How To Cure A Ham Recipes

HOME-CURED HOLIDAY HAM

Steps:

• Place kosher salt, brown sugar, pickling spice, and pink salt in a container large enough to hold the brine and the ham.
• Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and pour over the brine ingredients; whisk to dissolve. Pour in 1 gallon fresh cold water to cool down the mixture.
• Score the skin side of the pork roast with a sharp knife. Cut into the fat beneath the skin but not into the meat. Score about 1 inch apart, then score in the opposite direction to get the classic diamond-shaped pattern.
• Lower scored roast into the cooled brine, skin side up. Use a plate to weigh down the roast so that it cures fully submerged in the liquid. Refrigerate for 1 day for every 2 pounds of pork (for a 7 pound roast, cure for at least 2 1/2 days). Turn the roast over halfway through the brining process.
• Remove roast from brining liquid. Discard the brining liquid and transfer the roast back to the brining container. Cover the roast with fresh cold water to rinse off some of the salt. Depending on how salty you want your ham, you can soak it for just a few minutes or overnight. Remove roast from the water and blot dry with paper towels.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add a cup of water to a roasting pan with 2 whole star anise. Place roast on a rack in the roasting pan.
• Roast until ham reaches an internal temperature of 130 to 135 degrees F, about 2 hours. Ham will not be fully cooked at this point. If water has nearly evaporated, add a splash more. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Continue to roast until skin is browned and crispy and ham reaches an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees F.
• To make the optional glaze, mix the mustard, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a bowl. Brush glaze on the ham at this point, not before. Return roast to oven for about 5 minutes to crisp it even further.

SUGAR CURE FOR PORK, BACON, HAM

Steps:

• Double this mix as much as you have meat.
• Weigh down meat so that it remains covered.
• Be sure to boil plent of water day before so it is good and cold.
• Put your meat in wood barrels or vinegar stone crocks.
• Leave small boned meat chunks submerged for 2 days.
• Bacon submerged for 4 days.
• Cut hams and shoulders 14 days.
• Whole hams 21 days.
• Storage area must be extremely cold, but not freezing to prevent fermentation.
• After submersion, run thick thread through corner of meats and hang in smokehouse.

HOW TO MAKE HAM

Steps:

• Ham is traditionally made from the hing leg or the shoulder of pork. For beginners, we recommend you try making a 'picnic' ham from the shoulder first. The meat tastes pretty similar and the process is a bit quicker and easier first time around.
• How much brine you make depends on how big your piece of meat is. A general rule is you need to make enough brine to fully submerge your ham in it's container + about 25% extra for pumping.
• When making ham, it's very important you inject your meat with your brine as this ensures your meat will cure thoroughly. This is especially important when using a cut with bones in. Inject as deep as possible ensuring cure is throughout the meat.
• Once you've injected your meat thoroughly, place it in the remaining brine in your container of choice and place in the fridge. Ensure the meat is fully submerged. Curing generally takes 5-7 days.
• After the curing process, remove your meat and thoroughly rinse it under a cold running tap, ensuring to remove any and all excess salt and spices. After this, soak your meat in room temperature water for 2 hours to further remove excess saltiness and cure.
• Place the meat on a plate uncovered inside your refrigerator for 24 hours. During this time two things happen. 1) the remaining cure and salt should 'equalize' throughout the meat, resulting in a less salty and more 'even' tasting final product. 2) your meat will form a 'pellicle'. This is a tacky sheen that will appear on the surface of your meat. The pellicle will help your meat more readily absorb a smokey flavour when it comes time to smoking.
• Yep, that's right. It's here at this step where you'll no longer have a hunk of meat, but rather, a delicious ham. Set your oven or smoker to 110c. Cook your ham until it reaches an internal temperature of 65c.

SALT CURED HAM: OLD-FASHIONED PRESERVING

Steps:

• Mix salt, red pepper, black pepper and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside, this is your curing mix.
• With a ham that's between 36 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, rinse in cold water and pat dry.
• Put a layer of curing mix ¼" - ½" deep on a tray to act as a bed for the ham.
• Place the ham on top of the layer of curing mix.
• At the H-bone (hip) and the hock joints, cut slits down to the bone then pack with as much of the salt mixture as possible.
• Rub and cover the rest of the ham with the curing mix.
• Leave the tray in a cool place (such as a refrigerator or a cooler packed with ice) for 18 days at 36-40 degrees.
• Cure for 18 days (or more - see recipe notes).
• Once the ham is cured, rinse well with cool water then smoke it, cook it or freeze it for later (see recipe notes for cooking tips).

HOW TO CURE A HAM

Steps:

• Place your ham in the plastic container that you'll be using to cure it. On a stove, heat up the water with the salt, sugar, molasses, and ground clove, just until the salt and sugars have dissolved. Stir in the pink salt then pour over the ham, adding more water as needed to cover the ham by 1 inch. If any parts of the ham bob above the surface of the brine, place a ceramic plate on top to weigh it down.
• Place the container in the fridge, and keep it there for 3 days, or roughly 1 day for every 2 pounds. Halfway through the brining process, turn the ham over so all parts of it will be submerged.
• After the brining is done, rinse the ham and let it soak refrigerated in clean water for 24 hours.
• To cook the ham, bake it in a foil-lined roasting pan at 325° F for 30 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature is 150° F. (I recommend not doing it on a rack as I did because it leaves strange impressions on the meat.)
• When done, slice and serve.

HOMEMADE CURED HAM WITH BROWN SUGAR HONEY GLAZE

Steps:

• Combine the following curing ingredients in a large deep container: sea salt, brown sugar, Prague powder, and dried bay leaves. Pour hot water. Stir.
• Add cold water and ice. Soak the fresh pork ham into the brine for 3 days. Make sure to keep it in a cool place such as inside the refrigerator.
• After 3 days, wash the cured ham with running water. Discard the brine and then fill the container with clean tap water. Soak the ham for 3 hours to reduce the saltiness.
• Preheat oven to 320F.
• Arrange the ham in a roasting rack. Cover with aluminum foil. Roast for 2 hours.
• Remove the foil and increase the oven heat to 400F. Continue to roast for 1 hour.
• Prepare the Brown Sugar Honey Glaze by coming all the glaze ingredients in a sauce pan. Heat the pan and stir the mixture until well blended. Continue to cook in low to medium heat until the mixture reduces to half.
• Remove ham from the oven. Brush Brown Sugar Honey Glaze all over it. Continue to roast for 10 minutes or until the ham turns brown.
• Remove from the oven. Let it cool down.
• Carve the ham. Serve.
• Share and enjoy!