My first country ham

[peterk123]

Dry cured, cold smoked then hung in my shed for seven months.

I sliced some paper thin pieces. The flavor is awesome. The plan is to cook it for Easter. Although I'm going to cut a few more pieces off before then.

This is my first time aging something after curing, and being able eat it without cooking or at least pasteurizing. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more of it.

 

[LongWayAround]

What kind of animal donated that?

Where do you live? I'm curious about the temperature and humidity of your shed for the hanging time.

 

[peterk123]

What kind of animal donated that?

Where do you live? I'm curious about the temperature and humidity of your shed for the hanging time.

Pig. We got a half pig last August. I'm in Montana. Fairly low humidity. I had a few sub 20 degree days but it was much warmer than normal.

I coated it in lard to prevent any mold and sprinkled pepper on it to keep bugs and critters off of it.

 

[GARLICSALT]

I think you're on to something!!!

 

[MSmiley]

How long did you hang it?

 

[Seeknelk]

How long did you hang it?

In his post he states it hung for 7 months.

 

[Milestown]

What part of Montana ? Maybe I’ll swing by for a taste .

I always wanted to try some different kind of smoking and curing meat.

Tell us how they like it at Easter.

Hal

 

[peterk123]

It was a huge success. Served with an apple and arugula salad, mashed sweet potatoes, Dijon mustard, and a maple syrup glaze. My darling wife told me she doesn't want to eat ham any other way now.

I did a Saunder's boiled country ham with it. Water, vinegar, molasses and instant coffee. Bring to a boil then simmered in the mixture for four hours. Then it cooled over night in the liquid. After that it was refrigerated for 24 hours. Finally, sliced thin and served.



It was a great learning experience. I realize now I can age meat at home without any special temperature controlled environment. Time to try some more meats.

 

[112Savage]

Growing up in western, VA; home cured ham was just the family tradition. Originally, it was salt only. Then they started using Morton’s sugar cure with salt. In the last two decades it’s been a mixture of salt and white and brown sugar with pepper and pink salt. We’ve tried adding cold smoking and different lengths of smoking.

Honestly, our ham tastes good. It’s not like something you can buy in the store. It’s not quite the same as iberico jamon or Croatian prosciut but it’s very similar.

 

[peterk123]

Growing up in western, VA; home cured ham was just the family tradition. Originally, it was salt only. Then they started using Morton’s sugar cure with salt. In the last two decades it’s been a mixture of salt and white and brown sugar with pepper and pink salt. We’ve tried adding cold smoking and different lengths of smoking.

Honestly, our ham tastes good. It’s not like something you can buy in the store. It’s not quite the same as iberico jamon or Croatian prosciut but it’s very similar.

Where and how long would you age it?

 

[112Savage]

The hams are packed with the mixture from the first week in December until they quit taking more which is entirely dependent on temperature and size of the ham. After that they are left on the table to “cure” about mid march they are put into insect proof bags and hung in a well ventilated (but bug/rat/squirrel proof) shed and hung until the next November at a minimum. Incidentally hams in Spain are hung for 5 years. I think our hams are perfect between one and two years.

The Kentucky and Missouri cooperative extension agencies have some good papers written on ham curing. They’re available online

 

[peterk123]

The hams are packed with the mixture from the first week in December until they quit taking more which is entirely dependent on temperature and size of the ham. After that they are left on the table to “cure” about mid march they are put into insect proof bags and hung in a well ventilated (but bug/rat/squirrel proof) shed and hung until the next November at a minimum. Incidentally hams in Spain are hung for 5 years. I think our hams are perfect between one and two years.

The Kentucky and Missouri cooperative extension agencies have some good papers written on ham curing. They’re available online

Thank you! It so hard to find info that is reliable. I will check out the papers from the extension agencies.

 

[Wheels]

Thank you! It so hard to find info that is reliable. I will check out the papers from the extension agencies.

Country Curing Hams | MU Extension

Many people like the flavor of hams that have been cured country style. Visit our site to learn about Country Curing Hames.

extension.missouri.edu

My father in law was one of the original authors of this article. He was a meat science professor and judged hams thru ought his career.

 

[Milestown]

It was a huge success. Served with an apple and arugula salad, mashed sweet potatoes, Dijon mustard, and a maple syrup glaze. My darling wife told me she doesn't want to eat ham any other way now.

I did a Saunder's boiled country ham with it. Water, vinegar, molasses and instant coffee. Bring to a boil then simmered in the mixture for four hours. Then it cooled over night in the liquid. After that it was refrigerated for 24 hours. Finally, sliced thin and served.

View attachment 1048191

It was a great learning experience. I realize now I can age meat at home without any special temperature controlled environment. Time to try some more meats.

Sounds very good. I’ve never had anything like that.
Thanks for sharing.
I’ll have to try making a ham that way sometime.

Hal