Is it trash?

[frankljs]

I am doing a ham cure for the first time and wanted to bounce the recipe off y'all to see if it will be effective. I found the recipe in an old homesteading book and after reading some  posts, I think it may be ineffective. Using a formula posted back in 2015, my nitrate parts per million is 19.72.
So on 5/24/16, I added 28.35 g of cure number one 1150 g of pickling salt, 225 g of sugar, and 2 gallons of water at 7570 g.
A week later, I added another tablespoon of cure number one because I realized I was under on the curing salts. I really don't know if that was a good idea to add more curing salt a week later, but I don't want to be under salted nor lose the hams. Oh and I have two ham joints at 7 pounds and 8 pounds in a 5 gallon bucket with 2 gallons of the brine solution.
Please let me know your thoughts and suggestions.
 

 

[daveomak]

2 hams and water weighed out at.....  14,380 grams....  + salt and sugar = 15,755 gms.....

1150 grams of salt = 7.3% salt

225 gms. sugar = 1.4%

to obtain ~150 Ppm nitrite, ~38 grams of cure #1 should have been added.....    then the hams should have been injected with the brine solution, along the bones and joints, then into the meat sections with about 20% weight of the ham.....  The bone injection would have prevented "bone sour"...  the meat injection helps to save the meat from a "slow migration" of the brine.... 

HOWEVER.... A 7.3% salt infusion will make the meat pretty close to inedible...   2.5% salt is about max. for most folks...   

I recently made up 3 hams...  below is the method I used...   It's pretty much how the commercial folks make hams....  They came out awesome...  

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/236375/ham-from-fresh-picnics-update-10-21-money

 

[chef jimmyj]

The amount of Cure is within non-toxic levels but that's a lot of Salt. You are not likely to get bone sour in just a few day using a Brine, and all is kept below 40°, since there is good contact and penetration at the bone ends. As Dave points out, Injecting will eliminate any possibility...JJ

 

[frankljs]

Thanks gentlemen for the info. I deboned them before the cure and tied em up good. The temp is in a regulated freezer at 38 degrees.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Thanks gentlemen for the info. I deboned them before the cure and tied em up good. The temp is in a regulated freezer at 38 degrees.

Are you using a PID to control the freezer as a fridge ?? I've been seriously thinking about doing that... heard it's more economical.... and since I have an extra PID controller laying around ...

 

[frankljs]

Yes, it was originally my beer fermentation chamber; It great for dialing in the temps.

 

[frankljs]

So, I took the hams out and smoked em just cuz. They didn't completely cure in the center over the 14 days they were in the brine. The meat was too salty, but it was edinle and I didnt mind it too much. The smokey flavor tenderness, and creamy fat was just delicious. I cut out the uncured center and gave it to the dogs... I was able to salvage 75% of it though. Los of lessons learned here. Thanks again!