I really should wait until I have a pic or 2, but I am too excited... and nobody I know including Mrs. Expat (although she does a good job of pretending :-*) will understand like you folks! I've been wanting to dry cure a whole pork leg to make a Virginia Style or Country ham for AGES now. My main hold back has been time, and a slight apprehension about finding a decent quality whole leg that meets the fairly strict requirements for being suitable for dry curing. For reference, my starting point has been this page from the Virginia Cooperative Extension: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/458/458-223/458-223.html (http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/458/458-223/458-223.html)
My local butcher, is very good... and I'll happily buy most products from them. But to be honest, other than throwing in a couple sausages for free when I spend a lot of money with them, I get no deals... and a whole leg charged at full retail from them would run me at least £80-100.... and it would just be any old leg... good quality of course, but not specifically selected for ham making, and I need to get this right.
But.. yesterday I had a flash of inspiration :o :o When I'm after a special ham... there is only one place I buy from:
http://www.dukeshillham.co.uk/ (http://www.dukeshillham.co.uk/)
They select and prepare 100's of legs per week for their own products... and I thought, I wonder if they would sell me one of their legs, already expertly selected and prepared, but uncured? Well, to cut to the chase, I just got off the phone with them, and the answer was YES!!!!! ..........AND they are only charging me what I assume is a close to cost price... since they obviously buy in huge volumes, I am paying £30.00 for what they've said will be a 6.5-7kg (14.5-15.5lb) "ham".
So... the leg arrives tomorrow! Pics to follow, I plan to update this thread, but this is a long term project (possibly 4-6 months or more) so updates may be a bit sporadic.
.....until tomorrow!
Thanks for the link. I'm going to give it a good read. I have twice failed to cure an "authentic" Country Ham. Both times I thought I was successful, when I cut into it, I had bone sour.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on November 15, 2012, 03:32:20 AM
Thanks for the link. I'm going to give it a good read. I have twice failed to cure an "authentic" Country Ham. Both times I thought I was successful, when I cut into it, I had bone sour.
Yeah, I read your post about that... it's a big worry of mine too, must be heartbreaking! :-[ I don't intend to inject on this first attempt as I want it to be a completely dry cured product... so we'll see if this hubris bites me in the @$$. However, if it happens to someone as experienced as yourself, what hope do I have ???
Give it a try, you will be successful. I'm sure it is something I am doing on my end.
That article did give me a few more ideas, and I now believe the main cause of my bone sour is the commercial hams I get. The hock end is cut like figure 2b. I may go to a slaughterhouse and order a ham from them, and make sure the hock end is like figure 2a.
After reading the whole article, I will probably not use their recipe. I saw that they use saltpeter (potassium nitrate). I'm still wanting to make a Country Ham without nitrates or nitrites.
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm sitting at work right now waiting for the call from my wife to tell me the leg has arrived. I've got everything ready, including a specially made bucket-in-bucket arrangement to do the initial salt cure in. I need it to fit in my curing fridge, which I'll have set at around 40F for the first while. I was planning to press with a weight, but I'm going to sacrifice that for being able to keep it cold... better chance (I'm hoping) to avoid spoilage.
I'm actually going for the nitrate cure as per the article. I bought a packet of Saltpetre a couple years back but have never used it, so thought might as well. The info I sent you does state that a salt-only cure IS still acceptable, so I wouldn't worry about it. I do agree that the starting raw material is probably one of the most if not THE most critical factor to success... lets hope buying direct from this ham company takes care of that for me!
My cure container:
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/16/re5e2aqy.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/16/gahymezy.jpg)
Drainage holes drilled in bottom:
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/16/y8ave3er.jpg)
I will be monitoring this post. With your knowledge, setup and equipment you will definitely have some good Country ham in the future.
Ok, here we go! Ham arrived on schedule... I'll let the pics speak for themselves.
One beautiful hunk of pig... 8kg...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/gepape9y.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/3ygy5abu.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/ene8apaj.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/tazevypu.jpg)
640g diamond crystal + 160g brown sugar + a mere 10g saltpetre! Divided in 2.... 1/2 now then other 1/2 in 7 days...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/7e5y8yhe.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/yzy8epaz.jpg)
Does Saltpetre REALLY expire? Somehow I think not....
