Country Cured Ham - From Go to Show: Q/View

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Hmm, kinda hard to see from your pics 13 and 14 but I guess I do see it a little bit. 

As far as the short shank goes, the farm did ask us initially if we wanted any sort of special cuts, and had I known I was going to do this back then, or even known anything about smoking at all, I would have asked for a long shank, or even maybe with the foot left on (is one better than the other?) I'd think foot on leaves minimal chance of contamination..  Next year now I know!

When exactly can I do the stick and sniff test with the metal wire?  Sure smells great on the outside at least..
It could be that the veins are just hidden.

One concern to me of leaving the hoof on would be drainage during the initial cure.  My personal thoughts are by hanging the ham shank down, it allows the curing salts to drain down through the length and along the bone.  Some do hang shank up , but I found that most here in the USA hang shank down.  Many of the Spanish and Italian hams are aged with the hoof on though and hung shank up.

I will wait until ready for consumption to do a sniff test unless something obvious appears.

Enjoy the aroma. 
 
Sounds good..  I do have comfort knowing that during the equalizing/drying phase and most of the smoking phase thus far the ham was hung shank down, so it will just be getting the rest of the smoke shank up now, and eventually when hung for the resting period it will go back into the cheesecloth bag and hung shank down
 
Mr T

Absolutely stunning looking ham , does it taste as good as it looks ?, wow I must get my smoker built lol

I am all hungry and salavanting at the mouth , save my a slice my friend

Geo
 
Mr T

Absolutely stunning looking ham , does it taste as good as it looks ?, wow I must get my smoker built lol

I am all hungry and salavanting at the mouth , save my a slice my friend

Geo
He won't be tasting that sweet caramel colored baby for at least 6 months!  So you better get that smoker built fast!  or better yet, buy the ham and morton's curing salts and start the cure, then you have no excuse but to get the smoker working because the clock will be tickin...
 
Mr T

Absolutely stunning looking ham , does it taste as good as it looks ?

Geo
Thank you Spartan.  If you are around, you will have one.
He won't be tasting that sweet caramel colored baby for at least 6 months!  
Thank you trizzuth for the input.  I'm with you on the hanging part.

PS  That cheese looked good.

Spartan, Although the ham at this stage is considered to be a sugar cured ham and ready to eat, my intentions are to produce a true country cured ham.  Although fine hams can be produced using different techniques, there are four criteria that must be met to technically be considered a country ham.

1st. It must be dry cured. Not injected with curing solutions nor placed in a curing solution.

2nd. The combined curing and equalization period must not be less than 45 days.

3rd.  It must age a minimum of four months after curing.

4th. It must loose a minimum of 18% weight from fresh.

It then can truly be called a country cured ham.  Mine has met three of the criteria at this time.  My intentions are now to further age it for nine more months and serve during the Christmas holidays.

If you want to do a ham,I would encourage you to do some research and determine what type of ham you want to produce along with what is needed, then go for it.

Tom  
 
He won't be tasting that sweet caramel colored baby for at least 6 months!  So you better get that smoker built fast!  or better yet, buy the ham and morton's curing salts and start the cure, then you have no excuse but to get the smoker working because the clock will be tickin...
Trizzuth

Your a 100% , got some of my lumber  today need to get the rest on the weekend still need the racks and some hardware

main thing is I got the ball rollin, I sometimes procrastinate , trying to kick that habit
 
So I had the ham in the smoker yesterday with my AMNS burning at both ends, it was out there while I was working, about 9 hours or so.  I came home and took a peek (always LOVE coming into my driveway and opening the car door to a nice sniff of hickory smoke, cause I know it's runnin!).  When I peeked, I noticed that one end had gone out, so there was plenty of dust left to continue the smoke and it was warm enough so I wasn't worried about the ham freezing or getting too cold.  I decided to leave it there overnight as the temps were only supposed to go down to about 36-38 degrees.  Planned on doing some more smoke today with whatever I had left in my hickory bag, while waiting for more dust to come in today.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't pay attention to the weather as much as i normally do (usually obsessed with weather!) and it was raining pretty good when I woke up.  So first thing, I went out to the smoker and was not concerned about the ham getting wet as it is well protected inside that smoker, more concerned about covering the smoker and stove up to prevent rust everywhere..  took ham out and brought it inside as it is now supposed to rain for a few days and it was a bit moist to the touch.  I think the humidity went way up in the tank overnight and moistened it a bit.  I immediately hung it in the basement with a fan directly on it and turned on my dehumidifier.

Drying out nicely, hope I did not screw it up with the moisture.. ARGH!  this thing is an art form for sure!  Especially when you are trying to replicate conditions that are not native to your geographic location.

Anyways, I figure the ham now has a good 72 hours of smoke, and you were right Tom, the veins seem to be a little less visible than before and the overall smoky color is much more even now that i removed it from the cheesecloth bag.  I will continue to cold smoke until I get that nice color before I hang it for the long haul.

