Is Christmas Spoiled? Please HELP

[josecgomez]

I decided to cure my own ham this year, I followed this recipe http://johndlee.hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Cure-Ham-at-Home  and everything seemed to be going great.

Yesterday the temperature of the cure hit 38 degrees, so I took it out of the fridge for a few minutes and forgot about it for 7 hours. I put it back in the fridge as soon as I saw it.

Is it spoiled? Is it dangerous? Should I throw it out? Will the curing salt save it?

Please help!

Thanks

 

[alblancher]

How long had it been in the cure before your removed it and left it on the kitchen counter?

 

[josecgomez]

2 days

 

[josecgomez]

its a 9 lbs ham and it was in the cure 2 days before I left it out.

 

[alblancher]

alright 2 days is tough.  How warm was your kitchen?  Did you take an Internal Temp of the ham before returning it to the fridge?  I am not familiar with the link,  did you inject the ham with brine/cure? Or was it simply rubbed with salt?

 

[josecgomez]

Its a wet cure, so it was submerged in the brine. I did not take the temperature but I would say the house was at around 65F so the ham had to be less than that. I did not inject the ham though just submerged it in a big container. Its covered with the liquid.

 

[josecgomez]

I used Insta Cure #1 on the brine, not sure if that helps / matters.

 

[alblancher]

Ok I read over the recipe you used and there is no injection so you are depending on the ham to absorb the brine and cure.  You are using a fresh pork butt that you didn't poke a lot of holes in.

It really depends on how warm the ham got while sitting out.  If it was keep very cold while in the fridge it will take a while to get into the danger zone,  how long, there is no way of knowing.  Then there is the 4 hours the rules allow for it to be in the danger zone.  It all comes down to how careful you where before brining, how hot the room was and the internal temp of the ham when you returned it to the refrigerator

I am going to say you are OK with the caveats I mentioned but I hope Chef Jimmy or one of the other Safety Gurus jumps in with their opinions.

 

[josecgomez]

That would be awesome, thank you!

 

[fpnmf]

PM Pops6927..a known expert!!

  Craig

 

[DanMcG]

how large of a ham are we talking about here?  what would the thickest part measure? and how long was it in the brine before you left it out. And was it left out  was it left  in the brine.

I personally wouldn't be comfortable eating it. but I'm kind of a germophobic when it comes to cured meats.

 

[josecgomez]

Thanks fpnmf I did that :)

 

[josecgomez]

Its a 9lbs ham, it was in the brine for 2 days before I left it out. it was left out in the brine (covered tight)

 

[fpnmf]

how large of a ham are we talking about here?  what would the thickest part measure? and how long was it in the brine before you left it out. And was it left out  was it left  in the brine.

I personally wouldn't be comfortable eating it. but I'm kind of a germophobic when it comes to cured meats.

He said it was in the brine for 2 days  with no injection..I would be hard pressed to cook that thing after 7 hours of 65. I would wait for Pops reply tho...

BTW it's Christmas...not Xmas...

  Craig
 

 

[DanMcG]

He said it was in the brine for 2 days  with no injection..I would be hard pressed to cook that thing after 7 hours of 65. I would wait for Pops reply tho...

BTW it's Christmas...not Xmas...

  Craig
 

Doh, I totally missed that part, thanks for the wake up call Craig

 

[josecgomez]

LoL Agreed on the Christmas thing :-) just was being lazy

 

[shoneyboy]

How thick is the thickest part of the ham from the bone to the outside ?

 

[alelover]

So it was still submerged in the brine while on the counter?

 

[josecgomez]

Probably 3 -4 inches?

 

[rbranstner]

So it was still submerged in the brine while on the counter?

As I read it the meat might have been still submerged in the brine while sitting out on the counter. Is that correct?