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/asage4uz.jpg)
Rubbing...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/yjenajyg.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/durejesa.jpg)
Shank end... Packed full of salt mix...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/azu6a7ah.jpg)
Into the bucket... then into the fridge...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/be9ymaze.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/17/nymuragu.jpg)
Not much more to do now except wait!
WooHoo!! Let the FUN begin!
I've been curious and thinking about doing this for a long time Expat. Thanks for the re-reminder and the link to Virginia Tech!
You got a nice ham to start with, and you can't get one much fresher than they one you have.
What a great start with great PICS
I'll be watching this one.
Carolyn
Phew... what a weekend... it was our little boy's first birthday party, and the 5th of 6 first birthday parties in the past 4 weeks. I'm just about partied out... but it was fun...
I had meant to get at least one more pic up of the ham progress so far, but really at this point it's not particularly exciting, it's just a leg covered in salt, sitting in a bucket... but it has shrunk somewhat and there is quite a lot of effluent in the drainage bucket below the main one. Anyway, I'll take another pic or 2 this coming Friday when I apply the second half of the cure mix.
Couple questions for anyone that's done this before:
1. If I go by weight of the leg, and count on 1.5 days per pound of meat (or roughly 3 days per kg), I get 24-26 days cure time. However, if I go by cushion depth (referenced in the article posted in my first post) I get 7 days x 5.5" = 35.5 days! Quite a difference... anyone know what should take precedent?
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/Cure_Time.png)
2. When it comes time to hang and age the thing... do you wrap in unwaxed butchers paper THEN netting... or just the netting?
Happy birthday to your son.
I can give you some advice, but remember I have failed at this. ;D
1- I always went by thickness, and that is what Morton recommends in their "Home Meat Curing Guide"; they also stated 7 days per inch.
2- Once out of the cure, when you hang it you want it to air dry, so I wouldn't use butcher's wrap at this stage. If you not going to have any problem with insects, then just netting will do. If you believe you may have an insect problem, you may want to use heavy cheese cloth (not the cheap stuff you see in stores).
Are you going to cold smoke it. That will give it additional protection form most insects, and from some mold during the aging process.
Hab... you DO sleep right??? :o :o It's 10am here... makes it what, 5am where you are? I guess that's not THAT early... but why do I have this image in my head of you sitting up all night ready and waiting to offer advice when needed to your friends across the Atlantic and beyond!?
Anyway, thanks for the advice, I'll go for the 7 days per inch... better safe than sorry, the worst it will be is too salty, but I'd rather that than the alternative.
I do plan on cold smoking... in fact, that reminds me of another question I had forgot to ask... the article says to smoke for 1-3 days using "cool," smoldering type [of fire] that produces dense smoke. Any idea how this translates to the Bradley? I've got a cold-smoke setup, and the weather will be perfect for it in January over here... but pretty sure I'm not going to be using 72 - 216 bisquettes!!!
As for wrapping it... I won't have to worry about insects... at least I don't think so. I've got a roll of butchers "stockingette" that should be perfect for aging it in:
http://www.weschenfelder.co.uk/Muslin_Cloth2FStockinette (http://www.weschenfelder.co.uk/Muslin_Cloth2FStockinette)
Quote from: ExpatCanadian on November 19, 2012, 02:20:06 AM
Hab... you DO sleep right??? :o :o It's 10am here... makes it what, 5am where you are? I guess that's not THAT early... but why do I have this image in my head of you sitting up all night ready and waiting to offer advice when needed to your friends across the Atlantic and beyond!?
;D ;D ;D ;D
For some reason I can not sleep past 4 AM eastern time. It's to early to eat breakfast and there is nothing on but infomercial.
That muslin will be perfect. That is very close to what I call heavy cheese cloth.
When I smoke hams in my Bradley I use 8 hours of smoke, and find that to be enough. The Bradley is such a compact area, and the bisquettes provide a lot of smoke flavor I feel that is all you need. Some use 12 hours of smoke for their hams using the Bradley.
Well, we're on day 4 and I decided the ham was looking a little bare. I was planning to wait 7 days before re-salting, but my gut feeling was it could use an interim shot of the cure. I halved my remaining cure and packed it into all crevises and over as much of the surface as it would stick to. Also drained off the effluent. I weighed it as well... and here is where I have to admit a slight error of judgement. When I got the ham it was labelled as 8kg. I took that at it's word and didn't weigh it myself. So... weighing it today I can't be 100% sure of the actual weight loss. The other issue of course is that I based my cure amounts on 8kg.... so if the actual weight is much different, my cure amounts will be out too. Anyway... hindsight 20:20 etc etc ::)
Pics:
Looking a little bare...
