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Curing a ham

Just BS

Just BS

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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)
 
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/showthread.php?t=148261
 
here's one of mine I just did a while ago..

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2397490&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 recipes.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!!
 
You're definitely going to have to inject.Ham,especially bone is too thick for the cure to penetrate fully to the center.
 
tried again and here the pointer to the recipe..

GARNAAL said:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2397490&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 recipes.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!!
Click to expand...

http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/prosciutto-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..
 
Yellowhair42 said:
You're definitely going to have to inject.Ham,especially bone is too thick for the cure to penetrate fully to the center.
Click to expand...

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
 
MS2SB said:
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
Click to expand...

You cut yours in half and skinned it.I meant whole with the skin on.
 
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.
 
samfsu said:
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/showthread.php?t=148261
Click to expand...

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)
 
Hoss said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

Sent from my pocket computer ( G III)
 
Just BS said:
Sounds tastey but smoke houses are few and far in between here in Kalifornia, unless you're talking about the medical marijuana ones....:rolleyes:

Sent from my pocket computer ( G III)
Click to expand...

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)?:wink:Just funnin!
 
Yellowhair42 said:
You cut yours in half and skinned it.I meant whole with the skin on.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Go with a brine. I like that better. Just be sure to get it really saturated, especially around the bone!
 
Just BS said:
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)
Click to expand...

You definitely need one day per 2 LBS of meat. If you dont have it, you can try cutting into the shank and butt portion as one of the other brethren suggested. If you start by tomorrow, you should be ok. Again all depends on the size, cut the pieces down so the cure can penetrate quicker and inject. It will be the best ham you have ever had!
 
I'm heading to the butcher now to pick up the pig. Need to find a big enough food grade container and the spices for the cure/brine. Plan to have that sucker soaking this evening. To inject or not to inject....that is tbe question.
Sent from my pocket computer ( G III)
 
Just BS said:
I'm heading to the butcher now to pick up the pig. Need to find a big enough food grade container and the spices for the cure/brine. Plan to have that sucker soaking this evening. To inject or not to inject....that is tbe question.
Sent from my pocket computer ( G III)
Click to expand...

A new 5 gallon bucket from HD works just fine.
 
For storage i typically get a food grade bucket from a local bbq store (they get their sauce in it). wash it out and then use it for brining everything. They are free and can be used for just about anything. I just called my store to get two for dog food storage (new puppy as of this weekend lol). Ive not used the HD buckets not because there is anything wrong with them but more so because the wife would freak cause i couldnt prove they are food safe. here is some info on TVWB site:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html
 
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