Country Ham/Proscuitto

sniper7990

Meat Mopper

Original poster

Jan 13, 2015

156

17

• Dec 27, 2015

• #1

Hi all, just a quick question.

As some of you know from my other posts,  I'm playing around with a prosciutto project. but, looking at country hams, what is the main difference between a country ham and a Prosciutto.

As far as I can  see, both are cured with the help of Prague #2, but a country ham is left to air dry for about three months and then cooked before eating and a prosciutto is air dried for about 12 months and eaten without any coking process.

Am I right?

 

[email protected]

Newbie

Feb 8, 2009

9

11

• Dec 27, 2015

• #2

In essence, they are the same thing. It's the same part of the hog and cured in the same way. Traditionally, country ham is cut into steaks while prosciutto is very thinly sliced. That being said, a lot of US restaurants are now using Virginia country hams in the same way. 

 

chef jimmyj

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

OTBS Member

SMF Premier Member

★ Lifetime Premier ★

May 12, 2011

22,172

7,150

• Dec 27, 2015

• #3

Prosciutto is cured with just salt and not smoked. Country hams are cured with salt, sugar and smoke. Some companies use Cure #2 but not all. Country hams can be aged a year or longer and can be eaten raw. They were just more commonly cooked because of fears of Trichinosis as it was a common practice, back in the day, to feed hogs slop as opposed to Italian pasture raised hogs that are Trichinae free...JJ 

 

gibsorz

Smoke Blower

Aug 27, 2014

104

13

Vancouver

• Jan 6, 2016

• #4

Good Italians know that making a good prosciutto takes 4 ingredients, green ham, salt, air and time. That's it. There's a little more to making a good country ham (like sugar and smoke).

 

sniper7990

Meat Mopper

Original poster

Thread starter

Jan 13, 2015

156

17

• Jan 7, 2016

• #5

km heading in the right direction lol