wet cure ham, soak or air dry to equalize?

[boogiesnap]

title says it all fellas and gals.

but, i'll elaborate, whole frsh hams curing with prague#1, injected and in cure for 10 days. should i soak in fresh water, changing a couple times, to equalize or let dry/equalize in the fridge for a couple days?

please offer suggestions/experiences.

[Phrasty]

Hey Boogiesnap, A home brined ham is not going to be nearly as salty as a country ham or those kind of dry cured hams. So you really don't need that much soaking. I like to give mine a couple hours but no more than 5 or 6 for a big ham. The most important part is to give the ham time to equalize after the soak for a day or 2 in the fridge. Especially for the larger hams.

Basically it all depends on how big your ham is and how strong the brine. But you don't have to go to the extent of soaking your brined ham too much. Still want to keep some of the flavors from the brine! :thumb:

Cheers

[boogiesnap]

thanks phrasty, air dry or covered/wrapped?

[Phrasty]

You want to air dry it and rotate/flip.