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/FC290FF2-30D6-47BF-A8D3-B6D02AEEA996-699-00000070DC6824A6.jpg)
The salty goo in the drainage bucket (no I didn't taste it... just an educated guess ;D)
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/B5CD6C49-E20B-450F-B51E-A0D56C04E96F-699-00000070E2ADA9D9.jpg)
Another slight issue... the only thing I have that will weigh more than 5kg semi-accurately is my luggage scale. Note to self... get proper scale!!
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/488295BD-6ED2-4A71-8990-7CCE79742708-699-00000070E9E59A8A.jpg)
8.3 KG.... the bucket is 494g. so that leaves 7.8kg roughly, or 200g weight loss. This doesn't account for any cure mix left in the meat, but this is why I think maybe the original weight wasn't correct. There was more than 200ml of liquid effluent.... assuming it's the density of water which of course it isn't with all that salt... but ok for a very rough idea. Basically means I've lost maybe 250g or just over 1/2 pound of weight so far in 4 days.
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/8F6C7241-4AAD-4A44-8227-0DB4A9C0D999-699-00000070F16F9933.jpg)
Roughly half the remaining cure:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/BC44FB2A-1DA7-4B2D-8B38-295A014EEC86-699-00000070FAF03B6C.jpg)
Rubbed again... left it shank side down this time.
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/A2AD75D3-24E3-4A62-A8F2-8A86280CE2A5-699-00000071013E3BAB.jpg)
Looks like your having fun and learning something at the same time. Great pics too. :)
I never weighed mine during the curing stages, so I couldn't tell you whether or not that weight loss is about average.
Everything looks interesting.
That looks interesting...will be following for sure.
Well, it's nearly time to apply the rest of the salt/saltpetre/sugar cure mix tonight... the final 1/4 of what I started with. I'll be doing that as soon as get home from work this evening. I've been watching it fairly closely over the past couple days and in spite of my best efforts, the exposed meat ends up bare. I guess that's because the salt is doing it's job and drawing out moisture and it dissolves into it and runs off. It just seems to not take very long. I did some research on how often you're meant to reapply, and it seems to vary. I found a nice concise legal reference for the requirements for Country and Dry Cured hams in terms of cure + salt equalisation times and salt content of the finished product:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/9/319.106 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/9/319.106)
Perhaps I'm just overthinking this being my first time ::)
Pics:
A bit bare again:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/EA158A3B-C369-485C-9397-893B5D05A8DB-1707-000001C8D43F6FFF.jpg)
Adding the rest of the cure mix:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/E1F65D4D-4D40-45C6-B471-1AA5A59E0256-1707-000001C8DFD0576A.jpg)
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/9FCB1DBF-36FD-4D43-B861-DF68B5E30E64-1707-000001C8E6A1F4FB.jpg)
Back in the bucket... until December 19...
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/4CF204DE-FE5D-4B4E-AC3A-92B5E5EE5D84-1707-000001C8EE9F82E7.jpg)
Thanks for the link. Cornell is not only great for it's law school, but it is the University that oversee the State's Cooperative Extension. So it is a great source for anything agricultural and pertaining to food.
I'm watchin this one too, for some reason I am seeing maiking a ham in my future :)
Need some advice... although I've applied the prescribed amount of cure mix, it just feels kind of weird to just let it sit now for the rest of the curing period... there isn't much salt left on the surface. There is still some salty slush in the folds, but I wonder if I should just keep a light rub of salt on the surface anyway (no more nitrite, just salt) for the remaining time before I give it a wash and hang it up for the cure equalisation phase? Or... should I just leave well enough alone and trust that enough cure mixture has been applied and its doing its job?
Here's what the ham currently looks like. It's texture is very firm now....
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/E8CD8029-8363-4615-8876-11820CAF0B8E-4537-0000047C9283679F.jpg)
If your following the recipe id say wait. Im always eager too. But sometimes the best move is no move.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
I lost track of your curing time. How much longer do you have to cure?
When I cured mine, it was generally at a lower temperature, so the ham had at least a slight layer of slushy salt on it. Since you have it in a controlled environment, and you use the proper amount of salt, cure, sugar etc, you should be alright to leave it as is. If you have long curing time left, it wouldn't hurt to dust it with some salt.
