Microwaved Prosciutto

[Philly Ray]

I have to share this story...

My wife was running some errands today and she was going to end up at her sister's house. Before she headed out, I bought some hoagies and sent her off with one with prosciutto, fresh mozzarella cheese, and roasted red peppers.

The sandwich was really big, so she offered half to my brother-in-law. When my wife said that it had prosciutto in it he said, "Isn't that raw?" He then proceeded to take the prosciutto out of the sandwich, microwave it, and put it back into the sandwich.

[EWSflash]

I have to say I'm with Sam and Iluvcookies on this one. For both reasons.

[Guy Thornton]

Prosciutto can be raw - "prosciutto crudo", or cooked - "prosciutto cotto". Prosciutto just means ham.

[iluvcookies]

If he was really so worried about it being raw, what about cross contamination? Using this logic he should have nuked the whole thing, not just the meat then put it back.
So, not a moron for not knowing the finer points of prosciutto, but a moron for not knowing basic kitchen hygiene.

[jfood]

Oy

[Lizard]

I've been suspecting it for a while, but this seals it. I imagine that I'm no longer a chowhound as mocking people who have limited knowledge of food is apparently not appealing to me.

Moreover, a quick run in the microwave might not destroy prosciutto; not best for it, but could do something to bring out flavours and get the fat melty or something. After all, some microwave prosciutto before using it in a recipe or do so, when, say, it's wrapped around a vegetable and the dish needs heating up.

I'm not taking a stand on the microwaving of cold cuts, usually because I can't stop myself from eating these sorts of things straight out of the packet. But I do think I'll take a stand on the telling of stories that allow the self-satisfied among us to crow 'what a moron!' simply because someone is ignorant about something. That just makes me lose my appetite.

[Tor.hound]

+1

[Sam Fujisaka]

I'm the guilty party!

[MGZ]

I say "moron." He wasn't simply ignorant of the substance. He actually acted as if he knew better and that failing to microwave the ham was wrong.

[Stephanie Wong]

Does he also "nuke" salami?

[ipsedixit]

Does your brother-in-law also microwave sashimi to "warm it up"?

[LTL]

That definitely made me giggle!

[Sam Fujisaka]

What a moron.

I know that this comment might well get deleted, but honestly what else can you say?

[pikawicca]

I suspect there was mix-up with pancetta. Seems to happen a lot.

[jaykayen]

I slice pancetta thin, and eat it without further cooking.

[ttoommyy]

Pancetta is cured and can be--and often is--eaten without cooking.

[jfood]

P

Think of it this way...anything sold in the deli case using the same slicers as sandwich meat is ready to eat.

[ttoommyy]

You can buy pancetta from the deli case and have it sliced on a deli slicer? That's not real pancetta then!

[sbp]

Why not? Fairway carries it as a deli item.

[ttoommyy]

Real pancetta? Not a deli-meat pancetta-like version? We always got ours at the local salumeria, so I never knew it could be bought at a deli counter. At home, we always had a big hunk of it and sliced off what we needed. I just can't picture it being sliced on a deli slicer like a luncheon meat. Just goes to show you: you really can learn something new every day. Thanks!

[sbp]

Yeah, a place like Fairway does not have your typical deli counter. They carry 3 different kinds of imported prosciutto, they had jamon iberico for a while. I believe the pancetta at the deli counter is not rolled, but a flat pork belly (which, if cured with the right seasonings, would still be pancetta).

[ttoommyy]

Good to know. I live in Hoboken, NJ, so have always just gone to one of two salumeria's we've gone to for years and years. Thanks for the info.

[jfood]

Those of us unfortunate nothaving Salumerias have to make due with Plan B. Ask the to cut it almost 1/4" thick, a nice dice, with some EVOO, rosemary and roasted potatoes and your good to go.

[sbp]

Well, real prosciutto IS raw, but since it's cured, it doesn't require cooking.

[goodhealthgourmet]

it's usually no laughing matter when someone ruins a perfectly good ingredient like that, but for some reason i got a good chuckle out of this one :) thanks for sharing.