I've been injecting hams to cure for some time... decided I needed a needle to get to all parts from one side... No flipping, no turning, here it its.... 5" , #14 gauge blunt/sharpened needle..
Found this picnic at w-m that has NOT been injected...
The paper towel is sprayed with vinegar... I'm sanitizing the
outside of the vac-packed leg so I can inject through the
plastic....
Roughly a 10#, 4540 gram leg....
For a 10% injection, I'm using ~450 grams of vegetable stock.....
18 grams of STPP, Ames company variety....
nepas suggested using this when he made sticks...
45 grams of white sugar......
90 grams of pickling salt......
11 grams of cure#1......
Add the ingredients to the soup stock one at a time...
Thoroughly mix to dissolve each....
......IMPORTANT.......
Mix in the order listed....
1.... STPP
2.... sugar
3.... salt
4.... Cure#1
Placed the picnic on a tray and inject from one side only and near the
high side of the leg... Soooooo, when you put it in the refer, on the tray,
the holes, from injecting, will be up... Now insert the needle deep but do not penetrate
the opposite side of the bag... inject about 10-15 mls... (every 1 to 1.5"..edit) pull the needle out to about 1/3rd depth of the leg and inject another 10-15 mls.... refill the syringe... insert back into that hole... inject a different direction... same deal... NOW, when you find the leg bone, inject below, down the other side and inject below.. relocate the needle to a different position and inject again... repeat.... keep moving the needle to locate a new section to inject UNTIL you feel the entire leg has curing liquid in all parts.... You might be able to inject the entire leg by making as few as 4-5 holes in the bag....
.....IMPORTANT....... once you mix up the curing brine/marinade...... ALL of it must be injected to get the proper cure, salt and sugar into the meat.....
Leave the plastic wrapped leg, holes up on the tray... In the refer for 6 days minimum to 2 weeks... make sure your fridge temp is 34-38 deg. F..... USE A THERMOMETER ....
One note.... I found leaving the ham in the vac-bag.... It is tightly wrapped and sort of a PITA to get the liquid from the syringe into the meat... I think it's worth the effort so as to not have to re-bag, or put the ham in a bucket and waste salt, sugar, cure, not to mention the time...
45 minutes from the time I got home from the store, the prepped picnic was in the refer on a tray...
Others have used this method and found the ham to be of a very good quality....
I have found them to be MUCH better than store bought...
May I suggest you follow this method exactly... try it once... then on #2, #3, #4 etc... mess with the flavor profile... if you think it's necessary... This is my ONLY recipe I have not adjusted... I don't know what would make it any better.. the no-salt vegetable stock adds incredible flavor... many replies I have received note... their families have said it's the best ham they every tasted... take that for what it's worth...
See y'all later.....
This will work for loin ham, butt ham, any type of meat.... I use a modified version on turkey and chicken...
Dave
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