Brine issues sorted (I hope) - Ham #2 - Wiltshire Cure

[ExpatCanadian]

Ok, think I've got my brine issues sorted....  I suspect I'm still on the salty side, but I think at least now I'm within acceptable levels.

A couple of legs arrived for me on Friday...  the first of which is dealt with in this post.  I ordered on bone-in and one boneless (tunnel boned):

Rolled up and tied more like a roast than a ham...  but whatever:


Untied for brining:


Definately tunnel-boned (not the most appetizing of shots)


Immersed in the "basic" brine while I bought myself some time figuring out what I did wrong with the Wiltshire brine:


Really cut it close...  and in fact it overflowed after this, so had a mess to clean up   :-\


After about 24 hours in the basic, I moved it over to the Wiltshire cure...  beer...  lots of it... Black Treacle (molasses) and, as it turns out, a lot of salt too  ::) Hope it's ok...


Anyway, not much else to report at this point.  It's in the cure, it'll be there for the next few weeks...  I'm going for 3 days per kg...  it weighs 6.32 kg...  so roughly 19 days.

[SmokinSignals]

Will be interested in the follow ups, good luck.

[ExpatCanadian]

Hey by the way, I'm looking at options to re-shape this back into a ham shape once the curing is done... it seems the best way might be to use a high tension elastic stocking which is supposed to minimise the risk of an air space inside the cavity left from boning it... anyone used this stuff or do you just tie it up with butchers string?

This is the stuff I am talking about:

http://www.scobiesdirect.com/ItemInfo.asp?ItemDesc=Superior+Anti%2Dcavity&ItemNo=NEA5003

I think I need a tube to use to actually get the ham into the netting... but this seems expensive:

http://www.scobiesdirect.com/Products.asp?ProdCat=Meat+Netting+Equipment

I can source smaller quantities of the netting, but anyone have any clever home methods for getting the meat into the netting?

[Waltz]

I have never used the netting but it looks like a good idea, I use butchers string for this sort of thing but the netting looks much neater.
Have you ever bought a Christmas tree from a place where they pack them in netting after you have picked your tree? They use a cone type device where the tree goes into the wide part of the cone and the netting can then be pulled over it. Something like that, perhaps a large funnel from an auto-parts place, might do for pulling the netting over your ham.

[beefmann]

cant wait to see the finished product

[ExpatCanadian]

Ok, this ham is now finished.  It spent a total of 21 days in the brine, which was definitely sufficient for curing and hopefully not so long as to make it too salty. Haven't actually tried it yet, but will be cooking some of it up this weekend!

Pulled from the brine, rinsed and dried:


Roughly shaped:


Tied up with some butchers string:


At this point I actually cold smoked it for 3 hours.... but forgot to get pics  :-[

Brought it back inside and sliced it into 3 mini-hams, vac-sealed and ready to eat!


Can't wait to try one this weekend!

[Waltz]

You have great self control. The hams look great and I would have had at least a slice by now if they were mine.

[beefmann]

looking good

[wkahler]

Do you have a recipe for that Cure you used?  I did some Googleing on it and didn't turn up a recipe. 

[Tenpoint5]

ExPat will you be finishing these on a grill in the oven or in the smoker? As I understand it the hams are cured and cold smoked, but not ready to eat.

[ExpatCanadian]

ExPat will you be finishing these on a grill in the oven or in the smoker? As I understand it the hams are cured and cold smoked, but not ready to eat.

I will be roasting/baking in the oven.  They got a couple hours of cold-smoke, and then vac-sealed them.  They've been sitting in my fridge for the past couple weeks (I posted a while after I finished them)....  I opened one yesterday with the intention of roasting for dinner.  It looks and smells fantastic: beery...  smoky...  sweet...  BUT, I sliced off a thin piece to fry up to test the saltiness and it is WAY too salty to eat as is.  It's going to need at least a 24-48 hour soak....  so I'll be cooking it tomorrow now probably.  If after all this, this piece isn't as smoky as I like it, the next one I'll try hot smoking in the Bradley.

Do you have a recipe for that Cure you used?  I did some Googleing on it and didn't turn up a recipe. 

I used this one:

http://www.rivercottage.net/questions/food/1843/

But, read these further threads of mine, as I had serious issues with the brine...  as written it's got far too much salt in it:

http://www.rivercottage.net/forum/ask/processing-and-other-crafts/question-about-an-answer-about-ham-curing/

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=31914.0

Final thought:  I am not even convinced this is a Wiltshire cure, as any Wiltshire ham I've ever eaten in Wiltshire tastes and looks nothing like what I've made here.  However, I've just spent a long weekend in the heart of Suffolk, and had a traditional pub lunch one afternoon and ordered the Suffolk Cured Ham, Ducks eggs and Chips (YUM!!!)....  and it DID look, and taste pretty much what I think mine will be like.  It was cured in a local ale...