Based on the cushion thickness of 5.5", I calculated 38.5 days based on 7 days per inch. This brings me to Christmas eve, but since I'll be in Vancouver by then, I'll be truncating this time by 5 days, to the 19th December. So.. basically, it's got 20 days left in the cure before I wash and start the equalisation. I plan to hang it up outside the fridge in an unheated conservatory for the 2 1/2 weeks I'm away... then when I get back do the cold smoke before aging.
I'm at a loss.... so hard to know what's going on inside that hunk of pig!! I guess I could give it a light rub of pure salt... but at the same time, I don't want the end product to be too salty!
I know what you mean about not knowing what is going on inside. I would just hold off from adding any salt at this time.
Have you done a search on this issue. I'll check my books and also do a search, to see if I can find any additional information.
Yeah... I've searched and am still searching. Most of the ham dry-curing processes I've read are about as specific as an uzi.... ie. they pretty much say (1) Get leg (2) Apply salt (3) Wait (4) Wait (5) Smoke if you want (6) Age (7) Eat ;D
The source I'm using at least gave some guidelines for the cure mix per 100lb of meat, which I've followed to the letter.
I'll leave it for now. What's the worst that can happen :D
I wasn't too successful finding out if the salt and/or cure must cover the ham at all times; either. I'm finding the same, in that the information I found is vague. I found directions stating to keep it in the salt and/or cure for the length of curing time, but does that mean there must be visible salt and cure; I don't know.
You will have better chance of finding an answer if you post your question on a site where members may be more experience in curing country hams can provide help.
I just became aware of the below forum. I was on it earlier, but it now seems to be down.
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/
This is another forum that may be helpful.
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/
You know I was just thinking of my grandfather and his big smoke house. He used to have large wooden barrels the size of large wine barrels. They were full with salt and not sure what else. But he buried them in there until time to hang and smoke. Wish I knew what he forgot. He made the best smoked meat out of need for his family.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on November 30, 2012, 01:06:16 PM
I wasn't too successful finding out if the salt and/or cure must cover the ham at all times; either. I'm finding the same, in that the information I found is vague. I found directions stating to keep it in the salt and/or cure for the length of curing time, but does that mean there must be visible salt and cure; I don't know.
You will have better chance of finding an answer if you post your question on a site where members may be more experience in curing country hams can provide help.
I just became aware of the below forum. I was on it earlier, but it now seems to be down.
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/
This is another forum that may be helpful.
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/
Thats great, thanks. I decided to repack the shank end with salt as it's really just exposed bone and very little meat and I thought a little extra safety on that end couldn't hurt. I've left the rest alone for now. I think I just need to trust the process... if it doesn't work this time, well... I need something to put in this new box I'm building anyway so I'll just try again!
Quote from: viper125 on November 30, 2012, 05:04:40 PM
You know I was just thinking of my grandfather and his big smoke house. He used to have large wooden barrels the size of large wine barrels. They were full with salt and not sure what else. But he buried them in there until time to hang and smoke. Wish I knew what he forgot. He made the best smoked meat out of need for his family.
When they make country hams that way or in a large salt box they would stack the hams in there. Then every 5 - 7 days they would reposition the hams, and resalt them so that they would cure more evenly. I admire craftsmen like that, who could cure those hams under unpredictable weather conditions.
Quote from: ExpatCanadian on December 01, 2012, 01:02:36 AM
Thats great, thanks. I decided to repack the shank end with salt as it's really just exposed bone and very little meat and I thought a little extra safety on that end couldn't hurt. I've left the rest alone for now. I think I just need to trust the process... if it doesn't work this time, well... I need something to put in this new box I'm building anyway so I'll just try again!
That's a good idea. The worst that can come of that is that the ham will have a little more salt. Believe me, with Country Ham's, that is not going to make much of a difference in taste. :)
Well it's that time.... done with the cure, now onto cure equalisation. I'm off to Canada tomorrow for 2 weeks, so I've given the ham a soak and dried it off and now it's hanging in my unheated conservatory for the next 2 weeks. I've decided ham making is easy. You mostly just look at it :D
More importantly it does still seem to smell just like pork... so I'm hoping it's ok. Before smoking in January I'll poke a skewer down the bone to see what it smells like inside. Sounds disgusting... but rather find out now than when I'm about to serve it!
