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

[trizzuth]

OK, I KNOW you've cut into your ham by now Tom!

Pics when you have a chance please!

 

[mr t 59874]

 
OK, I KNOW you've cut into your ham by now Tom!

Pics when you have a chance please!

Your close, if your in the area, dinner party is Jan 9th 2014.  Will start soaking it this Sunday.

Happy New Year.

Tom

 

[cdn offroader]

Inspired! After reading every thread on the forum, and every link i can ffind online, I've taken the plunge, and ordered 2 hams to start up this weekend. Gonna do one similar to yours for next Thanksgiving(Canadian) and another in a wet brine for this Easter. Hope it turns out as good as yours looks!

 

[dirtsailor2003]

 
Your close, if your in the area, dinner party is Jan 9th 2014.  Will start soaking it this Sunday.

Happy New Year.

Tom

A mere 24 hours away!  I don't know if I can wait any longer!

 

[foamheart]

More Popcorn Please!

Thank you

 

[mr t 59874]

Inspired! After reading every thread on the forum, and every link i can ffind online, I've taken the plunge, and ordered 2 hams to start up this weekend. Gonna do one similar to yours for next Thanksgiving(Canadian) and another in a wet brine for this Easter. Hope it turns out as good as yours looks!

Good luck, keep us up to date.

 

[mr t 59874]

 
A mere 24 hours away!  I don't know if I can wait any longer!

Well, with dinner planed for tomorrow, we hit a snag.  During the three day soak, it seems all the guest and myself have come down with some sort of bug.  Will go ahead and simmer this afternoon to a IT of 170 deg. allow to cool overnight then into the freezer for an undetermined amount of time.

Sure feel bad, in more ways than one.  At the least we will learn if you can freeze one of these.

Tom

 
More Popcorn Please!

Thank you

Better get it in bulk.

Tom

 

[smokers wild]

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WOW! Firstly, Tom you are the original badass man! That is a prize ham brother.  What a beauty. Trizzuth, when I began searching the interweb for info on curing my own country ham I found your thread first, thanks for posting that as it led me here!

I just dry rubbed my first pork leg this morning in the hopes of curing an original country ham. My first "true" cure [ie: nitrates to nitrites and whatnot] attempt could have come at a better time though as I too am battling a nasty bug. Not thinking clearly, I accidentally used Cure #1 instead of Cure #2.

Oh well, it will still smoke nice and be eaten, as long as I haven't mucked it up in another way that is... I just won't be able to age it unfortunately. Currently it sits in my kitchen fridge, beside the beers. I am already thinking about getting a separate meat fridge for things of this ilk. We'll see.

I'll try to get some of my pics up around here sometime when I'm a little more motivated. Until then, I will be reading.

Tom I am looking forward to seeing the money slices off that beauty of a country ham! Great tutorial and awesome pictures!

 

[foamheart]

Note the condition of the cast iron and ..... what a grand meat cleaver!

 

[trizzuth]

Tom, that really is too bad about you and your guests getting that bug, I hope you are all well and good by now.  As far as the freezing part goes, within about a week or two after cutting into mine, I butchered the rest up and froze it in different bags.  Some were "thin sliced" others were "Thick sliced" for a breakfast ham, and then "chunks" for stews, etc.  I used a vac sealer and have since then taken come out, thawed it in the fridge and it was 100% as good as it was when I initially cut into it!

So no worries with the freezing, I am sure it will be delicious still!

 

[trizzuth]

OK, I shed a tear as I came back into the thread after a 3 month hiatus and still see no pics of cutting into this gorgeous beauty!  Hope everything is good with you Tom after you all got that bug and that at least if you have not yet enjoyed the ham, she is still hanging and pretty to look at!

 

[mr t 59874]

Friends,

   Finally, we got to put a dent in the ham during Easter dinner.  Will try to post results within the next few days.

Tom

 

[daveomak]

Smokers Wild, morning and welcome to the forum.....

About your ham........

If you know how much cure #1 you added to the leg, and you know how much cure #2 was the proper amount to rub into the leg, do a little math and subtract the amount of nitrite added the first addition from the cure #2 and start adding cure #2....
The main concern is...... total nitrite and nitrate added to the leg during the curing process and not to exceed those recommended numbers....
You can also rinse the leg to remove the majority of the cure as it does not penetrate rapidly into the meat... Approx. 1/4" per day penetration... that is from all sides of the meat... sooooo, a 10" diameter ham and 1/4" penetration is negligible and skin does not absorb nitrite.... so at 24 hours of curing time, not much has happened that can't be corrected.... according to the math anyway.... and start over.... maybe reducing the overall cure by 5% to compensate for any cure that has been absorbed...

Also, a ham method using cure #1...... no need to worry about anything.....

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/458/458-223/458-223.html


Other good info...

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/hams-other-meats/country
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/hams-other-meats/dry
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/hams-other-meats/hams
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/hams-other-meats/hams-safety-USDA

Dave

 

[trizzuth]

Yes! can't wait!

I just took some of the chunks of that ham I made out of my freezer in a vac pack to chop up and add to some brussell sprouts i made for Easter dinner, STILL GREAT and so much flavor!

 

[kjw08]

Just have a quick question about my ham.  It has been hanging now after completion for 8 months, over the last couple of weeks a soft pure white mold has started to develop on the outside.  I live in the northeast and summer can be pretty humid.  Is the ham still safe to eat?  I make cheese as well and as far as cheese goes this is a safe mold, didn't know if the same applied when it's on meat.  Thank you…...

 

[daveomak]

It is my understanding.... pure white mold is OK..... Wipe the outside of the ham with vinegar or a vinegar solution.... I don't know what concentration.... you will have to read up on that.... and you are good to go....

For an exterior preservative effect, cold smoking is always an option.... below 50-60 degrees... you'll have to check on that also...

Some days I CRS....

 

[kjw08]

Thanks for the reassurance!  It has been smoked, approximately 100 hrs.  I think it's just from all the heat and humidity in the air right now.

 

[foamheart]

Some days I CRS....

Don't they have pills for that now?

 

[daveomak]

Don't they have pills for that now?

I don't know...... Can't Remember....

 

[mr t 59874]

As Dave said the white mold is fine.