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DRY SALT CURE FOR A 14-LB HAM
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Pork
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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1 Ham (English hams weigh
-roughly 14 to 20 lbs)
1 oz Brown sugar
1/2 oz Saltpeter (from the
-drugstore)
2 lb Rough salt
The same method may be used for bacon. A leg of pork
severed from the whole side is called a ham. When the
leg is left attached to the side, and severed only
after the cure, it is called a gammon.
You will need a salting pan. Leave the ham unskinned.
Rub in the sugar and the saltpeter first, paying
particular attention to the bone ends. Then rub on
half the salt and put the ham to rest on slats in a
slating trough (best if it has a channel for the brine
to drain out). Rub in the rest of the salt at the end
of a week. Leave the ham to take the salt for a total
of 3 weeks (depending on the size of the ham), turning
regularly. Then hang the ham to dry in a draft of warm
air for a day or two. If you would like to smoke your
own, you will need a barrel smoker or a smoking shed.
Light the fire with kindling first, then feed it with
beech, birch, or oak sawdust. Smoke over the open end
of a smoker barrel. Keep the fire smoldering
constantly - it is not good for the cure to allow
changes in temperature.
Twenty-four hours in the smoke shoudl suffice for a
ham; 6 hours is enough for a side of bacon. York hams
are then hung to mature for 2 to 3 months in a
tgemperature and humidity controlled room.
Time: 3 weeks plus.
From: "The Old World Kitchen - The Rich Tradition of
European Peasant Cooking" by Elisabeth Luard, ISBN
0-553-05219-5 Posted by: Karin Brewer, Cooking Echo,
7/92
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