Christmas Won't Be The Same Without Our Favorite Ham! ♥

If there is something that is very important to us Filipinos during Christmas,

 it is the glorious ham!

My top 5 favorite hams:

1. James Ham

I'm a big fan of James Ham.

Yup, you read that right ~ "James Ham",

not "James Yap" ~ the 'ex' of Kris Aquino, heheh (joke). ☺

James Ham is yummy!

I love its salty, 'decomposing' flavor (like Majestic's).

It brings back happy childhood memories for me...

I remember my late Daddy Rudy buying this every Christmas and I have fond memories of us making ham sandwiches out of it with the big Pan Americano (Sliced Bread) from Bob's ~ just perfect! ♥

(*James Ham Store is located at No.3 Gonzaga-Standard Street in Bacolod with tel.nos.433-26-40 and 433-44-53.)

James Ham slices

This is James Ham skin.

Here's a way of cooking it as "Kinilaw"/pulutan style:

Boil it in pineapple juice with black beans, onions, ginger and chili pepper 

~ tastes good.

Try it! ☺

2. sumptuous, juicy Purefoods Fiesta Ham

Purefoods Fiesta Ham  is sugar-glazed to achieve the right sweetness.

Its tempting golden brown color accentuates its richness and meatiness, hinting of the juiciness that lies within.

(*This is what we usually give our law office staff & their families every Christmas and it never fails to make them happy!) ♥

3. Majestic Ham

I like  Majestic Ham  for its sparkling caramel glazing and distinctive taste.

For me, the best way to enjoy  Majestic Ham  is with Pan De Sal.

Putting mustard also gives it a little 'tang'.

(*My  Majestic Ham, I got from Manila.

 But in our beloved Bacolod, you can buy  Majestic  at good ol' Bob's Deli for P1,600.00 pesos per kilo.)

4. Adelina's Ham

An 800 gram deboned piece of  Adelina's Ham  has the price of about P560.00 pesos 
(not bad at all for 800 grams of ham which has mostly meat and hardly any fat).

Adelina's Ham  reminds me of Majestic, although it is not as salty as Majestic. 
The texture is a bit dry but quite tasty.

 I think this would go very well with Ensaymada or Pan De Sal. ☺

5. Excelente Ham

Excelente Ham is pretty expensive compared to the other hams but what I like about it is the firm texture ~ really great!

Also, the flavor is simple, not that strong and not too sweet ~ unlike most hams.

How to make Ham

This delicious Filipino Christmas delicacy comes from different recipes like pork hamonado, chicken hamonado, and pork-pina hamonado.

Some ingredients may vary in other recipes but basically the cooking process is still the same.

Here is a hamonado recipe which uses buko juice to make this food item more flavorful:

Filipino Ham

Ingredients:

1 kilo of pork or chicken (depends on your preferred cuts)

3 cups buko (young coconut) juice

3 tbsp calamansi juice

3 tbsp soy sauce

5 tbsp brown sugar

2 medium size onions

Pepper

cheese cut into chunks

Procedure:

Bring into boil the meat using the buko juice.

When the meat becomes tender and half of the buko juice is gone, add the calamansi juice, sugar, onions and soy sauce into the pan.

Set aside to marinate pork for about 1 to 3 hours.

Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Put cheese.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot.