- Jun 19, 2014
- 18
- 10
First off the nature of this thread was inspired by Mr. T's "from go to show country ham" thread.
After many months of research I have decided to cure a ham in hopes of creating a "country ham."
I am using Morton's Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure as my cure. This is my first time doing this and I am following the recommendation from Mr. T to use a pre-made commercial mix. To start I got in contact with my local butcher and they were able to get me a 'green' ham. I requested a larger ham if possible -- mine weighed in at exactly 21lbs.
Curing:
I am following Mr. T's steps as closely as I can, 0.4oz of cure for every pound of ham. I used 8.4 ounces of cure for this application. This is one of three application spaced a week apart.
![image[1].jpeg](/media/image-1-jpeg.327269/full?d=1507230024)
Starting at the hock I paid close attention to be sure I got enough cure into the hock and pushed it in as far as I could. The remaining cure was rubbed into all exposed lean parts of the ham.
![image[2].jpeg](/media/image-2-jpeg.327270/full?d=1507230024)
![image[3].jpeg](/media/image-3-jpeg.327271/full?d=1507230024)
After all the cure for this application had been applied I used cheesecloth to wrap the ham to hold the cure in place. Admittedly not the best cheesecloth wrap job.
![image[4].jpeg](/media/image-4-jpeg.327272/full?d=1507230024)
After being wrapped in cheesecloth I use a cotton ham bag to hang the ham hock side down to promote better shape and draining.
![image[5].jpeg](/media/image-5-jpeg.327275/full?d=1507230024)
I have this ham in a fridge right now at 38-40 degrees. A remarkable amount of water is coming off the ham, I have this collecting in a pyrex dish underneath the ham. Next week I will do the exact same thing and this will repeat next week and the week after then I will continue the curing process till the 56-60 day mark. My plan is to constantly update this thread and keep you all up to date with whats going on.
Wish me luck!
After many months of research I have decided to cure a ham in hopes of creating a "country ham."
I am using Morton's Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure as my cure. This is my first time doing this and I am following the recommendation from Mr. T to use a pre-made commercial mix. To start I got in contact with my local butcher and they were able to get me a 'green' ham. I requested a larger ham if possible -- mine weighed in at exactly 21lbs.
Curing:
I am following Mr. T's steps as closely as I can, 0.4oz of cure for every pound of ham. I used 8.4 ounces of cure for this application. This is one of three application spaced a week apart.
Starting at the hock I paid close attention to be sure I got enough cure into the hock and pushed it in as far as I could. The remaining cure was rubbed into all exposed lean parts of the ham.
After all the cure for this application had been applied I used cheesecloth to wrap the ham to hold the cure in place. Admittedly not the best cheesecloth wrap job.
After being wrapped in cheesecloth I use a cotton ham bag to hang the ham hock side down to promote better shape and draining.
I have this ham in a fridge right now at 38-40 degrees. A remarkable amount of water is coming off the ham, I have this collecting in a pyrex dish underneath the ham. Next week I will do the exact same thing and this will repeat next week and the week after then I will continue the curing process till the 56-60 day mark. My plan is to constantly update this thread and keep you all up to date with whats going on.
Wish me luck!
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