I'm going to butcher shop tonight and picking up a 15lbs ham (hind quarter of pig) I've done a lot of reading to figure out the curing salt amount needed and kosher salt, my question is I don't want to inject I want it to cure just in the solution, how long do I leave it in the cure before it's done? I read somewhere that wet cure you leave in 1 day for every 2 pounds of meat, now I am sure there is some variables in there, so I was thinking about leaving it in for 12-14 days, any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance, as far as the cure I figured using 2 gallons of water, and a 15 lbs ham I would need 7.5 tsp of curing salt, I'm using Hoosier Hill Farm curing salt, from Fort Wayne IN.
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Curing Ham first time without injecting
- Thread starter cid79
- Start date
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cid, morning.... What is wrong with injecting the ham ???
I have made hams in 6 days injecting only.....
http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?threads/ham-from-fresh-picnics-update-10-21-money.236375/
I have made hams in 6 days injecting only.....
http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?threads/ham-from-fresh-picnics-update-10-21-money.236375/
Good Morning Daveomak, was hoping you would chime in, there's nothing wrong with injecting it, I thought I would for first time do the long process to get a better feel for it, before learning to take shortcuts. Do you think my timing for doing a 15lbs ham is correct?
I think your idea of not injecting will cause the ham to "bone sour" and you will end up throwing it away...
Take a look at my method... You can call it a "short cut" but... that method insures all the cure, salt and sugar are delivered inside the ham... no guessing, no waiting, reduction of salt, sugar and cure because you only inject the proper quantities the ham needs, to be a quality ham...
It's basically the "same" as commercial establishments...
The FDA recommends injecting meats over 2" thick...
Maintain the ham at ~36-38 F for 2 days before injecting.. Cool the injection liquid to ~36 before injecting..
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Pump the ham or shoulder along the bones. Fill the pump fully to prevent air pockets. It is strongly recommended to pack some of the dry cure around the shank and hock bones. If curing is performed at higher than refrigerator temperatures, remove sugar from brine that will be injected into the bone areas. It may start fermentation and ruin the product. There is a variety of meat pumps for general cooking which are available in major department stores. Distributors of sausage making equipment and supplies carry stainless steel pumps, usually 4 oz capacity with a selection of different needles.
Mr. T's country ham..
http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?threads/country-cured-ham-from-go-to-show-q-view.134415/
Take a look at my method... You can call it a "short cut" but... that method insures all the cure, salt and sugar are delivered inside the ham... no guessing, no waiting, reduction of salt, sugar and cure because you only inject the proper quantities the ham needs, to be a quality ham...
It's basically the "same" as commercial establishments...
The FDA recommends injecting meats over 2" thick...
Maintain the ham at ~36-38 F for 2 days before injecting.. Cool the injection liquid to ~36 before injecting..
++++++++++++++++
Pump the ham or shoulder along the bones. Fill the pump fully to prevent air pockets. It is strongly recommended to pack some of the dry cure around the shank and hock bones. If curing is performed at higher than refrigerator temperatures, remove sugar from brine that will be injected into the bone areas. It may start fermentation and ruin the product. There is a variety of meat pumps for general cooking which are available in major department stores. Distributors of sausage making equipment and supplies carry stainless steel pumps, usually 4 oz capacity with a selection of different needles.
Mr. T's country ham..
http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?threads/country-cured-ham-from-go-to-show-q-view.134415/
Daveomak,
Ok I will inject it, so let me get this straight, I will still need to wet cure it for a couple of days even if I inject, but it will cut my time down a lot, so if I need 7.5tsp of cure for just doing the wet cure, will that be cut down if I inject? so here's a question for you how much injection with cure salt would I need for a 15lbs ham, then how much cure salt would I need when I submerge into 2 gallons of water.
Injection Cure salt about ?tsp + ?water
Submerged Wet Cure, ?tsp + 2 gallons of water
Not sure if I explained that right.
Ok I will inject it, so let me get this straight, I will still need to wet cure it for a couple of days even if I inject, but it will cut my time down a lot, so if I need 7.5tsp of cure for just doing the wet cure, will that be cut down if I inject? so here's a question for you how much injection with cure salt would I need for a 15lbs ham, then how much cure salt would I need when I submerge into 2 gallons of water.
Injection Cure salt about ?tsp + ?water
Submerged Wet Cure, ?tsp + 2 gallons of water
Not sure if I explained that right.
Where the bone, being in the center of the leg, does not get salt and cure "in time" to prevent bacterial growth...
The ham must be cooled within 24 hours of slaughter to ~38 and that cooling process should last for 48 hours, and the ham must remain "cold" throughout the process...
