Country Ham

So The Gentleman Farmer has helped cure hams before (see original post of this blog), but never made his own. The other day, my friend and I built a box for my hams. 


Uncle ordered the hams and brought them from the grocer. Each one has to be trimmed up so that the edges are neat. This year we are curing most of the hams in the way that Uncle has taught us, and trying a new process. 


The "traditional" way is to coat the surfaces of each ham with a salt cure mix, turning them over in the box and re-salting about every two weeks from mid-January until about the time we quit having frost. 


The "new" way we are trying is very different. Uncle was polite, but I know he was skeptical. These hams (two of the sixteen we are curing this year) are "glazed" with a fine layer of salt over the skin, and the hock and meaty sides are packed with a pre-measured amount of cure mix. The ham and cure are wrapped in brown paper, wrapped again in cheesecloth, and then hung hock side down from the roof of the shed. These hams won't be disturbed at all until the last frost. The reason I want to try curing hams this way is because it feels like there is more control over how much salt is used and absorbed into the meat. Now that we started them, they definitely have that country ham look. 


When the job was done, good luck and tradition demanded that we each partake in a splash of vodka. The Gentleman Farmer is not one to go against good luck or tradition. 


I'm so excited for spring to start here. Upcoming chores and projects will include maintaining the fence and adding a string of barbwire to the top of it, planting a heckuva garden, stocking the farm with goats and bees, and clearing more of the back forty for projects to be determined. 

Goodbye 2009...

Hello again, from Tennessee Renaissance Farm. 


It's been some time since I wrote last. Things slow down a lot as we move from fall into winter. And some things have happened that are frankly hard for me to write about. Thank you for your interest and encouragement. Bear with me through this update. 


The late fall and start of winter have been much colder than recent years. With the onset of really cold (for us that's low's in the teens at night) weather, neighboring dogs seem to roam more. Some of the neighbors' dogs and some strays basically formed a pack, which is never a good thing. And so it was on the Sunday before Christmas. The dogs killed six of my nine goats that night, and one the following night. Howard the llama, normally the protector, was unable to stop what happened. It was a devastating thing. I just don't have the words. It was really heartbreaking to bury the seven of them. 

Since those bad nights, the fence has been repaired and strengthened. I am reasonably confident that no more dogs have been inside the fence since then. The dogs have become wary of being around the farm, which is probably best for now. 

We've had another, colder cold snap lately. I don't think it's been above freezing for the last week or so, and there are several more days of similar weather in store. It's unseasonably cold, for middle Tennessee. I sold one of the remaining goats at auction, but the other is too ornery to be caught lately. I can understand how he (Leviticus) might be wary of other creatures, lately. He seems to be in a better mood, and he's starting to at least hang out closer to Howard most of the time. Even in the snow, Levi joyously comes running at feeding time. 


Carrying warm water for the livestock several times a day is tedious. 


Having snow on the ground makes it easier to see the surface of the ground back in the trees and brush. I can see much clearer spaces inside the fence where the goats ate up alot of the brush. Being able to see more space open turns my mind to plans for spring. Some more fence will be built. Maybe a small building project or two will take place in the summer. It'll only take another day's rental of the tractor and much of my back forty will be walkable. I really enjoy that thought. 


Thank you for your support of Tennessee Renaissance Farm in my first year of blogging. I will need your continued encouragement and ideas going forward. 




Things I'm looking forward to in 2010: 

• Fresh vegetables from the TRF garden
• More goats!
• Harvesting my first honey! (I need your best biscuit recipes, by the way) 
• Inventorying plant and wild life on the Farm 
• Sustained above-freezing temperatures
  
• More bees!
• Fencing on flat ground instead of the hillside
• New used farm equipment! 

A visitor from the city...

The Gentleman Farmer has a very talented family. This week, my brother (The Gentleman Chef?) paid a visit from his new haunts up north and served up a mighty fine lunch. Brother is a Chef in training at Sullivan University, and he expresses almost extreme pride in working at Vinnie's.

