I was still getting the package of goodies to take to my brother in repayment of the beef he brought me. They had whole pork loins on sale and I snagged a couple. I cut the large pieces of the end for Honey Loin Hams, the centre pieces for back (Canadian) bacon and saved the tips for future sausage. This post is how I did the hams. The next will be the back bacon.
Here is one of the loins.
I cut the large end pieces of each, put them in a stainless steel pot, covered them with water and weighed the pork and water. It came in at just under 5 kg.
For each kilogram of weight of water and pork, I added the following to the water:
I put the pork back in the mixed brine with a plate on top and cured it for twelve days. I go by 4 times the thickest part in inches plus 2. The thickest part was 2 1/2 inches so 12 days. I turned the meat every day or two.
After the twelve days, I took the pork out of the brine, rinsed it well under running water and soaked it in cold water for 40 minutes, changing the water once. Then I put it on a rack in the fridge uncovered overnight.
I tied each piece about every 2 inches to get a better shape.
I put them in the pellet smoker with hickory pellets in my A-Maze-N Tube Smoker and the pellet smoker not turned on. I cold smoked them for about 6 to 7 hours until the tube smoker burnt out. I put the hams in the fridge over night.
I fired the pellet smoker up to 200 F with hickory pellets and smoked the hams to an internal temperature of 150 F.
I let the hams sit in the fridge every night. I cut each ham in half for smaller portion control. The fact I wanted to taste them was quality control and not my desire to have a taste.
The Verdict
I love these little hams. They are way leaner than a regular ham which helps my girth control. There is no doubt the lean meat isn't as juicy as a big ham shank but it isn't bad and it makes great sandwiches and breakfast steaks.
I have made these hams with maple syrup and they were tasty but the honey gives a much smoother more in the background taste that I believe is superior.
Disco
Here is one of the loins.
I cut the large end pieces of each, put them in a stainless steel pot, covered them with water and weighed the pork and water. It came in at just under 5 kg.
For each kilogram of weight of water and pork, I added the following to the water:
- 3 grams Prague Powder #1
- 40 ml brown sugar
- 40 ml honey
- 15 ml kosher salt
- 0.048 ounce Prague Powder #1
- 1 1/4 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 1/4 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/3 teaspoon kosher salt
I put the pork back in the mixed brine with a plate on top and cured it for twelve days. I go by 4 times the thickest part in inches plus 2. The thickest part was 2 1/2 inches so 12 days. I turned the meat every day or two.
After the twelve days, I took the pork out of the brine, rinsed it well under running water and soaked it in cold water for 40 minutes, changing the water once. Then I put it on a rack in the fridge uncovered overnight.
I tied each piece about every 2 inches to get a better shape.
I put them in the pellet smoker with hickory pellets in my A-Maze-N Tube Smoker and the pellet smoker not turned on. I cold smoked them for about 6 to 7 hours until the tube smoker burnt out. I put the hams in the fridge over night.
I fired the pellet smoker up to 200 F with hickory pellets and smoked the hams to an internal temperature of 150 F.
I let the hams sit in the fridge every night. I cut each ham in half for smaller portion control. The fact I wanted to taste them was quality control and not my desire to have a taste.
The Verdict
I love these little hams. They are way leaner than a regular ham which helps my girth control. There is no doubt the lean meat isn't as juicy as a big ham shank but it isn't bad and it makes great sandwiches and breakfast steaks.
I have made these hams with maple syrup and they were tasty but the honey gives a much smoother more in the background taste that I believe is superior.
Disco
