10kg Ham Cure

[TightmouthLarry]

Hi All,
Have I left it too late to cure a 10kg ham for Christmas?
Spent hours browsing this amazing site and now I have brines and formulas spinning in my head. As I understand it, following Pop's Brine would take too long, but would SmokinEdge's method be ok for a such a large ham?
"For larger pieces like hams or butts I mix up 10% of meat weight in liquid such as water or vegetable broth, to that I add 1.5% salt .75% sugar and .25% cure #1 all to meat weight. Dissolve that in the liquid and inject it into the meat. Injecting in a grid about every inch and especially along and around any bone. Inject all of the liquid then bag it and into the refrigerator for 12-14 days."

Pop’s Brine Broken Down for Information.

Many folks here run Pop’s brine and have wild good success. There are a lot of discussions about nitrite concentrations and how we agree that 156ppm nitrite are the standard prescription. With brines things swerve off the track a bit because we have to calculate uptake in the meat. Sadly there...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Thanks

 

[SmokinEdge]

You could make it. You don’t have enough time for all the flavor to develop in such a big , I’m assuming leg ham, and you would need a good longish needle to get in deep enough with injection. I’m guessing this would be your first attempt at curling a ham?

 

[TightmouthLarry]

You could make it. You don’t have enough time for all the flavor to develop in such a big , I’m assuming leg ham, and you would need a good longish needle to get in deep enough with injection. I’m guessing this would be your first attempt at curling a ham?

Hi,
No, I've done it once before but had more time then. I have Instacure #1 and a syringe which I used last time, just not sure what make up of cure I used.
Just picked up the ham (yes it's a rear leg ham or jambon entier as it is know here in France) and it weighs 10.775kg with the skin on

 

[SmokinEdge]

Welcome to SMF from Colorado.

If injected correctly you have time to get the cure done but really not enough time for equalization which is where the best flavor comes from. I like to go 14 days but with a whole leg I would maybe go longer towards 21 days. All that said, you can make the ham though and it will still be good.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Injecting through the skin is difficult to do depending on the needle used, I usually prefer to remove the skin before injecting, also will get much more smoke on the meat if smoking.

I use no salt vegetable broth, brand specific as Kitchen Basics, as this brand by far has the best flavor. You want to use 10% of meat weight for broth weight. I can help you with all the calculations if you like. Salt, sugar ,cure #1, phosphate and broth.

Also just to be clear, your insta cure #1 has 6.25% nitrite, correct?

 

[thirdeye]

Here is a handy x-ray style of diagram from Morton Salt showing the injection points for good coverage around the bones. Then use a grid pattern for the rest of the injection. I do more front leg hams, and have them in a plastic tub for injecting. I elevate one end of the tub, so any leaked injection pools at the other end and I re-inject that.

 

[TightmouthLarry]

Injecting through the skin is difficult to do depending on the needle used, I usually prefer to remove the skin before injecting, also will get much more smoke on the meat if smoking.

I use no salt vegetable broth, brand specific as Kitchen Basics, as this brand by far has the best flavor. You want to use 10% of meat weight for broth weight. I can help you with all the calculations if you like. Salt, sugar ,cure #1, phosphate and broth.

Also just to be clear, your insta cure #1 has 6.25% nitrite, correct?

Sorry I should have said that I will be removing the skin. Once cured, I'll also be poaching it until it's just cooked and then finishing it in the oven with a glaze.

Yes the Instacure is 6.25% Nitrite and sorry, but no access to phosphate here in France.

OK, so should I go with the ratio you mentioned in another thread that I quoted above?

i.e 1 litre of water with 150g salt, 75g sugar and 25g of Instacure #1 dissolved and then the entirety injected? Not sure I have a bag big enough to then sit it in as I have used a plastic brewer's bucket previously. If I inject the solution as above, should I then make up another solution to submerge it in?

 

[SmokinEdge]

i.e 1 litre of water with 150g salt, 75g sugar and 25g of Instacure #1 dissolved and then the entirety injected? Not sure I have a bag big enough to then sit it in as I have used a plastic brewer's bucket previously. If I inject the solution as above, should I then make up another solution to submerge it in?

