Smoke a country ham for one month?

[stimyg]

I was going through some old papers and found a 3-page description my grandfather had given me for making the salty smoky country ham that he and loved so much when I was growing up.  I'll post my description of the 'recipe' to follow, but my main question is this: his directions say to finish the process by smoking the ham "for a month or more."  That seems like way too long, right?  

He was a bit old when he wrote this, so it's possible he was still thinking of the previous step (which involved salting the ham for a month or more.)  My recollection is that he told me they'd smoke it for a few days, but that's just my recollection, and could be biased by my own preconceptions.  Just looking at the design of his smokehouse, I do believe there was a lot less smoke than you'd get in a smoker like I use (weber bullet smoker), but I could be wrong about that to.

Here's the recipe:

StartFragment

Baba Dick's Country Salted Ham

(as translated from his handwritten description; see photos of the smoke house.)

Pig (200-300lbs); cut into rumps, shoulders, and other parts

32 Caliber rifle

Boiling Water

10’ tripod

Uncle George the Butcher

Butcher board, 12’ x 16” x 2.5”

Salt-peter (20-30lbs)

5-7’ smoke house with rods

Hickory sawdust

Directions: Kill the pig with the .32 caliber rifle.   Boil it to make it easy to remove the gristle.   Hoist it up onto a 10’ tripod.   Get Uncle George Garrett the professional butcher to cut it into rumps, shoulders, and other parts.    Put the meat on a butcher board, 12’ x 16” x 2.5”.   Put a thick coating of saltpeter on every shoulder and ham.   This coating remains for “more than a month.”   The salt-peter keeps the meat from spoiling. Then it is time to smoke.   Hang the pieces in the smoke house.   Put hickory sawdust into the small stove in the base of the building.   Keep the sawdust smoldering for “a period of a month or more.”

Thanks for any thoughts!
EndFragmentEndFragment

 

[bbally]

You have to remember way they smoked.  We smoke for flavor, they smoked to keep flies from laying eggs in the hams that hung on the porch all year.  It takes heavy smoke to keep meat from becoming a fly hatching station.

Smoking was part of the method of preserving the food.  Salt cured the meat, smoking kept the bugs away!  In Canteberry New Hampshire we smoked for two months on many salt cured country hams.

Do yourself a favor and convert that Potassium nitrate to Sodium Nitrate so you are safer.  If you don't know how to convert from Mol strength of K to mol strength of Na let me know and I will do the calculation for you and post the formula.

 

[stimyg]

I know little about this, so I'd be very happy for any conversion you can help with, or any thoughts on the rest of the process.

Do you think it's possible he was referring to Sodium Nitrate?  The only reason I ask is that the ham was famous being extremely salty.  

Either way, thanks.

 

[bbally]

I know little about this, so I'd be very happy for any conversion you can help with, or any thoughts on the rest of the process.

Do you think it's possible he was referring to Sodium Nitrate?  The only reason I ask is that the ham was famous being extremely salty.  

Either way, thanks.

KNO3 (potassium nitrate; salt petre) )was the cure of choice back in the day.  So if the recipe is original than KNO3 would be correct.

NaNO3 (sodium Nitrate) really came on in the 50's and was adopted in the early 60's by the industrail food complex.

Salty was the game back then.... think preservation with little to no refrigeration.  Ice box was still common, temps varied wildly... want meat not to spoil?  Cure it.....  want the flies off it, smoke it after curing!

Find out what you can about the recipe, about when it started being used etc.,... we can figure it out from there.

 

[alblancher]

You probably won't need the 32 cal rifle, the tripod, and Uncle George so why not look up a more up to date procedure. 

Your grandfather has a wonderful story, I hope you have additional opportunities to get him to tell you more and please post so we can all enjoy.   BBally is one of the most respected members of this forum so if he says you can do it and if he is willing to help follow his advice but you may want to simplify things a bit and just buy some Cure 2 and follow a country ham or Smithfield ham recipe.

Look forward to the stories.  As I get older I become so much more aware of how we are becoming one homogeneous culture and we are loosing our individual heritage and experiences. 

Al

 

[stimyg]

Well, unfortunately my grandfather passed away last year, so his written description is all I'll hear about the topic I'm afraid.  But to go back to Bbally's post: my grandfather was talking about this method being used in his childhood, which would have been in the 1910's-1920's.  So it sounds like it was probably KNO3.  I suppose that also ends up tasting salty, like NA does?

In case it's relevant, he was born, raised, and lived in Hanover, PA, in York Country.  That's Pennsylvania Dutch country.  In fact, here's a few photos I took about 10 years ago, of the smokehouse (and my grandfather):

BTW

 

[alblancher]

Beautiful,  think of all the time your family spent working in that smokehouse.  Love the detail above the door.  If you have a chance to do a smoke in it, do it.  One day you'll be glad you did.