Now, since I happen to deal with FDA regulations at my job on a daily basis (more for medical devices, not for food), I am familiar with their regulations and websites.  Here are some great links with excellent, and official government info:

Ham food and safety:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/ham/index.asp

Federal Regulation identifying the items necessary to call a product a "Virginia Country Cured Ham":

See 319.106 (basically much of the same info Tom noted above):

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/FoodCode2001/ucm092709.htm

Also, this description of the curing process through the various seasons was pretty interesting I thought.. and while you are there, check out their prices for country hams, now that is why you make your own!

http://www.countrycuredhams.com/curing-process
 
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  I think the humidity went way up in the tank overnight and moistened it a bit.  I immediately hung it in the basement with a fan directly on it and turned on my dehumidifier.

Drying out nicely, hope I did not screw it up with the moisture.. ARGH!  this thing is an art form for sure!  Especially when you are trying to replicate conditions that are not native to your geographic location.

Anyways, I figure the ham now has a good 72 hours of smoke, and you were right Tom, the veins seem to be a little less visible than before and the overall smoky color is much more even now that i removed it from the cheesecloth bag.  I will continue to cold smoke until I get that nice color before I hang it for the long haul.

Now, since I happen to deal with FDA regulations at my job on a daily basis (more for medical devices, not for food), I am familiar with their regulations and websites.  Here are some great links with excellent, and official government info:

Ham food and safety:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/ham/index.asp

Federal Regulation identifying the items necessary to call a product a "Virginia Country Cured Ham":

See 319.106 (basically much of the same info Tom noted above):

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/FoodCode2001/ucm092709.htm

Also, this description of the curing process through the various seasons was pretty interesting I thought.. and while you are there, check out their prices for country hams, now that is why you make your own!

http://www.countrycuredhams.com/curing-process
We are on the same page.  The two fed links were used to help me to decide to do the ham and thread as I wanted to do both correctly and safely.  I had planed on posting them in my summary, but will go ahead and paste them in the reference section now.

Don't worry about the moisture on the ham, you are doing fine. Mine was tacky when removed from the smoker.  It is recommended that the hams after being smoked be hung in a warm well ventilated area for a week to ten days to dry the surface.  Mine is hanging in the kitchen.  Will add this information along with pictures to the thread later.

You won't get my ham for what JCH get's for their hams. 
 
Thank you Spartan.  If you are around, you will have one.

Thank you trizzuth for the input.  I'm with you on the hanging part.

PS  That cheese looked good.

Spartan, Although the ham at this stage is considered to be a sugar cured ham and ready to eat, my intentions are to produce a true country cured ham.  Although fine hams can be produced using different techniques, there are four criteria that must be met to technically be considered a country ham.

1st. It must be dry cured. Not injected with curing solutions nor placed in a curing solution.

2nd. The combined curing and equalization period must not be less than 45 days.

3rd.  It must age a minimum of four months after curing.

4th. It must loose a minimum of 18% weight from fresh.

It then can truly be called a country cured ham.  Mine has met three of the criteria at this time.  My intentions are now to further age it for nine more months and serve during the Christmas holidays.

If you want to do a ham,I would encourage you to do some research and determine what type of ham you want to produce along with what is needed, then go for it.

Tom  
Will do!  Tom!, thanks for the info , Looks like this Xmas time, your home will be the place to be, be sure to post the pics then,

I will diffently contact you for more info when I am ready for a country ham , mean while I have towo hams dry curing .

My first attempt to make authentic prosciutto, keeping my fingers crossed and with alot of luck I should be slicing

into my first prosciutto at xmas time .

geo
 
I will diffently contact you for more info when I am ready for a country ham , mean while I have towo hams dry curing .

My first attempt to make authentic prosciutto, keeping my fingers crossed and with alot of luck I should be slicing

into my first prosciutto at xmas time .

geo
Great, will be looking for your prosciutto thread along with pics.  Good luck.

Tom
 
Love the update pic with the ham hanging from the pot rack. Adds some nice rustic "Old World" charm to the room. The mahogany color is gorgeous, as well.

Very nice job, and write up.
 
 
Okay...... Now I need to see the rest of the kitchen.....  please...... I want one just like that.....    Dave
 
Mr. T, I have a couple questions. Most, but not all, producers of country ham these days use a basic cure consisting of salt, sugar, and a preservative. Most also add some spices to the mix. A few hard core traditionalists omit the sugar altogether. I've had it both ways and could not notice a difference in taste. That might have been due to the method of preparation prior to serving such as boiling/simmering the ham in a mix of water and Coca Cola/Dr. Pepper, or adding a sweet glaze. Do you feel it's requirement to use sugar in the cure to be considered a true country ham, or do you consider it as just an option as a balance to the salt?

Also, most country ham producers today smoke their hams, but there are also a few who don't. Again, I've had both and in this case I far prefer the smoked version.

My thoughts are that hams omitting sugar from the cure, and/or those that are not smoked, take us back to the earlier days of country hams in the US with a final product somewhat akin to the various cured hams in Europe and Asia.

What are your thoughts?
 