If you mix up that solution and inject all of it or as close as possible, this means re-injecting any fluid that leaks out during injection, then no further cover brine is needed. You don’t have to use a bag, use a tub, meat tote or bucket, just cover it with plastic wrap or something similar. Refrigerate below 4* C. (40F)

Very critical that you inject all along the bone and around it, use a grid of about 1” all the way around the leg for complete coverage. Also important to inject as deep as the needle then raise the needle a bit and inject again all the way out so that you are injecting every inch internally as well as externally. You will make a ham by Christmas.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Here is a handy x-ray style of diagram from Morton Salt showing the injection points for good coverage around the bones. Then use a grid pattern for the rest of the injection. I do more front leg hams, and have them in a plastic tub for injecting. I elevate one end of the tub, so any leaked injection pools at the other end and I re-inject that.

View attachment 682946

That is a great illustration.

 

[TightmouthLarry]

If you mix up that solution and inject all of it or as close as possible, this means re-injecting any fluid that leaks out during injection, then no further cover brine is needed. You don’t have to use a bag, use a tub, meat tote or bucket, just cover it with plastic wrap or something similar. Refrigerate below 4* C. (40F)

Very critical that you inject all along the bone and around it, use a grid of about 1” all the way around the leg for complete coverage. Also important to inject as deep as the needle then raise the needle a bit and inject again all the way out so that you are injecting every inch internally as well as externally. You will make a ham by Christmas.

Ok. I have to say I feel a bit nervous about having a 10kg piece of meat sat in the fridge for the next 14 days and it not be submerged in brine as I would naturally assume it would start to go off...especially if I don't do a perfect job with the injection. I take it freezing it once injected would hamper the cure?

 

[TightmouthLarry]

Here is a handy x-ray style of diagram from Morton Salt showing the injection points for good coverage around the bones. Then use a grid pattern for the rest of the injection. I do more front leg hams, and have them in a plastic tub for injecting. I elevate one end of the tub, so any leaked injection pools at the other end and I re-inject that.

View attachment 682946

Thanks

 

[SmokinEdge]

Ok. I have to say I feel a bit nervous about having a 10kg piece of meat sat in the fridge for the next 14 days and it not be submerged in brine as I would naturally assume it would start to go off...especially if I don't do a perfect job with the injection. I take it freezing it once injected would hamper the cure?

It won’t go off because it will be salted and have cure #1 inside and out. You could wrap it in plastic wrap but it will leak a bit over the curing period so it needs to have some kind of containment, even a sheet pan. At any rate it’s your call.
You cannot freeze because that will stop the curing process.

You can’t inject with the 10% method then cover with another brine because the meat will take more of what’s in the brine making the meat over salty. If you want it covered in brine you have to start with a cover brine then inject that into the meat and then cover with more brine. The outcome is not as predictable though.

 

[TightmouthLarry]

So I'm not sure how successful that was. I injected at the bone points in the diagram and then along the main bone from the knuckle to the fat end and that pretty much consumed all the solution. I collected up what pooled several times over the next 45 minutes or so and injected it into the fat, meaty part but certainly wasnt able to inject in a grid at one inch intervals. It's wrapped in clingfilm now and is in the fridge so fingers crossed. Would standing it on end or turning it over a few times during the next 14 days make much difference?
Cheers for all the help so far

 

[thirdeye]

So I'm not sure how successful that was. I injected at the bone points in the diagram and then along the main bone from the knuckle to the fat end and that pretty much consumed all the solution.

When any injection liquid has been chilled, the meat seems to take it a little better. Maybe turning will help with mobility of the brine. And if any of the brine should migrate to the surface, rotating will allow it to move around. On the smaller front leg or loin hams I use an injection cure on I always have some liquid left over, and I just add it to the bag.

Here is a fun fact about fat when curing:

 

[SmokinEdge]

If you got a whole liter of brine into the leg I think you will still be fine with the time we are working with. Diffusion and osmosis are in full effect and the cure will permeate the meat. You are brining from the inside out instead of outside in. Turn the leg every day or every other day (called overhauling) the brine that leaks to the surface will be somewhat trapped by the plastic wrap and in turn will diffuse back into the meat. I usually always have the opposite problem and have brine left over. Its generally pretty difficult to get 10% meat weight of brine into the meat with a syringe.

 

[TightmouthLarry]

Ok thanks all. Will turn it regularly

 

[TightmouthLarry]

Sorry one final question, should the ham be soaked in water at all prior to either poaching it or baking it?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Sorry one final question, should the ham be soaked in water at all prior to either poaching it or baking it?

No. You applied 1.5% salt and that’s all it has, this is nice on the palate. Don’t soak just cook the ham. You can rinse the surface off, although that isn’t necessary either.

 

[TightmouthLarry]

No. You applied 1.5% salt and that’s all it has, this is nice on the palate. Don’t soak just cook the ham. You can rinse the surface off, although that isn’t necessary either.

Ok thanks