Lunch today was reason for him to be proud. And for me to be proud of him, come to think of it. Bowtie noodles, cream sauce, peppers, peas, carrots and some bacon-y stuff (prosciutto) went together in the hands of an already experienced Chef. Thanks, Bro.

Antici. . . . . . -pation

I thought today would be the day of truth for Hive #4. I started this one with a queen I got that turned out not to be needed by Taylor. I took a frame of brood and honey with some bees from Emily and put them in Hive #4 with the new queen about a month ago, now. It should be all she needs. I figured if I end up with another productive hive then great, and if not, I tried.

She's keeping me in suspense. Like she enjoys toying with me. She's taunting me, I think.

For the third week in a row, I have opened the small nuc box that houses Hive #4. Each time, I expect to see this queen laying thousands of little bee eggs, and each time so far, there are none. But there are other positive signs. It seems that the bees who are tending the queen have somehow grown in number, even though they are obviously not her offspring. Maybe they are expatriates from Meagan, Taylor and Emily. I honestly don't know. But these bees are in the hive, and the queen is still alive and seems to be as lively as her friends. They are not yet drawing out comb, which I think is the hitch with getting her to lay eggs, because they go in the cells.

So I put some honey and pollen supplements on this hive today, hopefully to stimulate the girls as they build up comb.

Today's photos, from the top:

• Ian assisted me today. It seems wrong to teach someone his age to smoke.
• Hive #4, with honey supplement hanging on the front and the entrance reducer in place to keep it easy for a smaller number of bees to defend.
  
• Frames in Hive #4's nuc box.
• Proper smoker fuel (pine needles), rather than the charcoal that caused an incident previously noted here.
  

Rollercoaster thrills on the Farm....

Okay, so it has been a while since my last post. Life happens, but mostly I was kindof discouraged about the girls. Those of you who know me will understand. So here it all is, as succinctly as I am able to express it.

You know from previous posts that Meagan and Emily's queens have both been confirmed as productive, as evidenced by baby bee eggs in their hives. I had waited until my nephew could help me to open Taylor and confirm her queen was also freed from her cage and producing little baby bee offspring. But she wasn't. We looked through every frame in the hive, pored over them four times. No queen. Either the colony rejected and disposed of her, or she was not healthy and died after being released from her cage. There are still bees in the hive, so I hurriedly ordered a new queen. They weren't so hurried in sending her, but she came in time.

So Thursday I went to install this new queen in the Taylor colony. So I opened up the hive to inspect and was absolutely gobsmacked to see little baby bee larvae in very good numbers. The queen had been released and was laying. The brand new comb in the hive is so white, I can see how I might miss the teeny white eggs laying in there (see previous post). The queen's marking is also not on her abdomen, making it more difficult to locate her.

So, hooray! Taylor is okay. Sweet. But wait. I just ordered a new queen. Do I just let her die? After some frantic calls to inquire about ordering another package of bees (not available), and calling the bee club members for advice, I decided the best action was to liberate a frame of bees from Emily and install them in the small nuc hive with the new queen. Hence, Hive 4.

You'll see in the photo with this post, the new fourth hive is in the background of the photo. Emily is still the hive in front, but she has moved into larger accomodations. It was an interesting conversation with the nephew explaining that the bees are the colony, and not the box.



Fast forward to today... Emily is absolutely amazing, with the activity going on at her entrance. almost literal clouds of bees are coming and going today. Meagan and Taylor have alot of bees coming and going, but nothing like Emily. Hive 4 has much less activity, but does have some bees in and out.

It has rained for three weeks. Or enough over that time that the grass hasn't dried enough to mow on my days off. Today was my first chance to cut it, and I just felt better being outside and doing something positive. The place looks much better now that the grass is 90% groomed. Another shower late this afternoon put the brakes on the last bit of trimming.

