Are you planning on serving a scrumptious ham shank for your holiday meal? Do you want to get as much out of it as possible? If so, you may want to check out my holiday ham shank carving instructions. I learned how to carve a holiday ham while working in the hospitality industry. Because food costs were so high, it was very important to the restaurant’s bottom line that the staff got as much out of the ham as possible. Here’s what I learned:
Supplies Needed
In order to carve your holiday ham shank just right, you’ll need a two-pronged carving fork ($25), a sharp carving knife ($9), a cutting board ($9) and a sharp de-boning knife ($8).
Sectioning the Holiday Ham
Start by positioning the ham shank onto your cutting board with the thickest portion facing towards the ceiling. Next, insert your carving fork into the top of the ham shank. The carving fork will help you hold the ham shank into place. Proceed by using your carving knife to cut along the ham shank’s bone from the widest portion of the meat to the thinnest. Doing so should separate the ham shank into two pieces.
Continue by temporarily placing the bone-in section of the ham shank onto a separate plate. Then place the boneless section of the ham shank onto your cutting board. Using your carving knife and fork, slice the boneless section of the ham shank into vertical slices. You can make the slices of ham as thick or as thin as you like. Afterward, remove the slices of ham from your cutting board.
De-Boning the Holiday Ham
Next, place the bone-in section of the ham shank, bone side up, onto your cutting board. Then, using your carving fork as a stabilizer, remove the bone with the aid of a de-boning knife. If you have never de-boned a ham shank before, don’t worry. Simply run the tip of the de-boning knife around all sides of the bone until it can be pulled free from the meat.
Once the bone has been removed, flip the piece of ham shank over so that they bone indentation is touching the surface of the cutting board. Continue by using your carving tools to slice the ham shank into vertical slices. Finish the job by plating the ham slices. I’d also recommend that you save the ham bone for stock making purposes.
Using the Ham Shank Bone
When you are ready to make your ham stock, grab a large stock pot and place it onto your stove. Fill the stock pot with several cups of water, sliced onion, a bay leaf, diced celery and some seasonings. Then add your ham shank bone into the mix. Turn the burner on and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Afterward, reduce the heat and let it simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Once the ham stock is done simmering, let it cool. Then skim off the excess fat before pouring the ham stock into plastic storage containers. Store the ham stock in your refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to use it. If you want to go one step further, you may also want to consider removing, and eating, the marrow from the ham bone. Some folks consider ham bone marrow a delicacy.
The leftover fat from the ham stock may also be used to grease pans or make a homemade suet for bird feeder use. To make your own suet, take the ham stock fat and combine it with wheat flour, ground cornmeal, birdseed and chunky peanut butter. Then place the mixture into a homemade mold and let it set. Based on my experience, an empty butter tub makes an excellent suet mold. Once the suet has set, go ahead and add it to your suet bird feeder.
Source: Person Experience
Killeen Gonzalez has a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. She is a former special events planner.
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