PANIC - First Time Curing Ham

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Ersley

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 22, 2022
6
2
Hello everyone,

I apologize for making my first post like this, but I am posting this in a complete panic. My husband and I decided to cure and smoke a ham for Christmas. We've smoked many meats before but never cured anything. Long story short, we found a recipe online and the ham has been in the wet brine for 5 or 6 days, now.

Reading back over the recipe I noticed in the comments a lot of people alarmed about the amount of Prague Powder #1 called for. The recipe called for 1/2 cup curing salt to 2 gallons of water, for a pork butt anywhere from 1lb to 12lbs. Ours is about 6.5lbs. The comments sent me off researching and I now realize that IS an alarming amount, though about 1/2 the commentors reported good experience with the recipe.

What I'm asking is, is the ham ruined? Is it salvageable? Is it unsafe? My husband is going to be crushed, because we probably won't have time to do another one right, now. If the ham is ruined is there anything I can suggest that he could get done by Christmas so he isn't so down about the wasted effort?
 
Thank you for the welcome. We used Hoosier Hill Prague Powder #1 per the recipe.
 
If the ham is ruined is there anything I can suggest that he could get done by Christmas so he isn't so down about the wasted effort?
Go get ya a store bought ham and double smoke it . They come out fantastic . Also , it's not a wasted effort . It's a learning experience . Everything you need to know about curing a ham you can find here .
 
I will let others chime in but I would toss it. You only use 1 Tbs of that stuff per gallon. This is a great all purpose brine:

 
hi and welcome to the forum! sorry about your ham, but it happens and don't let it get you down. chopsaw in post #4 has a great idea for an excellent ham you can make for your christmas.
 
You are fine.
That recipie works our to about 100ppm ingoing NaNO2 according to the "pick-up" equation. It's a huge amount according to the "equilibrium" equation.

Going over the literature, you will find the range of acceptable cure is quite large.
While cure#1 can be fatal, you will be hard pressed to consume a fatal amount from a cured and cooked ham.

My question is, did you inject any of cure? It is important to do so on thick cuts of meats.
 
I dont know what I am talking about so, can she take out of the cure and put in a brine with the right amount and reduce the risk?
 
P PolishDeli is correct when calculating using the 'pick-up' method.

For the 'equilibrium' method (which allows for longer curing times, and is almost impossible to over cure) the calculation is quite easy: Weigh the meat, weigh the water and come up with the total weight that is in the bucket. Cure #1 is calculated at 0.25% of that total weight. I estimate you need 26 grams of Cure #1 which is a little more than 4 teaspoons. Now.... the Hoosier Hill Prague Powder #1 is sort of fluffy verses other brands which are more granular like table salt, so it's best to weigh it and not trust volumetric measuring tools like teaspoons or tablespoons.

When you are curing thicker meats, it's recommended to inject some of your brine. Injecting roughly 10% of the meat weight is reasonable, then be sure and have enough brine to cover the meat.
 
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"When in doubt, throw it out" is always the safest bet but agree it's a pickup based method. Not typically the way to go and best to stick to the equilibrium methods posted here and Pop's is PERFECT for noobs.

You're looking at cure rate of 1/4" meat thickness per day unless was injected so cutting close to being fully cured for Christmas.
 
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My question is, did you inject any of cure? It is important to do so on thick cuts of meats.
We did not inject any of the cure. The recipe called for boiling the cure, cooling, soaking the pork butt for 10-14 days, then boiling off excess salt before smoking.

I'm leaning toward the advice to chuck it, but could we boil/soak it in clean water longer to draw out more of the salt and salvage it?
 
Can you post the recipe?

Don't toss the ham though. See it through to completion. If for no other reason, just to see if it fully cured in the end, and to see how the smoking goes. If the cure concentration really has you scared, eat only a small bite or two to gauge flavor. Take notes for the next attempt.

I would suggest that you remove the ham from the brine. And inject brine into the meat. All over. Ever inch or two. Especially along the bone. You can do this with a fresh batch of brine, mixed to a weaker strength if you want to as N Nefarious suggested. You do need about 5 to 8 more curing days. Will you be ok with a New Years ham, instead of a Xmas ham?

Boiling before smoking is not what I'd do.
It'll cook the meat, and prevent smoke penetrarion. Instead, after curing, soak the ham in cold water for an hour or so. Dump and replace the water every ~15 min. Let it dry in the fridge overnight. Then smoke. Post a picture of the cross section when it's done.
 
You are fine in brine with that amount of cure #1, up to 3.84 oz. Per gallon of water. Cure time will depend on salt concentration in percentage in the brine. The stronger the brine the faster the cure. How much salt did you add?
 
Can you post the recipe?
How much salt did you add?


We followed the recipe completely with a ~6.5-7lb boneless pork butt. If we can salvage it, we're totally fine with a New Years ham!
 
You said the recipe called for boiling the cure...did you do that? Which leads to my question to some of the other people that have commented here...doesn't boiling the cure weaken it? I know it's been discussed here before but don't remember the right answer

Ryan
 
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We followed the recipe completely with a ~6.5-7lb boneless pork butt. If we can salvage it, we're totally fine with a New Years ham!
Your ham is most definitely not ruined, but not yet a cured ham at 6 days, so first question, is the ham bone in or boneless? Relax, you are still in great shape and will make a fine ham, but most likely will be for New Years.
 
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You said the recipe called for boiling the cure...did you do that?
Husband says he boiled all the ingredients with half the water (pot was too small for all of it) for about 30 mins, then added the rest of the water and allowed it to cool before adding the meat.

is the ham bone in or boneless?
Boneless, between 6.5lbs and 7lbs, can't quite remember exactly.
 
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