Dry Curing a Picnic Ham

[Wolfram M]

I recently did a batch of pork shoulder buckboard bacon, and it did not turn out the way I had planned...but it was still VERY good. Instead of a salty bacon flavor, I got a very nice country ham texture, but a sugar-cured ham flavor. I want to re-create this with a picnic ham for thanksgiving-ish time.

Here is what I did with the shoulder bacon, for reference:

1210g of pork shoulder, neck muscle side. 3" x 3" x 10", approximately
21g of Morton's pickling and canning salt
12 grams of white sugar
12 grams of brown sugar
3g of cure #1 (the 6.25% nitrite only salt-pink in color)

This was worked out as 2% salt, 2% sugar, and 0.25% nitrite, all dry mixed and then rubbed on. Into a big ziploc bag, and all the air sucked out and sealed, rolled up to keep the cure up against the meat. Then Into the fridge for 12 days.

12 days later, I pulled it and rinsed it off-I did not soak it. Just two quick rinses and a wipe down with paper towel, then into the fridge on a drying rack for an hour, and onto the smoker.

Smoked for 1.5 hours over apple sticks, then 1.5 hours over hickory chunks, until internal temperature was 150F. Pulled it and into the fridge on a wire rack to cool completely, then sliced as thin as my cheap plastic harbor freight slicer would do.

It's fantastic. Browns nicely, gets a *little* crisp, but stays tender with just a little chew to it.

Now, I want to do a picnic ham in a similar way. I pick up my green ham on Tuesday-so I gotta get ready a little faster than I had planned! I have just ordered a pack of ham socks, and I have plenty of cure #1 and #2, but I don't think I'll need to use #2 as I should be able to fully cure it in under 30 days. I do not have an injector setup, but I can get one. With the above cure, I thought I would do a little more sugar (I'm thinking 3%) to get a sugar-cured ham taste. I also plan to hang the ham in a ham sock during smoking, and will probably go 6 hours for the smoke. Cherry over hickory, maybe-or just hickory.

UK and VSU both state that hams should be dry cured for seven days per inch of thickness at the butt end, or 1.5 days per fresh pound. Since I don't know thickness yet, I estimated that since most bone-in picnics are around 10lbs, that it should take 15 days to cure, giving me 10 to 15 days to smoke and age, and I'll bake it for the week of thanksgiving-whichever day that week we end up cooking.

Am I smoking something other than meat here, or do I have a usable plan?

 

[bill ace 350]

I recently did a batch of pork shoulder buckboard bacon, and it did not turn out the way I had planned...but it was still VERY good. Instead of a salty bacon flavor, I got a very nice country ham texture, but a sugar-cured ham flavor. I want to re-create this with a picnic ham for thanksgiving-ish time.

Here is what I did with the shoulder bacon, for reference:

1210g of pork shoulder, neck muscle side. 3" x 3" x 10", approximately
21g of Morton's pickling and canning salt
12 grams of white sugar
12 grams of brown sugar
3g of cure #1 (the 6.25% nitrite only salt-pink in color)

This was worked out as 2% salt, 2% sugar, and 0.25% nitrite, all dry mixed and then rubbed on. Into a big ziploc bag, and all the air sucked out and sealed, rolled up to keep the cure up against the meat. Then Into the fridge for 12 days.

12 days later, I pulled it and rinsed it off-I did not soak it. Just two quick rinses and a wipe down with paper towel, then into the fridge on a drying rack for an hour, and onto the smoker.

Smoked for 1.5 hours over apple sticks, then 1.5 hours over hickory chunks, until internal temperature was 150F. Pulled it and into the fridge on a wire rack to cool completely, then sliced as thin as my cheap plastic harbor freight slicer would do.

It's fantastic. Browns nicely, gets a *little* crisp, but stays tender with just a little chew to it.

Now, I want to do a picnic ham in a similar way. I pick up my green ham on Tuesday-so I gotta get ready a little faster than I had planned! I have just ordered a pack of ham socks, and I have plenty of cure #1 and #2, but I don't think I'll need to use #2 as I should be able to fully cure it in under 30 days. I do not have an injector setup, but I can get one. With the above cure, I thought I would do a little more sugar (I'm thinking 3%) to get a sugar-cured ham taste. I also plan to hang the ham in a ham sock during smoking, and will probably go 6 hours for the smoke. Cherry over hickory, maybe-or just hickory.

UK and VSU both state that hams should be dry cured for seven days per inch of thickness at the butt end, or 1.5 days per fresh pound. Since I don't know thickness yet, I estimated that since most bone-in picnics are around 10lbs, that it should take 15 days to cure, giving me 10 to 15 days to smoke and age, and I'll bake it for the week of thanksgiving-whichever day that week we end up cooking.

Am I smoking something other than meat here, or do I have a usable plan?

I was sure someone would offer some advice. I'm curious as well.

 

[DougE]

I recently did a batch of pork shoulder buckboard bacon, and it did not turn out the way I had planned...but it was still VERY good. Instead of a salty bacon flavor, I got a very nice country ham texture, but a sugar-cured ham flavor. I want to re-create this with a picnic ham for thanksgiving-ish time.

You can up the salt to make your bacon saltier. Texture wise, buckboard is more meaty than belly bacon so the texture isn't going to be exactly like belly bacon. That said, bacon is just cured ham with more fat, in essence.

 

[DougE]

If you want a picnic cured for thanksgiving, I'd go with Daves injection method. Dry curing the way country ham has always been done takes quite a long while.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I don’t recommend dry curing anything over about 3” thick. You can dry cure a picnic ham but you need to apply cure mix at 3 different times and total time will be all of 21 days if not longer and you will have a salty ham. The bone is another concern for sour.

As Doug mentioned above, go with daveomak ham injection with veggie broth. The most delicious ham I’ve ever made was with that method and now is the only way I do ham. The cure will technically be done in 5-6 days but I recommend 14 days to let the flavor even out and develop with the ingredients. Also in this way you can be sure to inject along and around the length of the bone insuring a good cure inside and out with just exactly the amount of salt and sugar you want in the finished product.

 

[Wolfram M]

Well I hate to tell you guys, but it came out just fine-almost the same as my bacon-ham, even a bit sweeter, and cherry smoked instead of apple.

"Dry" cured for 19 days, no bone problems, as I boned it out and re-wrapped it before smoking. Smoked over cherry/hickory mix for 12 hours, and I sliced off about an inch for sandwiches this week. The rest is vacuum bagged and in the freezer so I can glaze and bake it for thanksgiving.

When I say "dry" I mean I put it in a vacuum bag, poured in the mixed cure, and rubbed it all over, packed it in around the bone on each end, and vacuum bagged it. I then flipped it every day for 18 days, then took it out of the bag, deboned it (mostly looking for bone sour) and rolled it up tight, stuffed it into the ham stocking, making sure it stayed as tight as possible, and it hung in the fridge for two more days before hanging in the smoker and smoking to 155F over a 12 hour period this past Sunday. It did not drip nearly as much liquid as I expected it would during hanging.

Is it exactly what I expected? Pretty much. It's good lunchmeat, I've had it for lunch for two days now, but I suspect that when glazed and baked it may not be to my extended family's liking. I can hear the "Is this a country ham? so unhealthy!" as they gobble it down...even though it's not nearly country ham salty.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I’m glad it all worked out for you.