Dumplings have a distinctive aroma

July 21, 2010

This is an Eyler family tradition passed down from generation to generation. My husband's great-grandmother made it in South Carolina, then passed down the recipe to her daughter, my husband's grandmother, who passed it to my husband's mother, who gave it to me.

When my husband was growing up, he called his grandmother Gram. He said Gram would meet him when he got off the school bus every day while his parents were still at work. My husband could tell on the walk home whether they were having this dish for supper because he could smell the aroma of homemade ham dumplings.

- Courtesy of Brenda Eyler, member of Women of Valor Ministries Inc., a Hagerstown organization offering educational, resource and support services to empower people to transform their lives. For more, go to http://www.wovministries.org.

Eyler's ham dumplings

5-pound back-end bone ham (rump)

4 cups of all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

1/2 cups warm water, more as needed

3 or 4 large potatoes, cut into large pieces

Cook ham in a pressure cooker for about 60 minutes. If not using a pressure cooker, bake ham in preheated, 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes per pound.

To make dumplings, combine flour and salt. Add warm water to flour and salt mixture, and mix until it gets to a stiff, doughy consistency. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into pieces or squares.

Cut ham meat from bone, then put cut-up meat in the oven under broiler to brown for about 3 minutes. Watch closely to prevent burning.

Put dumplings and uncooked potatoes in ham broth in a pot on the stovetop and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for approximately 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. Add ham pieces and serve.

- Courtesy of Brenda Eyler

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