Chicken Ham

My husband, who is very health conscious, wants us to avoid eating processed meats, such as ham, sausages and bacon. Processed meats are high in fat and sodium. Also many researches show strong connections between processed meats and cancers of the digestive system (liver, intestines, etc).

I know that I should stay away from processed meats. But I like them. They give nice flavors to sandwiches, salads, soups and many other dishes.

Luckily I found a local famer selling organic and freshly harvested chickens. Instantly, I knew their meats would be wonderful for homemade ham.

I got this homemade chicken ham recipe from a friend, who is a professional nutritionist. She also gave me a few useful tips. First, use honey instead of using sugar. Honey/sugar make meats tender. But only honey eliminates the typical odor of chicken meat. Second, do not discard the water, which is used to boil chicken breasts. It would be a fantastic chicken broth to make a soup, stew or gumbo (I usually freeze this tasty broth for later use)! Third, add different kinds of herbs and seasonings to make specially flavored ham.

Indeed, homemade chicken ham is extremely delicious and very easy to prepare/cook. After I tried it, I cannot think of eating again ham from any store.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 tablespoon of honey/sugar
1 tablespoon of salt
A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Optional: Herbs such as thyme, oregano, rosemary and etc.

Directions:
1 Wash the chicken breast and remove the fat. Pat it dry.
2. Spread the honey first and then the salt around the chicken breast. Season it with a pinch of ground black pepper.
4. Put the chicken breast in a zip lock bag and remove the air from the bag as much as possible. Let it marinate from overnight to 3 days in a refrigerator.
5. Take out the chicken breast from the bag and soak it into water for 30 minutes. Pad it dry. Sprinkle the herbs. Roll the chicken breast and compactly wrap it with plastic wrap. Tight it with cooking twine.
6. Boil it into water for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it there from 4 to 6 hours until the water completely cools down.
7. Slice the ham and enjoy it!