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The ham must be cooled within 24 hours of slaughter to ~38 and that cooling process should last for 48 hours, and the ham must remain "cold" throughout the process...
If you use "my method"....
For a 15# ham....
Weigh out 1.5#'s injection liquid..
Weigh out 17 grams cure #1..
Weigh out 136 grams Kosher salt....
Weigh out 68 grams white sugar....
Dissolve all the above in the injection liquid... DO NOT HEAT....
Cool to 38 deg. F...
Inject all of the liquid into the ham...
Start at the bones and joints then finish in the meat at ~1.5" intervals to insure the meat is covered with the solution..
Refer in a zip bag for 5-6 days... Turn daily... Done... enjoy...
Dave,
I will use your method above, just a few questions about it, 1.5#'s on injection liquid, is lets say water correct?
17 grams of cure #1 is just that, I think it equals close to 3.5 tsp.
Now after I inject the ham with all the liquid mentioned above, do I put it in another cure solution after that or do I just let it cure itself with what I injected into it?
And Thanks for all the help, can't wait to try it.
I will use your method above, just a few questions about it, 1.5#'s on injection liquid, is lets say water correct?
17 grams of cure #1 is just that, I think it equals close to 3.5 tsp.
Now after I inject the ham with all the liquid mentioned above, do I put it in another cure solution after that or do I just let it cure itself with what I injected into it?
And Thanks for all the help, can't wait to try it.
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You can use Pork stock for the liquid... I prefer Vegetable Stock, NO SALT.. adds a depth of flavor.... The 1.5#'s is a 10% injection... industry normal..... You don't put the ham in a brine.... put it in a zip bag... The ham has everything already inside and much deeper that brining will do... and it's calculated to be what the ham needs... I recommend injecting around the bones and joints first.. really thorough... then finish up injecting into the meat about every 1 1/2 inches.. checkerboard pattern.. should take about 150 injections of 10cc's each or 10 mls each... W-M had syringes like these.... they work good.... It's what I have been using... Around the leg bone, you may have to get all the way around it from the side that the meat is not too thick.. just inject each side of the bone... same on the joints... once you have really injected well around the bone and joints.... do the meat... I prefer a skinless ham leg... smoke doesn't penetrate the hide too well... not as well as meat.... There will be some leakage of the brine... don't worry... not enough to hurt the quality of the curing process... besides, it's in the bag and will continue curing from the outside, like an EQ cure would do..
Dave,
I understand completely now what your saying for the ham, it also raises more questions for me, 1.5# is a 10% injection ( industry normal) < where does that come from our how did you come up with it? Again Dave thanks I am just wanting to learn for future cures. Is there a formula for this?
I understand completely now what your saying for the ham, it also raises more questions for me, 1.5# is a 10% injection ( industry normal) < where does that come from our how did you come up with it? Again Dave thanks I am just wanting to learn for future cures. Is there a formula for this?
I read a lot......
Ok so since I have a 15 pound pork hind quarter I want to turn into ham, and to use a 10% pump, I would take the 15 lbs * .1 that gives me 1.5# of liquid, now how did you figure up the curing salt, and other items, also lets say I wanted to do a 20% pump how would you figure up the amount curing salt for that along with kosher salt, and sugar?
Let's look at this.... I gave you specific instructions and a step by step... I'm aware of "others" ideas on this..
About the 1.5#'s of liquid.... That's 10%.... That's about all you can pump into a ham leg...
2% kosher salt, 1% white sugar, 0.25% cure #1...
The liquid injected does not figure in to the overall weight of the meat for calculations.... All calculations are based on the weight of the ham...
About the 1.5#'s of liquid.... That's 10%.... That's about all you can pump into a ham leg...
2% kosher salt, 1% white sugar, 0.25% cure #1...
The liquid injected does not figure in to the overall weight of the meat for calculations.... All calculations are based on the weight of the ham...
Yes Dave and I printed those instructions out, word for word, but if I don't learn the math, or science behind it, then what's the point of doing it, beside it will drive me crazy if I don't learn it, because I want the knowledge. Again thank you, and I'm going to do your method, I just want to learn the math behind also for whenever I do it again.
Sorry about my crass attitude....
Dave no problem, I'm just wanting to learn, and I read soooooo much on this stuff in the last few days, that it's making my head hurt, and there is so much different variations from site to site, that when I think I have it figured out, I read something new that puts what I just read before that into what not to do, and so on and so forth, I'm just trying to figure out the correct way and formula to do it, so I don't screw it up or get anyone sick.
I am doing this now. 10% injection, the liquid was squirting out everywhere before I had all the liquid gone.
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