Mr. T, I have a couple questions. Most, but not all, producers of country ham these days use a basic cure consisting of salt, sugar, and a preservative. Most also add some spices to the mix. A few hard core traditionalists omit the sugar altogether. I've had it both ways and could not notice a difference in taste. That might have been due to the method of preparation prior to serving such as boiling/simmering the ham in a mix of water and Coca Cola/Dr. Pepper, or adding a sweet glaze. Do you feel it's requirement to use sugar in the cure to be considered a true country ham, or do you consider it as just an option as a balance to the salt?

Also, most country ham producers today smoke their hams, but there are also a few who don't. Again, I've had both and in this case I far prefer the smoked version.

My thoughts are that hams omitting sugar from the cure, and/or those that are not smoked, take us back to the earlier days of country hams in the US with a final product somewhat akin to the various cured hams in Europe and Asia.

What are your thoughts?
The way the hams were prepared would have a good deal to do with the final taste.  Sugar is not a requirement to produce a country ham.  Sugar is used in the cure or when cooking to offset the harshness of the salt.  The American ham is drier and saltier than the larger and fattier salt cured Spanish ham even after it has been soaked and cooked.  Americans typically cook their country hams although cooking is not necessary. It is also easy to overcook a country ham turning it into a salt block.

Tidewater Virginia is known for heavy smoking and North Carolina is known for little or no smoking, but everywhere else it is up to the producer to determine the use of smoke.  

Spices can be used during the curing process to add a distinctive flavor to the ham if desired.  Red and black pepper is sometimes used during aging lending some flavor, but also discourages bugs from attacking the ham.

Hope this answers your very good questions.
 
I agree with all the comments about that kitchen, looks awesome!  Love the golden brown color of the ham meshing with the stained wood... i can almost smell it from here!  That is the thing you need for hanging hams now.. I wish I had a hanging pot rack, but really no good place to put one and I am constantly dealing with shoving pots and pans into my cabinets it annoys me to no end!

As far as the questions here about salt/sugar.. I can tell you this - I used Morton's "Sugar Cure" the non-smoked version.  It comes in a bag that has the salt/sugar mixture and then a small packet of what they call "spices" that also contains the curing agent.  I tasted the salt/sugar mixture and HOLY COW, it tasted like 100% salt to me.  No sugar coming through whatsoever, but it must be in there as that is what the package says...  The addition of the spice packet in the correct proportions gives the curing mixture this odd spicey aroma that I can't really point my finger on.  Maybe there are some cloves in there or something that make it smell that way.  I didn't really think the proportions of salt to sugar were correct in that bag based on the taste, but it is all white, so who knows... I am sure it's mostly salt as that is what helps with the curing process.

My ham spent every single hour this weekend since Friday around 4:30pm in the smoker smokin away!  I got 2 4lb bags of a-Maze-N dust last week, one bag of cherry and one of apple.  So that is what I have been using this weekend.  Also did a great trick to get the creosote and leftover burned dust off of my AMNS.. Had a campfire in the back yard that was super hot, and tossed the AMNS right in there when it was empty.  In about 2 minutes, every single bit of leftover dust and residue was gonzo and it looked brand new!  Burns so nice when it is all cleaned out like that, I will be doing this practice every 6-7 burns now I think.  

So now my ham has a total of 116 hours of smoke on it.  There was a pocket under the skin that felt like there may have been air under there or something that I was always concerned with, but since hanging it shank end up with my new hook method and no cheesecloth sack, that area looks like it has shriveled up and I seem to have lost a bit more liquid as I saw some in the bottom of my smoker.  She is really taking shape now and looking great!  I will post up a pic of the ham in my smoker as soon as my wife sends it to me.

EDIT:  got some pics!  sorry for the blur


 
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As far as the questions here about salt/sugar.. I can tell you this - I used Morton's "Sugar Cure" the non-smoked version.  It comes in a bag that has the salt/sugar mixture and then a small packet of what they call "spices" that also contains the curing agent.  I tasted the salt/sugar mixture and HOLY COW, it tasted like 100% salt to me.  No sugar coming through whatsoever, but it must be in there as that is what the package says...  The addition of the spice packet in the correct proportions gives the curing mixture this odd spicey aroma that I can't really point my finger on.  Maybe there are some cloves in there or something that make it smell that way.  I didn't really think the proportions of salt to sugar were correct in that bag based on the taste, but it is all white, so who knows... I am sure it's mostly salt as that is what helps with the curing process.

For what it's worth, MTQ, MSC and MSC (Smoke Flavored) are all only 2% sugar.
The MSC spice packets contain, fenugreek, clove, nutmeg, red pepper and black pepper.


~Martin
 
For what it's worth, MTQ, MSC and MSC (Smoke Flavored) are all only 2% sugar.
The MSC spice packets contain, fenugreek, clove, nutmeg, red pepper and black pepper.


~Martin
This is awesome and certainly explains the abundance of salt I tasted!  Thanks for adding this interesting tidbit of information to this thread Martin!

And for others who don't know what fenugreek is (I had to google it): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenugreek

what an odd choice of an herb to add to a ham curing mixture..
 
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