# Venison ham?  Sort of...



## meatnbeer (Apr 10, 2012)

I have a 2lb chunk of venison that came from the hind quarter that I want to make in to a "ham".  I have search the intarwebs and this site but couldn't really find what I wanted to know so I am winging it based on some of the information I found.  Hope I don't screw this up.  I need your opinions.  I am sure that some of you out there are starting to get to know me as someone that doesn't "do things by the books".  But hey, I am still alive and there are VERY few things I have made that were fed to the dogs (they are still alive also).

Anyway,  as I stated I have a 2lb chunk of venison from the hind quarter.  I have made a solution of 1 cup morton's TQ, 4 cups water, brown sugar, white sugar, honey, (approx 1 cup of sugar between the three of them) garlic, cloves, and pickling spice.  The meat is in and placed in the fridge.  The thickest part of the meat is about 4 inches, so I have to figure out how long to cure it for.  I will look that up later.

My biggest concern is that no where that I was looking could I find a recipe for a ham cure that used TQ in a wet brine.  So I'm not really sure that my proportions are correct.  I want to cold smoke followed by a smoke to ~155 - 160F, with the intentions of making sandwich meat.

What say you all mighty peeps of the SMF?


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## meatnbeer (Apr 10, 2012)

huh, looks like I need to update my signature.  Pretty out dated to my current arsenal....


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## diggingdogfarm (Apr 10, 2012)

If I were using TQ, I would have combination cured a piece that small (2 lbs.) with 2 tbsps. TQ.

The time required depends not only on the thickness, especially for a piece that small , but also how it was cut.

Do you have a pic?




~Martin


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## meatnbeer (Apr 10, 2012)

I can supply a pic later, right now it is in the cure.  I agree with you that 2 tablespoons would be correct for 2 pounds of meat for a dry cure or sausage.  But since I am doing a wet cure I was unsure where to go with proportions.  I based the cure on another recipe I found.  BTW.  The meat is basically a round roast.


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## diggingdogfarm (Apr 10, 2012)

There are various ways that it could be done with the 2 tbsp. of TQ. 
Since you're using a flavored brine, I probably would have went with what I've come to call a saturated brine, pumping part of it and brining in the balance.

The big benefit of a calculated cure like that is that there's almost zero chance in ending up with something that's nothing but a salt lick.



~Martin


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## meatnbeer (Apr 10, 2012)

By saturated brine are you referring to the float an egg trick to find the right salt concentration?


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## diggingdogfarm (Apr 10, 2012)

That floating egg trick isn't reliable.
Meaning at or around the saturation point of salt which is 26% or so .
I didn't know what else to call it. LOL
Point is, it uses a minimum amount of water for maximum flavor concentration.

~Martin


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## terry colwell (Apr 11, 2012)

If your going to use TQ as a brine you might want to use their directions on the package for the brine. Secondly, if it was me I would call them or email and ask them about it. 1 cup of TQ to 4 cups water seems like a bunch.. I thought it was closer to 1 cup to a gallon of water.


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## diggingdogfarm (Apr 11, 2012)

Terry Colwell said:


> 1 cup of TQ to 4 cups water seems like a bunch..



That is their directions on the bag. LOL
Their directions suck!!!



~Martin :biggrin:


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## meatnbeer (Apr 23, 2012)

I know it has been a while since I put this in the brine, but things just came up and I didn't have a chance to do anything with it.  I'm at home today with a sick kid, so there is no better time than the present to take care of it. 

I took it out of the brine, rinsed it off and have it sitting in cold water right now.  How long do you think I should let it soak so that it does't "taste like a salt lick"?


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## diggingdogfarm (Apr 23, 2012)

2 lbs. of meat in a 60.5° brine for nearly 2 weeks?  :icon_eek:
I'm not sure it's savable.
I would try soaking it for at least 12 hours, changing the water frequently.

Good luck!

~Martin


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## processhead (Apr 30, 2012)

Agree, could be time to regroup.


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## ipyrek (Sep 26, 2012)

I'm planning on doing a small 2-3lb venison  ham. I have some instacure #1, it says to use 5tbs. for 5lbs of meat, this is like for sausage and such. Would that be the same in a brine for soaking and injecting ? That is my main concern on how much instacure to use.


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