Nanny's Ham Loaf

• servings: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

Bacon drippings or oil, for the pan

1 1/4 pounds cured ham, ground

3/4 pound fresh ground pork

2 eggs

1 cup cracker crumbs (about 20 saltines)

1 cup milk

Salt and pepper

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Prepare an 11 by 7-inch ovenproof glass baking dish with bacon drippings.

Combine the ham, pork, eggs, cracker crumbs, milk, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and gently mix together with your hands.

Shape the mixture into a 9 by 5 by 2 ½-inch loaf and place in the baking dish. There should be enough room around the loaf to baste it easily.

Combine the brown sugar and vinegar with 1/2 cup of water and the dry mustard in a small pot. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the ham loaf and bake for 1.5 hours, basting every 15 minutes with the sauce and juices in the pan.

Transfer the loaf from the pan to a cutting board. Spoon off the extra fat from the sauce.

Cut the loaf into slices and serve warm with the sauce.

Notes

Dolly says: "My friend Ted, who is also a longtime business manager at Dolly Parton Productions, is always talkin' about his family's cooking. The dish that he brings up more than any other is this ham loaf, which he's made for me so many times I can't remember when I last made it for myself. The mix of cured ham and pork is downright decadent and the basting sauce just adds to the whole thing. My mama used to grind what meat we did have--to make it last longer--with one of those hand-cranked meat grinders, but you can ask your butcher to do the work for you."