Anyway, some pics...
Just out of the fridge:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/IMG_4387.jpg)
Soaking for an hour:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/IMG_4388.jpg)
Hanging up...
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/IMG_4392.jpg)
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/IMG_4393.jpg)
Out of curiosity. Wouldn't you want to wrap that with cheesecloth to keep the critters out/off of it while it is hanging?
Quote from: Tenpoint5 on December 19, 2012, 09:11:18 AM
Out of curiosity. Wouldn't you want to wrap that with cheesecloth to keep the critters out/off of it while it is hanging?
I plan on wrapping it after smoking... but to be honest we don't have many critters here. There just aren't flies or anything this time of year in London. I reckon the pollution kills 'em... so I'm sure the air-dried ham will be fine ;D ;D ;D
Seriously though... there's nothing flying around right now that I need to be worried about.
I thought about that after I posted and walked away from the computer. It is winter time
Your ham is looking good. That is a good idea to poke a skewer down in there to see if you can detect any bone sour. I'm not sure when my bone sour occurred, so you may want to poke it periodically, until you have enough water loss.
I may try to cure another country ham in March. At this time I'm still thinking of sticking with salt only. I'm going to use your suggestion and rebuild my box so it stands vertically, and hopefully it will fit in my refrigerator.
I've just bookmarked this thread!!
I too got into this and so has a friend, and another friend and the third leg is about to be started. We've taken a slightly different route inasmuch as we buy half a pig and make bacon and sausages as well.
And we have started a charcuterie club, which involves deconstructing the pig whilst eating pulled pork rolls and drinking beer. It's quite good fun.
I've got some pictures showing a different technique. Should I post them here or start a new thread?
Looking forward to your future postings!!
Hi Geoff_S;
I will be looking forward to your postings, as well.
Quote from: Geoff_S on December 28, 2012, 06:37:33 AM
I've just bookmarked this thread!!
I too got into this and so has a friend, and another friend and the third leg is about to be started. We've taken a slightly different route inasmuch as we buy half a pig and make bacon and sausages as well.
And we have started a charcuterie club, which involves deconstructing the pig whilst eating pulled pork rolls and drinking beer. It's quite good fun.
I've got some pictures showing a different technique. Should I post them here or start a new thread?
Looking forward to your future postings!!
It's best you start your own thread so we don't get mixed up and it is easy to find if someone wants to search for it.
Just got back from Canada this past weekend and the ham was ready for the smoke. Took it down and gave it a pretty careful sniff to make sure it smelled like it should and fingers crossed, I think I may have gotten away with it! I even stuck a skewer down alongside the bone and no trace of off smells, so hopefully no bone sour.
Couple of pics:
Doesnt' show up in the pic to well, but the skin had a slight coating of salt that had leached though during the last couple weeks. Also had a few spots of white mold, all of whic I've wiped off with a damp cloth. I didn't use any vinegar, as I fiugred smoking would inhibit the return of the mold somewhat.
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/11E8D6EF-DCE2-4E11-9FB0-470E30959082-1375-0000009E124241DA.jpg)
Really nice colour I think... starting to look like a ham now!
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/EB58E8D8-34DB-4E86-A4A1-C2D05043AFFE-1375-0000009E1857AD52.jpg)
Skewer test (Sterilised the skewer in boiling water prior to sticking it in):
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/1EDFC7F6-E64D-416D-BECF-55A3DA4C5961-1375-0000009E1D4F2ACF.jpg)
Cold smoke setup all ready to go:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/80EBCC55-3954-4D0B-8D56-8C402028E30B-1375-0000009E227065F0.jpg)
Smoke 'a rollin' - Gave it 12 hours total... was trying to get it nicely browned... but it didn't really take up much colour:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/49CBF66C-21DE-4517-B255-89F4AACD3269-1375-0000009E2A499313.jpg)
DAMN... got a little black rain staining on it... guess even cold smoking produces some humidity. This was with the vent wide open too :( :(
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/58645ABA-CFE9-45A7-9AF4-0A2B09420C58-1375-0000009E2EF15C50.jpg)
I've now wrapped it in some muslin stockinette and it's back hanging in my conservatory for the next few months. I could swear I took a pic of the final product, but it seems to have disappeared from my camera. Oh well... will post it later.
