I cured two 25 lbs hams 7 days ago and pulled them from the cure today. As usual, whenever I cure, I rinsed it off and fried a piece before hanging to dry off a bit. Unfortunately, the ham is extremely salty. How long am I safe to soak the ham for? Can I draw too much cure form the ham?
Thanks in advance, Alain Plante.
You should be able to soak it for at least 30 minutes ( I base this on what I have done.) Plus it may be the outer "skin" of the ham that is salty. Did you try another slice in the same spot.
I did not try another spot but I will give it a go. The piece I did try was just a dangling piece from the wide end of the shank.
Saltiness is so subjective that it is difficult for me to say what it too salty to someone else. I have reduced the amount of salt I cure my hams in, so that I no longer need to worry about having to soak. I now only use about 8.5 ounces of salt per gallon of liquid. The 8.5 includes the additional salt from cure #1.
Hams have a lot of mass, so when mine use to come out too salty, I would soak in large amounts of water for 1 hour, repositioning and stirring the water after 30 minutes. If still too salty, I will give it another 30 minutes in fresh water. Keep in mind that the meat closest to the surface is going to be less salty after soaking, until the salt solution is again equally distributed throughout the ham. So if you have the time, you should wait a few hours after soaking to test the ham for saltiness. You can soak your ham for a longer periods of time if you keep them refrigerated.
If any nitrites are drawn out they are residual nitrites, those that have converted to nitric oxide should be safe from soaking. Even if some nitric oxides are also drawn out your ham should be safe even if you soaked for several hours.
Thanks for your input Habanero Smoker, I did end up soaking it for longer and it is presently hanging to dry before the smoke. Your insight has put my mind at ease...
I hope the soaking reduces the salt levels enough. If not, what I found if you slice the ham and simmer it in a liquid to preheat also will reduce the saltiness. This can be done even after the ham has been glazed. The liquid can be plan water, a low sodium broth, or a sauce with no salt added. I once used a thin sweet mustard sauce, and it came out pretty good. My mother use to make a raisin sauce, if you like raisins. Salty ham is also good to use in soups, stews, casseroles, and to pan fry.