Curing a ham

[Just BS]

My youngedt daughter raised a pig for 4H. We sent him to the butcher and I am gonna cure snd smoke the hams myself... That'll be a first for me.

Any suggestions? I am leaning towards a ten day wet cure so I can smoke him on Easter Sunday. Also, I only have a UDS and a cheapy off set. Any and all thoughts are appreciated

Sent from my pocket computer ( G III)

[samfsu]

Ive done a few of these. Are u going to use instacure#1 or tenderquick? I have only used instacure. I would say a day of cure per 2 lbs of meat, maybe a little longer. I would also suggest injecting the ham especially if it will be bone in. Below is my recipe if you are interested.

The cure for an 18lb:
2.5 cups kosher salt
4 cups brown sugar
2 Tbls peppercorns
1 Tbls cinnamon
1 Tbls cloves
3 bay leaves
Cured for 10 days. Cold water rinse for 1 day.
2 ounces of instacure #1 (pink salt)

I used a 5 gallon food grade bucket from a bbq joint and put it in my fridge.

Pic of the ham can be found in this thread: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=148261

[MS2SB]

I did a wet cured ham for Christmas and it turned out great. Here's a link to the thread.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...=Christmas+Ham

No volumes in the thread, but I'd be happy to grab the recipe when I get home if you're interested.

[GARNAAL]

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...0&postcount=26

a ~15 lbs fresh Ham using a recipe for cured and air dried Prosciutto Ham from Len Poli's site -
http://lpoli.50webs.com/Sausage%20recipes.htm
(could not get to that site today - keep trying...)

cured in a dry rub for 1 month and then air dried for at least 2 months..

I love the old fashioned taste of it and see no reason why you could not give it a day of cold smoke after that too!!

[Yellowhair42]

You're definitely going to have to inject.Ham,especially bone is too thick for the cure to penetrate fully to the center.

[GARNAAL]

Originally Posted by GARNAAL

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...0&postcount=26

a ~15 lbs fresh Ham using a recipe for cured and air dried Prosciutto Ham from Len Poli's site -
http://lpoli.50webs.com/Sausage%20recipes.htm
(could not get to that site today - keep trying...)

cured in a dry rub for 1 month and then air dried for at least 2 months..

I love the old fashioned taste of it and see no reason why you could not give it a day of cold smoke after that too!!

http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/...o-American.pdf

and don't forget -
adjust the weight of the spices, cure #2 etc. according to the weight of your ham -
the recipe ingredients called for are for ~ 8 lbs of Ham..

also - note there is a decent amount of skin removed from the ham to allow for proper curing and drying..

[MS2SB]

Originally Posted by Yellowhair42

You're definitely going to have to inject.Ham,especially bone is too thick for the cure to penetrate fully to the center.

I'll respectfully disagree. With no injection I had no trouble getting the cure evenly distributed throughout.

Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express

[CYvilEng]

I'm currently working on a ham. It's a 30 lb giant.

I have a thread here. I have some pics to add. I have started cold smoking.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=154990

I am mostly following the dizzy pig recipe.
http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/recipesHam.html

sent from my phone

[Yellowhair42]

Originally Posted by MS2SB

I'll respectfully disagree. With no injection I had no trouble getting the cure evenly distributed throughout.

Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express

You cut yours in half and skinned it.I meant whole with the skin on.

[Hoss]

I did 2 dry cured Country hams last year that came out great.I want to try the wet brine also(quicker,city ham).I have 4 dry cured ones in the smokehouse now for next year.After the cure,I let them equalize for 30 days then cold smoke them on and off for a week,then hang for a year or more.It worked last year.Next up,prosciutto,nothin but salt,ham and time.Some folks inject,I don't,the pioneers did not have injectors or refrigeration.That is why they learned to dry cure and smoke meats for preservation.It is time consuming and not as convenient as modern methods but it is all they had and THAT is what I want to be able to do successfully.So far,so good.Good luck.

[Just BS]

Originally Posted by samfsu

Ive done a few of these. Are u going to use instacure#1 or tenderquick? I have only used instacure. I would say a day of cure per 2 lbs of meat, maybe a little longer. I would also suggest injecting the ham especially if it will be bone in. Below is my recipe if you are interested.

The cure for an 18lb:
2.5 cups kosher salt
4 cups brown sugar
2 Tbls peppercorns
1 Tbls cinnamon
1 Tbls cloves
3 bay leaves
Cured for 10 days. Cold water rinse for 1 day.
2 ounces of instacure #1 (pink salt)

I used a 5 gallon food grade bucket from a bbq joint and put it in my fridge.

Pic of the ham can be found in this thread: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=148261

This is kind of what I was thinking, but ya got me worried that I dont have enough time between now and Easter (pick up from the butcher Weds morning).

Sent from my pocket computer ( G III)

[Just BS]

Originally Posted by Hoss

I did 2 dry cured Country hams last year that came out great.I want to try the wet brine also(quicker,city ham).I have 4 dry cured ones in the smokehouse now for next year.After the cure,I let them equalize for 30 days then cold smoke them on and off for a week,then hang for a year or more.It worked last year.Next up,prosciutto,nothin but salt,ham and time.Some folks inject,I don't,the pioneers did not have injectors or refrigeration.That is why they learned to dry cure and smoke meats for preservation.It is time consuming and not as convenient as modern methods but it is all they had and THAT is what I want to be able to do successfully.So far,so good.Good luck.

Sounds tastey but smoke houses are few and far in between here in Kalifornia, unless you're talking about the medical marijuana ones....

Sent from my pocket computer ( G III)

[Hoss]

Originally Posted by Just BS

Sounds tastey but smoke houses are few and far in between here in Kalifornia, unless you're talking about the medical marijuana ones....

Sent from my pocket computer ( G III)

You can make a smoke house out of ANYTHING,INCLUDING cardboard boxes,but beware,the temp must be right.Just saying.In your case,California,I would Wet Brine,cook soon.Good luck!Do they have mail order??(smokehouses)?Just funnin!

[MS2SB]

Originally Posted by Yellowhair42

You cut yours in half and skinned it.I meant whole with the skin on.

Personally, if you're looking for a standard holiday ham I would absolutely skin it, and if the butcher is already butchering I would have him half it into butt and shank end as well.

I've done skin on ham hocks using the same method and the skin isn't worth eating unless its used in a slow cook braise. It comes out rather tough and leathery.

There are lots of uses for the skin which will fry up great and the extra fat you trim will render down into some beautiful lard which has countless uses.

The recipe I used is as follows (Courtesy of Charcuterie by Michael Rhulman):
Good for a 12-15lb ham
1 gallon water
1.5 C kosher salt (350 grams)
2C dark brown sugar (360 grams)
1.5 oz./42 grams pink salt (cure #1) or 8 teaspoons

The recipe doesn't call for it but I also added about 1C of dark molasses to this brine.

Rule of thumb is 1/2 day per lb.

Using this method is pretty simple and will allow you to have a nice home cured ham in time for Easter dinner.

[oifmarine2003]

Go with a brine. I like that better. Just be sure to get it really saturated, especially around the bone!