Beverly’s 500-Degree Country Ham

When my friend Beverly, who was born in Mississippi and raised in North Carolina, outlined for me the way she’d always baked “the greatest country ham on earth,” I told her in no uncertain terms that she’d lost her mind. Then, when my curiosity finally got the best of me, I resolved to try her technique—insane as it sounded—and followed the directions to the letter. Suffice it to say that I’m not sure it’s the greatest country ham on earth, but it turns out to be one of the most sublime exa