Ever country cured a ham?

[Chuck52]

I just got an add for "fresh" hams suitable for curing at $1.04/lb. A fella down the road from me used to be a champion country ham producer and I think he still judges the hams at the county fair. I really wanted to help him set up his hams, to learn the process, but he quit doing it about the same time we moved in. I really, really like country ham....I get it once in a blue moon because my wife is a nurse and believes in that salt-is-bad-for-you stuff, even though it really only applies to a fraction of the population. Anyway, since the hams are said to average 22lbs, it started me thinking that I might try to cure one as a more-or-less $25 experiment.

It's easy to find instructions on the web, complete with recipes for cures. I even have what was once a smoke house, though I use it as a shed now and store all kinds of stuff like gas and insecticides in it. I'd probably not smoke the ham anyway, but if it was clean the old smoke house might be a good place to hang the ham for curing. Without that place, I'm somewhat limited for enclosed space that's well ventilated and cool. Instructions I've read don't recommend basements because of humidity and resulting mold problems.

Anyone done the job? Where did you hang the ham and do you share your recipe?

Chuck

 

[dave1949]

Chuck, I never cured a ham, I sold a few fresh hams to a co-worker. His father lived with him. He would hang the hams in the attic in the late Fall/Winter when it would be cool enough to avoid spoilage. I suppose he wrappped them in cheescloth or the like.

Don't know how long it took or any details.

I saw old houses in Germany that had smoking chambers built along side the chimney in the attic. I think they had flap doors to let the smoke pass through the smoking chamber when in use. That would be a good smoker in winter, cool attic, wood smoke coming up the chimney.
Dave.

 

[skent]

We do the dry cure every year. It's very important to apply the cure as within 24 hours of slaughter to prevent souring. We kill, scald and hang the first day, the morning of the second day, we cut the hams and apply the cure, a paste mixture of salt, pepper and brown sugar (various mixtures on the net) to the hip and hock ends of the ham. The hams can not be allowed to freeze or get above 45 degrees for the first few weeks. Every two or three days, reapply any cure mixture that may have fallen off or been absorbed. I sit the hams on old corn cobs to allow them to drain. After four weeks, I'll hang the ham and replace any lost cure. After 40 days, I smoke the hams using a mixture of green hickory and apple wood, (I'll start a charcoal fire and add the chunks of green wood to make them smoke - not burn)

I try to get four or five 12 hour days of smoke on the hams (happens in mid to late February).

In late March, before the daytime high temps get to 60 degrees, I move the hams to the root cellar and wrap them in cloth to keep dust off them.

Ready for eating by late April.

The only time I've ever had hams go bad was when we didn't butched ourselves and purchased day old green hams from a neighbor. Lost four out of 10 hams that year.

 

[Chuck52]

Like many of my ideas, I'll probably not follow through on this one. If my old smoke house was clean and tight, I'd be more tempted because that would be a great place to hang the ham. On the other hand, I think I will start a push to buy a country ham for Christmas. If I catch her in just the right mood, SWMBO sometimes caves in to my whining!

When I was a kid in East Tennessee, we used to get hams from a local farmer who did it right. Those hams had just the right balance of salt to sweet, which must be a matter of some talent, because most of the hams I've had since have been on the too salty side....not that I still don't crave that. For bought hams, Clifty Farms usually tastes about right to me.

Chuck

 

[skent]

The saltiness also depends on how you prepare the hamd before cooking.

I'll usually cut the skin off scrub the ham clean and cut in two, sometimes I'll cut two or three slices out of the center, then place the cut pieces in a roaster pan full if cold water, cover and place in the refrig overnight. the next day, drain off the old water, refill with fresh and allow it to soak overnight in the frig again. The more rinse/drain cycles you do, the more salt you'll leach out of the meat. Usually I do three overnight soaks before cooking the ham. A fourth or fifth will help.

An alternative to a smokehouse is the liquid smoke that can be brushed on. It's a real smoke flavor that rivels smokehouse results. I've never used it myself, but am told it works good.