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.
On the Kitchen Steps ( http://www.onthekitchensteps.com/ ) is a great blog my friend Pam sharedwith me last night. The writer, Chris W., does a great job of sharing his passion for awesome food. The thing that caught my attention was his post about butchering his own pork. Chris shares his thoughts on how people are so disconnected from their food. As a people, we generally don't put together the thought that the meat on the styro tray used to be a happy farm animal. Chris' blog is definitely worth a read.
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:
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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
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. 