Just a waiting game now... I still haven't decided if I am going to give it 10-12 months and eat it like Prosciutto or maybe just give it until Easter and cook it up as a normal baked ham. I might just order another leg and do one of each type :D
Your ham is looking really good. I like the color. I'm a little surprised you didn't get much smoke color.
That's looking real good! I'm with Habs on this one thought it would take on more color with a 12hour smoke.
Quote from: Tenpoint5 on January 07, 2013, 01:47:38 PM
That's looking real good! I'm with Habs on this one thought it would take on more color with a 12hour smoke.
Yeah, no idea why it didn't. The surface was pretty dry, although I had wiped it down with a moist cloth to get the salt dusting and mold patches off before smoking. I wonder if the temperature made a difference? The cabinet never went above 70... and the publication mentions not letting it get above a max of 95... so maybe at a slightly higher temp it would have taken on more colour?
It may have been a combination of both. Although you had black rain, it looks like its the type were condensation builds up around the the vent where the warm air meets the cold air and then condenses, so the cabinet could have been at a low humidity.
I just did a hot smoked ham and felt I air dried it too long. In my area, winter days often have low humidity. So I used a spray bottle and spritz the ham with a fine mist and also spritzed the drip pan to increase the humidity. I did this every two hours while applying smoke. I also added hot water to the water bowl to create a little more steam. I'm not sure if this helped or I would have gotten the same results if I hadn't spritz, but the color came out nice; but of course I was also apply smoke at 110°F.
If it was dry, will the smoke have had anything to stick to?
Looks good even so. :D
Smoke will adhere to dry surfaces, just check your racks. :) Without moisture it does not adhere and/or penetrate as well as when there is some moisture.
Thinking on it a bit more... the skin was the driest part... but the exposed meat was tacky... not dry. Relative humidity this time of year in the UK is pretty high... my conservatory is sitting around 70-80% most days.
All told though, regardless of colour, it smells amazingly smoky so I have no doubt it took up all it needs. Used hickory exclusively. We'll see when I finally get to eat it.
That is a thing of beauty and a joy to behold. My wife's uncle used to cure hams from his pigs but he buried them in salt and I don't think there was much else used in the cure, but they tasted good.
It is on my to-do list.
This is definitely on my bucket list, seems like this practice is becoming a lost art and I would love to learn how to do it. My dad told me this is the only way they did their ham's and bacon when he was a youngster, but his parents grew up in the great depression and both grew up on farms where this was a common practice. Hopefully he still has half an idea how to do this and will be able to lend a helping hand when I decide I'm ready to take on a project like this. Nice work!
Hey all.... decided it was time for a follow up post! My ham is coming along nicely, thought it was time to pull it down from its comfy hanging spot and check it out:
Wrapped in butchers muslin:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/E1B71C60-68EB-45B7-8DBB-5C8EB239E6D2-2148-000002640836E0D2_zps13c6bc94.jpg)
Skin has definitely taken on a darker color as its dried:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/E0092A99-050E-40D7-B60D-031D1F2E3087-2148-000002640DEADCFC_zpscba24a5d.jpg)
It looks so good it makes me even more annoyed about the black rain!!! Ah, well... c'est la vie... only affects appearance...
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/689A53DD-96FC-459D-9F08-6C19DB8F8BB1-2148-0000026412D47851_zps29e14d2e.jpg)
Some mostly white mold forming in the crevices... a little spot of greenish mold, but I suspect not a lot to be concerned about... will rinse with vinegar...
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/4590D135-FBD0-435B-BF31-21FC838CC364-2148-000002641935DE4B_zps183a67a3.jpg)
Some cider vinegar to wipe the crevices with:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/AC90BA1E-52D0-4553-B7B8-AA9440C61AE2-2148-00000264365595CB_zps3d237862.jpg)
Apparently the pro's in Italy poke a skewer made of bone into the ham at 3 different places, all corresponding to where a main vein is and where sour would commonly occur. I have no idea about the proper places to do this, so I just went in along the bone from the shank and and the shoulder end:
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/66D6FD85-FBC0-4C57-89C1-A5A1EFA53542-2148-0000026427D4BA7A_zps5e05f2a3.jpg)
Shoulder end.... all is good.... nothing but SWEET porky goodness!!!
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/235010C4-A46C-49A4-8270-C11951DDB2CD-2148-000002642EF603C3_zps43b6f75e.jpg)
I've decided that this ham will be for cooking and eating, and I'm going to take it to Amsterdam in 3 weeks to share with friends for an Easter feast!
