Curing in the Deep South ??

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choupic

Fire Starter
Original poster
May 7, 2013
48
11
Maurepas La.
I watched a video on YouTube the other day and an old timer from Kentucky was curing some hams . Well , he put up those hams and he ate some pork off of a ham he had cured from 7 years before !

It looked as though he was up in the mountains , pretty high elevation anyway . But is this possible ? And would this be possible to do in say , south Louisiana , with our high heat and humidity during the summer months ?
 
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I don't know if the temp and humidity would be good for curing hams....  someone with more knowledge will have to answer your question...  

Dave
 
I`ve seen that video..I want to do one for a year..there are more videos on the subject on youtube did you watch them ?
 
Eating a 7 year old properly cured country ham is no problem though the flavor, before soaking, would be pretty hardcore intense and salty...JJ
 
7 years???

A little warm & wet down there for that. Could give you the 7 year itch, or worse!!!

Bear
 
7 years???

A little warm & wet down there for that. Could give you the 7 year itch, or worse!!!

Bear
I`ve had that !
biggrin.gif
 

Where you live it would probably have to be kept in your house w/air-conditioning 4 or 5 months out of every year and lots of salt and lard on it to keep the buggers out...
 
I watched a video on YouTube the other day and an old timer from Kentucky was curing some hams . Well , he put up those hams and he ate some pork off of a ham he had cured from 7 years before !

 But is this possible ? And would this be possible to do in say , south Louisiana , with our high heat and humidity during the summer months ?
It would be best to do your curing in the cooler months in your location.  The only problem you will encounter will be keeping the aging temperature below 90°.  The reason for this is, if the temperature goes above 90° it retards or destroys the enzymes that are beneficial in the aging process.  If the temperature begins to get close to 90° the hams can be placed in a refrigerator and kept until cooler weather.

Tom
 
I`ve seen that video..I want to do one for a year..there are more videos on the subject on youtube did you watch them ?

Yes , I've watched quite a few but that one was pretty interesting . This guy put red and white pepper with the salt , he said the pepper keeps the bugs out of it .
 
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Eating a 7 year old properly cured country ham is no problem though the flavor, before soaking, would be pretty hardcore intense and salty...JJ

Yeah you would think , but the older gentleman said that it tasted just as good as the day he put it up .
 
It would be best to do your curing in the cooler months in your location.  The only problem you will encounter will be keeping the aging temperature below 90°.  The reason for this is, if the temperature goes above 90° it retards or destroys the enzymes that are beneficial in the aging process.  If the temperature begins to get close to 90° the hams can be placed in a refrigerator and kept until cooler weather.

Tom

I see ... I've heard of old people in my area keeping their pork in wooden barrels in some type of solution .

Very interesting stuff either way .. Thanks for y'all comments !
 
I see ... I've heard of old people in my area keeping their pork in wooden barrels in some type of solution .

Very interesting stuff either way .. Thanks for y'all comments !
That Pork may very well be for the Pickled Pork that is classic in Red Beans and Rice...JJ
 
Lake Maurpaus? Heck you didn't even get cold enough this last winter to butcher a hog, did ya? The cures available these days may help, curing a ham or bacon is on my to-do list but in S Louisiana we seem to be losing all our cool winter days. The begining, for the first 30 to 45 days I understand you need it around 35 to 40 degrees. Thats with the instant cure injected all along the bones along with the cure/salt.

I think we have seen such a change in the weather that currently in this part of the world I don't think I am going to try it. Maybe a bacon, but an old style salt or sugar rubbed ham I would be scared of because of the temps.

'Course thats just my opinion and we all know what opinions are like............ I mean what do I know, I can ruin a brisket in brine!
 
Yeah our winter was pretty mild to say the least . The good part about it was that we take long boat rides to deer hunt , so it wasn't that bad this year as far as being cold in the boat .

Dang fruit trees are all screwed up from the crazy spring we had too . They didn't know whether to make flowers or drop leaves ...

I'm guessing Ill just keep freezing our meats , our Mosquitos down here can suck the bone marrow out of a ham ! Lol

What area are you from foam heart ?
 
I don't know, I am still pretty partial to that lake at Guntersville, best country breakfast in the whole USA!  The Best Western on the lake that used to be a holiday inn. Good stuff, fun lake and nice people. Add some cold beer and what more could ya want?
 
With the work I do , I've traveled a good bit all over the country , and have seen some beautiful places .

Something about this mud , blood , and briars I just can't stay gone for long .

If we just had some descent politicians running this place , it would truely be gods country ! Lol


This is my son on one of those short sleeve January deer hunts .
 
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Sometimes getting lost is a good thing Mr T ...

Gator meat is terrible . Lol it taste just like it smells when you skin them . I love me some crawfish though , and have to hide the smoked garfish because my kids eat that like candy .
 
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