Program

Hungry for History®

Subject

Arts & Culture

Location

38360 Bayview Rd, Coltons Point, MD 20626, USA

Lat/Long

38.22528, -76.751265

Grant Recipient

Friends of the St. Clement's Island and Piney Point Museums

Stuffed ham is a dish unique to St. Mary’s County, Maryland. Often eaten at special events and around the holidays, the dish consists of cured ham stuffed with kale, cabbage, onion, and spices such as celery seed, mustard seed, crushed red pepper, and salt. The stuffed ham is boiled for several hours to infuse flavor and then cooled and eaten.

According to a longstanding oral tradition, the dish was born of necessity, created by enslaved people in St. Mary’s County in the early 18th century. Ever since, descendants of the formerly enslaved population of St. Mary’s County have passed down recipes for stuffed ham from generation to generation by word of mouth. Families have developed individual variations of the recipe over time, and stuffed ham has become a cherished local dish that continues to be enjoyed and celebrated by the residents of St. Mary’s County.