 

[bbally]

I know Hanover well.  Raised in Boyertown PA myself.  Killing deer, smoking meat, chasing girls, and playing football was what it was about with the Penna Dutch and the Pollocks!

KNO3 is was for sure.  Valley Forge made lots of it.

 

[strokr383]

You have to remember way they smoked. We smoke for flavor, they smoked to keep flies from laying eggs in the hams that hung on the porch all year. It takes heavy smoke to keep meat from becoming a fly hatching station.

Smoking was part of the method of preserving the food. Salt cured the meat, smoking kept the bugs away! In Canteberry New Hampshire we smoked for two months on many salt cured country hams.

Do yourself a favor and convert that Potassium nitrate to Sodium Nitrate so you are safer. If you don't know how to convert from Mol strength of K to mol strength of Na let me know and I will do the calculation for you and post the formula.

hello, my name is Bill & i am new here. maybe i can help SOME. my dad, born 1917, smoked meat like this, meat hanging over hickory wood smoldering in a #2 wash tub, in his smokehouse. trying to remember, best of my memory he rubbed the pork down with salt then cut part against bench/cut side down in smoke house 1 week, then smoked 3 weeks

 

[Cajun Smokes]

Very interesting thread to learn how things were done. Tks for bumping this thread

 

[Bigtank]

Following this is interesting

 

[Chasdev]

Pretty close to the best post ever..

 

[strokr383]

i like with the smoke source door outside

 

[strokr383]

i have a question for everyone. i am wanting to “old school” smoke house some meat BUT i will be wanting to do this in a tropical country where is is consistantly hot. ian think i may have to have, like an industrial fridge concerted to a smoke house would be my easiest way. thought please

 

[indaswamp]

i have a question for everyone. i am wanting to “old school” smoke house some meat BUT i will be wanting to do this in a tropical country where is is consistantly hot. ian think i may have to have, like an industrial fridge concerted to a smoke house would be my easiest way. thought please

You definitely have some issues when attempting to cold smoke with warm ambient air temps.

You need to:
1. cool the smoke/air entering the smokehouse and..
2. use auxillary fans for draft.


In a cold climate, the cold ambient air is what gives you a good draft, and without a good draft through the smokehouse, the smoke will become bitter on the meat. You will need a small fan that gives you infinitely adjustable speeds. Fashion that on the exhaust to pull the cold air through the smokehouse.

For cold air, you can use ice chests that have PVC pipe run through them. Fill the ice chest with ice and a little water, enough to submerge the pipe. you can even use elbows and make the pipe snake from side to side 2-3 times for more contact time and cooler air.

For a smoke source, use the AMAZN smoke tube but pack it with wood dust. It will burn for 10-12 hours and will not raise the temp, of the smokehouse much at all above the intake air temp.


And lastly-do you cold smoke sessions at night. Temps. are cooler, and humidity is higher. This is what I do here is south Louisiana. you can rest the meat during the day hanging in a refrigerator.

 

[strokr383]

You definitely have some issues when attempting to cold smoke with warm ambient air temps.

You need to:
1. cool the smoke/air entering the smokehouse and..
2. use auxillary fans for draft.


In a cold climate, the cold ambient air is what gives you a good draft, and without a good draft through the smokehouse, the smoke will become bitter on the meat. You will need a small fan that gives you infinitely adjustable speeds. Fashion that on the exhaust to pull the cold air through the smokehouse.

For cold air, you can use ice chests that have PVC pipe run through them. Fill the ice chest with ice and a little water, enough to submerge the pipe. you can even use elbows and make the pipe snake from side to side 2-3 times for more contact time and cooler air.

For a smoke source, use the AMAZN smoke tube but pack it with wood dust. It will burn for 10-12 hours and will not raise the temp, of the smokehouse much at all above the intake air temp.


And lastly-do you cold smoke sessions at night. Temps. are cooler, and humidity is higher. This is what I do here is south Louisiana. you can rest the meat during the day hanging in a refrigerator.

i plan on smoking 3 weeks like the old days

 

[indaswamp]

i plan on smoking 3 weeks like the old days

In the old days, a small fire would be started in the morning. By the next morning, the fire had gone out and was restarted. The smoking was not continuous. Depending on the nighttime temp. where you live, you can smoke 10-12 hours overnight, transfer to a refrigerator during the day when it warms up outside. Repeat for as many days as you like....

 

[strokr383]

In the old days, a small fire would be started in the morning. By the next morning, the fire had gone out and was restarted. The smoking was not continuous. Depending on the nighttime temp. where you live, you can smoke 10-12 hours overnight, transfer to a refrigerator during the day when it warms up outside. Repeat for as many days as you like....

my father had hickory wood smoldering 24 hours per day