Ahhhh, gotta’ love “The County.”
…and by “The County” I mean the only county in Maryland (to my knowledge) that is acknowledged as such, Saint Mary’s County. If one has been lived in Saint Mary's county for a period of time, "The County" is a colloquial term that means home for many. I know, I know, this isn’t Baltimore. BUT southern Maryland is a unique part of the state that I happen to live in 9 months out of the year, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found one of the local county delicacies on my list. I suppose that if one were to really try to understand culture and food in Baltimore, one must backtrack and explore other areas of the state to comprehend the culinary melting pot that is the city. And how much further back can one go to the first Maryland settlers who landed the Ark and the Dove in Saint Mary’s City, Maryland?
Southern Maryland stuffed ham is a popular dish in, well, Southern Maryland. It is shipped all over the country but remains relatively obscure (much like the county itself). It is often called “Saint Mary’s Ham” because of its history in the area: there is significant evidence that stuffed ham was a recipe brought by settlers on the Ark and the Dove from their place of origin, England. Some recipes that are currently floating around in “The County” have been passed down for years, sometimes up to 10 or twelve generations There are many family variations, dependent on taste and tradition, but here are the basics: cabbage, kale, onions, spices and seasonings are chopped, mixed thoroughly and stuffed into slits (using ones fingers) made into a de-boned, corned ham. It is often served cold between two slices of white bread.
In my experiences, the most authentic stuffed ham comes from little “dives,” county fair-type events and church dinners. This is because the stuffed ham being served is normally made by people who have made it for years with a recipe that has been around for way longer. The best part about this dish too is that it’s cheap and locally made. Every ingredient in stuffed ham is relatively inexpensive and available all year round, hence stuffed ham sandwiches are frequently present at family holiday dinners, church dinners and local restaurant menus. Its accessibility, history and roots in tradition make this an important part of the culinary culture of the Southern Maryland Peninsula.
“Stuffing of the Ham” parties are held for male members of families up to several times per year, usually around holiday seasons such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. My boyfriend Brendan’s family lives in Southern Maryland and has gone to several of these events this year so I quizzed him on the subject. Brendan explains to me that recipes get handed down as family heirlooms and making delicious hams is a point of family pride. These events, he says, are often just for men who use the day-long process of making ham as an excuse to drink, hang out, swap stories and make lewd jokes about “ham-stuffing” (you all can probably guess why). While stuffing ham is not an exclusively male activity (female workers at McKay’s Supermarkets in “The County” are said to make some of the best around), it is reminiscent of the “man of the house” carving the Thanksgiving turkey. Now I know what he’s up to when he goes to his uncle’s house for “ham parties”….
Today, while making a visit to Saint Mary’s to visit Brendan, I got the itch for some stuffed ham (and I had the perfect excuse, this blog, to make sure I got some). Brendan, our friend Sam Berry and I climbed in the car and drove to a place near where Brendan’s uncle (the ham stuffer) lives that supposedly has some of the best ham sandwiches around. The W.J. Dent Store in Tall Timbers, MD is located 15 minutes from Saint Mary’s City in a small rural neighborhood, and it’s as “County” as “County” can get. The inside is a country store with a small restaurant/pub attached in the back and a deli counter where one could order a sandwich to go. The store has been around since 1927 and has only been owned by two families. This was evident in the fact that every customer that walked in besides us was greeted by name by the men behind the counter. Obviously this place is very local and frequented by many regulars. Brendan, Sam and I ordered the same thing at the back deli counter, got a bag of kettle cooked potato chips and a sweet tea each and sat on the tailgate of Brendan’s Subaru Forrester to chow down.
Sam, who had never had stuffed ham, was amazed. I was excited about food, as always, and even Brendan was impressed with the taste. This ham was perfectly salty and but still tender and soft to chew. There were a lot of spices and onions mixed in with the traditional cabbage and kale, so this ham was definitely suited for someone who liked mildly spicy foods. The sweet tea was the perfect complement to the salty-spicy ham between two slices of fresh, soft white bread. Sitting in the Southern Maryland sunshine in cutoffs and an old t-shirt eating my $6.00 sandwich, I couldn’t help but smile and wonder how many people over the years have enjoyed the same experience. I plan on bringing stuffed ham to Baltimore this Thanksgiving and making this unique and delicious Maryland tradition more local up my way. I can only hope people who have seen the “100 Things” list will travel down to “The County” and soak up some sun, some history about our beautiful state and some local food favorites.
There is no place like the county, especially after a late lunch of stuffed ham and Cook’s soft-serve, eaten after a beautiful day on the river.
References:
http://www.squidoo.com/stuffedham
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/05/travel/stuffed-ham-with-a-kick.html
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2007/6754.shtml
http://www.wjdent.com/
Terms:
colloquial: a word or phrased used in a local and informal dialect
Recipes:
Recipe for Stuffed Ham via the Food Network via Ridge, MD (not for the faint of heart! this is time-consuming!)
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