Lindsey Nair

Features staff writer Lindsey writes about food, restaurants and recipes.

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• Recipe archive

In Roanoke, we love country ham and we love Dr Pepper. So why not marry the two?

If this sounds crazy, don't blame me -- blame that odd duck, Alton Brown, over at the Food Network. I based this recipe on one of his concoctions.

-- Lindsey Nair

Dr Pepper Country Ham

1 country (dry-cured) ham 1 liter Dr Pepper (don't use diet) 1 cup sweet-pickle juice (optional)

1. Unwrap ham and scrub off any surface mold. Carefully remove hock with hand saw (or ask your butcher to do it for you). Save ham hock for flavoring beans, greens or soups -- it's freezable.

2. Place ham in a clean cooler and cover with clean water. If it's summer, add a bag of ice. If it is below 32 degrees outside, keep the cooler inside. Change the water twice a day for two days, turning the ham each time.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4. Place ham in a large, disposable, roasting pan and add enough Dr Pepper to come about halfway up the side of the ham. Add pickle juice if desired and tent completely with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake for ¹₂ hour, then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake another 1 ¹₂ hours.

5. Turn the ham over, insert an oven-safe thermometer and cook another 1 ¹₂ hours, or until the deepest part of the ham measures 140 degrees (approximately 15 to 20 minutes per pound total).

6. Let rest ¹₂ hour, then slice paper-thin. Serve with biscuits or soft yeast rolls.

Source: www.foodnetwork.com