to this childhood favorite, but they definitely are its difficult kin.

This is because smoked ham does not miraculously appear shredded, and no machine can do the job. And, unlike fresh pork, a smoked ham does not fall apart after long cooking. This is where pickers come in.

Steven has had other pickers. One elderly lady consented and picked many hams, but she died a while ago. (No connection to the ham.) To be honest, nobody really likes the job.

Let me tell you why this is.

"Picked" ham should not be confused with chopped or minced ham. Picked ham gives an entirely different texture to a sandwich. Unfortunately, it is much harder to achieve.

The process begins after the ham is well-smoked and cool enough to handle. To pick a ham properly, it must first be cut in half and the fat removed. I carefully cut off the rind to get a better look at the grain of the ham because, unlike other methods of cutting meat in which the cutting goes against the grain, picked ham must be in strings.

Pulling the ham apart with the grain is essential to the success of barbecued ham sandwiches. Using paring knives and/or forks, I pull, or "pick," with the grain to achieve those threadlike pieces.

It can take hours to pick a whole ham. Many hams are nasty, with spots that refuse to be picked apart. I rage at them.

So why, at age 77, do I pick ham? He is my son.

What's a mother to do?

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Steven Gemperlein's Barbecue Sauce for Picked Ham Sandwiches

Makes about 4½ cups sauce

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4 slices bacon (about 1/3 pound)

½ large onion, diced

1 (32-ounce) bottle ketchup

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup sweet pickle relish

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1. In a skillet, fry the bacon crisp. Cool, crumble and reserve.

2. Using 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings, saute the onion until transparent. Set aside.

3. In a saucepan, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and relish.

4. Add the reserved bacon and onions. Heat through. Use at once, mixed with picked ham, or refrigerate until needed.

Note:

Try this recipe with leftover Easter ham. As I do not wish intensive ham-picking on anyone, you can use a smaller piece, even a few thick slices, and cut the sauce recipe in half or to one-quarter this amount. If properly sealed, the sauce will keep about four days if refrigerated or up to three months frozen.

Per tablespoon (based on 72): 32 calories, trace protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams sugar, 1 gram fat, 1 milligram cholesterol, 175 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber.

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