Ham question

[Country Smoke]

Hi. Has anyone ever gotten a bit of a funky smell from their ham (pork), it`s very subtle, kind of a gamy smell? I have around 10 small hams (1-2 lbs) I only noticed this smell while slicing 2 of the hams, I sliced all the ham and vacuum sealed them in portions, It`s not a horrible smell, but it is strange, like I said a little gamy.

Here`s what  I did:

I used some pork loin, cut into approx. 1-2 lbs. pieces , cured them for 2 days, removed from the cure and rinced them, put them back in the fridge over night (didn`t have time for smoking) Smoked them for 3-4 hours, at around 185*- 210*(had 3 racks and it was cold, couldn`t get it higher) then 2 more hours at same temp. finished them in my stove at 225* until internal temp. was 145* I let them rest for a few hours then put them in the fridge for 2 days and then sliced and vacuum sealed.

This is only my seconde time doing ham, I didn`t notice any smell the first time, so I`m a little concerned, I did try a piece and it tasted ok I did get a bit of that smell.

If anyone has any insight on this it would be very appreciated.

[love the smoke]

Need a little more info

What did you "cure" them with

LTS

[smokeNcanuck]

A 2 day cure seems a little short to me, but I'm no expert.  As LTS said might need more info on the exact type of cure.
My rule growing up and one I still live by today is:  If it smells bad.... Don't eat it!!

[Tenpoint5]

I tend to err on the side of caution myself and as SNC said If it smells bad junk it. It aint worth getting sick or getting someone else sick or worse.
Yes we are agreeing with the little voice in the back of your mind saying don't eat it it smells bad just throw it away.

[Country Smoke]

I used a cure that called for 8 teaspoons of pink salt for 4 pounds of pork, 4 liters of water salt, sugar and spices, brined for 2 days in a fridge. I doubled the quantity, but I  had closer to 12 pounds of meat. The first time around with this recipe things came out good, but it was only a small test batch and the pieces were small.

Anyway, I`m not going to take any chances.

I find it strange that only a few pieces had that strange smell. They were vacuum packed pork loins from Costco, that were fresh and even if I under cured them they should come out closer to smoked pork than ham, not bad?.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Habanero Smoker]

Eight teaspoons of pink salt is ≈1.25 ounces, and for 4 liters of water that is fairly low, though you should have enough for antimicrobial protection. The time for curing depends on the thickness of the meat. The method and time you used, wet curing (or using a pickle), is about the average curing time for loins. What is the color of the meat after it had been cooked? Is it white/grayish like fresh pork, or does it have a rosy color to it?

As long as you made no errors in calculations, mix the brine properly you only need around 50% brine (in weight), to the amount total amount of meat. Ex: if you have 12 pounds of meat, you only need 6 pounds or 3 quarts of brine. Having more brine doesn't hurt, it just a waste, but what ever you use, you still need enough to make sure all the meat is fully submerged. So you are alright with the amount of brine.

So with 20 pounds of pork shoulder, that must have been at least two whole loins. I suspect both pieces came from the same loin, and that loin was going bad. It is good that you are throwing it away. It is not uncommon to get that smell when you first open a cryovac meat, but after it is cooked that smell generally indicates the food is going bad.

[Country Smoke]

Thanks Hab. You`re right I did have 2 loins.

I had enough brine to cover everything well and I move everything around a few times. I had done a second brine without nitrite to do smoked pork, so I had 6-7 lbs in that and the rest was in the cure around 10-12 lbs. Most of the ham came out a nice pink, I had a good reference with the smoked pork witch was white and had a smoke ring. Some of the ham came out a light pink, somewhere between pork and ham, I figured they might have been the bigger pieces that got less cure. I new I was a little light on the pink salt, but everything was done securely, done on clean surfaces, kept in cold fridges, I think you`re right Hab, one of the 2 loins was probably going bad.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

It ended up being a 35$ experiment, not the end of the world.

[Habanero Smoker]

Sometimes you can never predict what may occur, no matter how many precautions you take. It's a shame you had to toss it out. I looked like you had a nice batch of cured loins.

[KevinG]

One way to help make sure the cure gets in is to inject the meat also, this will help to distribute it more quickly.