You'll notice Hive 4 is numbered and not yet named. Suggestions for names will be accepted via comments to this thread. So far the most offered suggestion is to name her "Mimi."

I'll also be accepting good energy from all of you via telepathy. I have an opportunity to obtain goats for a very favorable price, if I can complete a fence for them before the end of the month. Some of my better friends are coming this week to help me get a good start. Blog posts to come.

Long live the queens!

Today I got to open the hives for the first time since I started them last week. By now, the queens and the field bees have been aquainted long enough that they are happy together. Meagan's queen was spotted doing her duty, laying eggs neatly in cells. I got a good photo of her, but didn't want to disturb her more than necessary to bother her for photos. Because Emily's queen was laying when I bought the nuc hive, I knew she was already aquainted in her hive. Today I spotted new eggs in the hive, which show she is still laying since moving to the Tennessee Renaissance Farm. I'm going to hold out until Thursday to open Taylor, so that my helper can be here to assist.

Today was also the first time I handled bees with bare hands. It's definitely a different tactile experience, and sometimes hard to fight the urge to swat when the bees walk on my skin. But no stings this time, so I'm calling it a win.

The photos have a range of things to point out:

• The very white comb is brand new. Meagan made it since the bees arrived a week ago.
  
• Meagan's queen was spotted (first photo). She has the white dot on her back, so she can be spotted easily.
• There are eggs in the cells. They are tiny (small as the tip of a pencil, they say - click on the 2nd photo, look right next to the antennae on the bee toward the middle). Eggs are not more than 3 days old before they become larvae.
  
• Cells that are capped have bees in the final stage of development from pupae to bee. Note the caps on those cells are brown and convex.
• The bright yellow in some cells is pollen. Pollen can range from yellow to brown, orange, green or pink.
• 
• Liquid in the cells is nectar that is being dried into honey.
  
• Drones can be spotted in some of the photos of Emily. Drones are much larger bees, and males. Their eyes take up most of their heads. I could tell they were living it up while they are able. Summer is looking very nice for them. The forecast for drones in the fall is not so good.
• You really have to look at the last photo in its full size. Click on it. Note how the bees are in formation. I took it as a sign that they were ready for me to put their lid back in place.
  

Dear Google,

How do I petition to have the satellite imagery of my property updated?



Thanks,
The Gentleman Farmer

Hanging Hams

My best friend Rick's uncle has a special skill. Every year since Heck was a pup, Uncle Mac has cured country hams for his family. They are a special treat, and certainly a skill that not many people have, anymore. I really enjoy seeing an old-timey skill preserved and handed down. My best friend is learning to cure hams from his uncle, so he'll be able to continue that tradition in his family. What a great inheritance! And nobody had to die to get it, either.

Here's the bullet-point version of curing hams:

1. Buy some hams. The standard cut of pork is whatever they call the ham made from the back leg joints. A good butcher will make the cuts clean and neatly. Whoever cures the ham may still find small flaps of skin and fat to trim, but that's part of the process.
   
2. Around the first of January the hams go in a big wooden box in a protected place outdoors (Mac uses a shed), and there they are salted. A lot. The hams get turned and patted with more salt every 2 weeks or so. Special care must be taken to keep the hams clean
   
3. When spring comes (this part was today), the hams come out of their box. They are rinsed with scalding hot water to remove excess salt deposits. Then they are dried and patted down with a mixture of the salt cure and garlic, cayenne and dry mustard. A hole is poked in the small end of the ham (towards where the foot was attached), and a double loop of twine is pushed through.
   
4. The hams are hung in a place that experiences outdoor temperatures, but is not accessible to bugs or light. They will stay hung in this dark place until October or longer. At this point, they are country hams, ready for biscuits.
   

After we helped with curing this year's hams, we were treated to some of the ham Mac made last year, on fresh biscuits. That was instant gratification.


In no way is this post intended to be a guide or authority on curing hams. My knowledge is admittedly slim on this subject, so bone up for yourself if this is something you'd like to try.