I'm going to start another shortly, one that I will age for a year or so to eat raw like Proscuitto or Serrano.....
Your ham looks wonderful. Everything I am seeing in your posts makes me more sure I am going to give this a go soon, probably go the whole hog, so to speak, and go for prosciutto straight off. Did the blue/green mould wipe off OK with the vinegar? it didn't look too bad anyway.
Well, it's time to close this thread off.... I decided that the ham was ready for a sample. I am taking half of it to Amsterdam for Easter weekend and cooking it for our friends for a big Easter meal on Sunday. But, having decided this I got a bit nervous just in case it didn't turn out. So I decided to cut off the shank end and cook that up for my wife and I to try, and then I split the remaining piece in half, one half bone-in the other boneless.
In a word... amazing. I am very happy with the way it turned out!!! No bone sour or spoilage at all! I soaked the shank for about 12 hours, changing the water once, and it was still on the saltier side, but not so much as to be unenjoyable. I shredded the meat and used it in a risotto, so I just didn't add any further seasoning to the risotto itself and it was fine. However, when I serve this again I will give it a full 24 hour soak to be safe.
A nice smokiness also came through in the meat... a nice mild subtle flavour that really complimented the risotto. I can't wait to try it on it's own just simmered, finished in the oven with a nice glaze then sliced.
I've just order another 2 legs..... one tunnel-boned and one bone-in. The tunnel boned one I am going to dry-cure but carry on aging for up to a year for a prosciutto type end product. The bone-in one I'd like to try a wet-brine for a more "Wiltshire" style. I'll post as and when I get these started.
Final pics!
Shank end off. Made a bit of a mess of this cut, but my hacksaw really didn't deal with the bone as well as I thought it would!
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/577936FA-1606-481F-9FBD-A52EBABDB4FC-2306-000002C055AE5910_zpsc9a84361.jpg)
Rest of the ham sliced in half. Bone-in portion on left
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/FB9C270C-0B44-4E5F-A837-2E42981B3A20-2306-000002C046F43B41_zpsf7f7ce0b.jpg)
Vac-sealed, half in the freezer, half in the fridge to go to Amsterdam next week.
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/22C253B7-3BF7-4E67-BD7D-AC6E08CD3BBA-2306-000002C041549863_zps94dfe1b9.jpg)
Shank simmered for 3 1/2 hours... falling apart tender!
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/FE6F1631-5846-46D2-9878-C2E2C9DFF858-2306-000002C03AE94810_zps09d6fc65.jpg)
Lovely pink morsels!
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/AFEFDB63-0789-416E-AF47-0A8B5D27C43D-2306-000002C035C95432_zps7e5fa3d0.jpg)
All shredded up for the risotto. If anyone is interested, the recipe I used is here: http://wensleydale.co.uk/modules/psblog/content.php?id=37&category=3 (http://wensleydale.co.uk/modules/psblog/content.php?id=37&category=3)
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/tdcooper/1FB295BD-A056-4373-BACB-4B5A2598D6DE-2306-000002C0307433F1_zps1b6be68a.jpg)
Your ham turned out looking great. It has fantastic color.
Was it salty? Looks good!!!
Beautifully done, just beautiful. I am so very envious of your skill.
That is a beauty. WoW!
Looks great! Wish I could taste.
Beautiful ham!
Quote from: Brewoz on March 20, 2013, 01:40:49 PM
Was it salty? Looks good!!!
It was a little salty... but not too bad. I'm normally quite sensitive to saltiness... I don't like too much. It was soaked for 12 hours, but I'm going to give the next piece a full days soak.
Well I loved grand Paps hams and they were done in large wooden barrels the same way. But way to salty no matter how long I soaked them. I much prefer the new cures. But i too am sensitive to much salt, and makes me retain water,not good for my heart. So will let you others enjoy the salt treated ones. But always seemed they had a better smokey flavor through out the meat and not just the surface layer in those days. Enjoy!
Quote from: viper125 on March 21, 2013, 09:57:09 AM
But always seemed they had a better smokey flavor through out the meat and not just the surface layer in those days. Enjoy!
Yeah... although the Bradley is a great piece of kit, I think you really can't replace some of the traditional methods like smoking continuously for 7 days in a smokehouse... or over here in Europe hanging up high inside a chimney for the entire drying time!