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

[trizzuth]

man, when do you think you're going to cut into it?  I am so tempted to cut into mine near the end of october.. I am dying to see what is inside and what it tastes like. It's like opening an early xmas present!

 

[mr t 59874]

 
man, when do you think you're going to cut into it?  I am so tempted to cut into mine near the end of october.. I am dying to see what is inside and what it tastes like. It's like opening an early xmas present!

Well, we discussed trying the tester picnic ham today, my 70th, but were invited out.  May try it in the next week or two.  The original will be cut into around the holidays, hope I don't find coal.

Will be looking for your thread to pop up with your results.

Tom

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Happy Birthday, Tom!



~Martin

 

[mr t 59874]

Happy Birthday, Tom!



~Martin

Thank you Martin, we are off to dinner.

Tom

 

[foamheart]

And a Happy Happy to you Tom.......

 

[black]

Originally Posted by S2K9K   [h3]edited post[/h3]

S2K9K
Yesterday at 8:39 pm

Black,
I just wanted to let you know I had to edit one of your posts and delete a link. As per @TulsaJeff and our User Guidelines, offsite links are not permitted to be posted on this forum.
Here is a link to the edited post:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/139323/stx-turboforce-3000-series-grinder#post_1074283
Thank You for understanding,
Moderator Team

That's OK, edit my posts as you like

 

 

[mr t 59874]

Thank you guy's, had a good one.

Tom

 

[dls1]

Tom, Hope you had a very happy birthday.

 

[kjw08]

Thank you for your amazing, informative thread!! I am planning on starting a country ham following your tutorial.  This will be my first time doing one and had a question about once it's cut into.  After the ham has cured and is all set for slicing how long does the ham last after being cut into?  Does it require refrigeration after it has been cut?  Or can the cut part be covered and it continued to be consumed?

Thank you......

 

[mr t 59874]

 
Thank you for your amazing, informative thread!! I am planning on starting a country ham following your tutorial.  This will be my first time doing one and had a question about once it's cut into.  After the ham has cured and is all set for slicing how long does the ham last after being cut into?  Does it require refrigeration after it has been cut?  Or can the cut part be covered and it continued to be consumed?

Thank you......

Thank you for the kind words.  A country ham is prepared differently from the Italian Prosciutto or the Spanish Serrano hams which are meant to be carved and consumed without cooking.  Although you will find different opinions as to whether a country ham can be carved and consumed without cooking, it would be my advice to cover the cut area of the ham with a lard and flour mixture.  Once a country ham has been desalinated cooked and carved it should be treated as a city ham, leftovers should be refrigerated or frozen.

Hope this helps answer your questions. If I can help in any other way please ask.

Welcome to the forum.

Tom

 

[kjw08]

Thank you so much!! I will plan on desalinating, cooking, and carving it when it is finally done.

 

[trizzuth]

I cut into my ham on Saturday!!  

Pics and more to come..  probably put it in my other ham thread.

 

[kjw08]

I'm part way through the process following your instructions for Country cured ham, which are terrific by the way.  I've just applied my third application of cure and mid December the ham will be ready for the 20 day equalization period.  In your instructions that this should be in a 50 degree space.  How important is the 50 degrees?  I live in Vermont and was planning to hang it in my garage which would be probably closer to 40 degrees.  If this is a problem I will work on another plan, I wanted to ask now so I have time to get it figured out.  Thanks in advance…..

 

[mr t 59874]

 
I'm part way through the process following your instructions for Country cured ham, which are terrific by the way.  I've just applied my third application of cure and mid December the ham will be ready for the 20 day equalization period.  In your instructions that this should be in a 50 degree space.  How important is the 50 degrees?  I live in Vermont and was planning to hang it in my garage which would be probably closer to 40 degrees.  If this is a problem I will work on another plan, I wanted to ask now so I have time to get it figured out.  Thanks in advance…..

Your well on your way, good job.  The ideal temperature for equalization is 50° - 60°.  The lower 40° equalization will most likely inhibit or delay the cure adjuncts from distributing evenly throughout the ham.  I would only be guessing at the amount of additional time for equalization to take, but see no harm in doing so.  The only disadvantage that I can think of would be the loss of aging time at the higher temps after equalization.

Hope this helps.

Tom

 

[kjw08]

If 50-60 degrees works I can bring it into my basement so that will be perfect, thanks….

 

[trizzuth]

Basement might not be the best spot for the ham overall due to the humidity, but might be ok in the winter.  I hung mine from my kitchen ceiling so it was between 60-70 degrees all the time for almost a year.  Worked out well for me..

 

[mr t 59874]

 
Basement might not be the best spot for the ham overall due to the humidity, but might be ok in the winter.  I hung mine from my kitchen ceiling so it was between 60-70 degrees all the time for almost a year.  Worked out well for me..

trizzuth, he is at the equalization stage, not aging.

Tom

 

[trizzuth]

Oops! sorry about that then, carry on!

I used my basement fridge for equalization and just turned the temps up a bit, worked out ok for me..

 

[mr t 59874]

Actually he is not at that stage yet, just asking about it.

Tom

 

[kjw08]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!  I'll hang it in the basement (which is finished but we don't keep it very warm in the winter) just for the 20 day equalization period, then up into the kitchen to hang to finish curing.

-Kristen