# Prosciutto....Merseyside Style



## sniper7990 (Oct 4, 2015)

Right, on the success of my Leg of Lamb Prosciutto, I have decided to plough ahead and go for a whole hog leg.

So it was off to the meat market (butchers....not the local night club!!!) and I managed to get a whole leg of pork for £28. When trimmed, it still weighed 8kg.

So, anyway, I have made a couple of videos and posted them on my Youtube page 'Rusty's Rustic Pantry'.

The links are here:

   (trimming the leg)

and

   (applying the cure)

I made a bit of a school boy error so since making the videos, I have added some sugar to the cure, along with some black pepper and garlic powder.

Ill post videos and bits n pieces as I go along, but there wont be too much to report for 15-18 months!!!!


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## atomicsmoke (Oct 4, 2015)

Taking a front seat.

Good luck.


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## sniper7990 (Oct 4, 2015)

Its going to be a long show LMAO


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## sniper7990 (Nov 8, 2015)

Right, so the leg of pork has been in the cure for a whole month. here's some pics once its been taken out and left to equalise.













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And here's a link to a video on my YouTube page


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## dirtsailor2003 (Nov 8, 2015)

Might as well tag along to the finish line!


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## smokin monkey (Nov 9, 2015)

Yeah, I'm in as well!


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## crankybuzzard (Nov 9, 2015)

Sign me up, I figure to be around for at least another year...


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## sniper7990 (Nov 11, 2015)

It's gonna be a long wait folks but you're more than welcome to tag along for the ride


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## sniper7990 (Nov 24, 2015)

Not much more to report on with the Prosciutto project, but after a couple of weeks in the refrdigerator its time to cover the exposed flesh with lard to prevent it from drying out too quickly. Now its time for its long sleep!!
Im going to place this back in the refridgerator until the new year to give me time to build a new and bigger meat safe for it.













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## crankybuzzard (Nov 24, 2015)

Love threads like this one!

Please, keep the pics coming as you work on it, heck, even if you check on it!


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## sniper7990 (Nov 24, 2015)

Will do....and if any of you spot any school boy errors please let me know. Now I know that the initial curing stage seems to have worked, I'll go back to the videos and post the original recipe on here


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## chef jimmyj (Nov 24, 2015)

I am looking to try a Boneless Prosciutto some day. Nice start!...JJ


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## sniper7990 (Nov 24, 2015)

Cheers JJ....I was toying with the idea of boneless, but as I wanted to time it for Christmas 2016, I sort of wanted to have that classic 'Parma' ham shape and put it in a stand in the middle of the table. I may try a wet cured ham on the bone for this Christmas though. the next stage for video/photo will be building the new meat safe for hanging the prosciutto outside...but what with Christmas coming up, its an expense I cant afford, so it will have to wait until January. it shouldn't come to any harm now its been larded up


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## roller (Dec 14, 2015)

Your going to be here for awhile guys this is gonna take awhile...Like way over a year...


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## sniper7990 (Dec 19, 2015)

Im looking at maybe next Christmas, perhaps a bit sooner. The climate here isn't perfect, so its going to be a bit of 'suck it an see', experimentation


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## sniper7990 (Jan 26, 2016)

OK, so update time. First of all  few pics of the meat safe I had to build (as I went along). The last one, which I built for the Lamb Prosciutto was way too small, and I learn from my mistakes....this one I built a door on the front rather than have the bottom removable as on the previous one. Makes life a lot easier.













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## sniper7990 (Jan 26, 2016)

And here is the Prosciutto as it is now...













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It started off at 8.5kg, its now down to just under 7kg. Most of that was lost during the initial cure, the weight loss is now far slower as it air dries.













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And here it is in its home


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jan 26, 2016)

Rolling along, looking good!


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## atomicsmoke (Jan 26, 2016)

Nice cage. Prosciutto looks good. Only 11 months left.


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## frosty (Jan 26, 2016)

Nicely done.  Bet the results will be spectacular!!!


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## smokin monkey (Jan 27, 2016)

I will pop back in the summer to see the results[emoji]128077[/emoji][emoji]127831[/emoji]


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## sniper7990 (Jan 27, 2016)

To be honest, taking in to account the target weight loss of 30%, I think this may be ready before I anticipated. Depends how long it now take to dry in open air. I'm hoping that this process will get slower as it progresses.


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## hoity toit (Feb 8, 2016)

I'm watching this thread, no wonder the stuff is so expensive.,,,,takes a long time to bring it up to speed.


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## sniper7990 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hoity Toit said:


> I'm watching this thread, no wonder the stuff is so expensive.,,,,takes a long time to bring it up to speed.


Yeh, and I'm not going to guarantee that it will be edible when its done LOL


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## smokinpapist (Mar 3, 2016)

This is awesome. Thanks for posting all of this. Quick question, what temp are you hanging your meat at? Is it just room temp in your house?


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## sniper7990 (Apr 18, 2016)

Sorry didn't see this sooner, its been hanging outside in the meat safe and been switching it between there and the fridge.

Im goint to check on it now and post more pics and info


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## sniper7990 (Apr 18, 2016)

Right, we are now at the 12 month stage.

Weight is now bang on 6 kg.

That's exactly 30% weight/moisture loss which is the target.

Really don't know what to do now.

Do I leave it to dry longer, or should I give in to temptation, clean it and carve it?













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## atomicsmoke (Apr 18, 2016)

Well...even if is ready to enjoy you will leave it hanging, won't you? And slice portions off whenever you feel like prosciutto?

I would wipe off the lard from one side and try it. Then cover back with lard. Only remove the rind from the area you want to slice.

Check some videos online on slicing prosciutto.


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## smokin monkey (Apr 18, 2016)

Live life to the full, give in to Temptation!


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## dirtsailor2003 (Apr 18, 2016)

Smokin Monkey said:


> Live life to the full, give in to Temptation!


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## sniper7990 (Apr 18, 2016)

Sounds like a plan to me....ill give it a try but may not be able to try it tonight.

I tried the old bamboo skewer trick to see if there were any off smells and so far all indications are good.

Ill have to video the tasting LOL


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## nsoutdoorsman1 (Apr 18, 2016)

Gotta love ur patience,12 months is a long time!Looks great and looking forward to the initial slice:)


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## sniper7990 (Apr 19, 2016)

OK, I'm letting the ham come up to room temp. One thing I have noticed, if you look at the most recent photo, there is a crack in the lard that runs horizontally from the ball joint of the bone to the far right of the joint. There is a slight odour coming from this, i cant think its a mixture of garlic and pepper as used in the cure. After a year, if it had gone rotten the smell would be a lot worse I would think. Ill carve it on my next day off


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## sniper7990 (Apr 22, 2016)

Right......tomorrow it is.....cant wait any longer. ill video the event and post it on here and Rustys Rustic Pantry


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## sniper7990 (Apr 29, 2016)

Well, I am hoping to carve the prosciutto later today. Then I realised that I didn't have a ham stand!!!
So I decided to make one.  The upright dowels are flexible so they will act as a clamp when I put an elastic band round them and then there are the spikes which stop it slipping around ...SIMPLES LOL













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## sniper7990 (Apr 29, 2016)

Sorry folks...i wanted to get this all sorted and tidied up but unfortunately my mother passed away and obviously priorities changed. all i can say is that the project is a total success and will post vids asap


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## daveomak (Apr 29, 2016)

Sorry to hear about your mother...   condolences.......


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## atomicsmoke (Apr 29, 2016)

Sniper,
Please accept my condolences.Go be with your family. We will be here when you return. May your mother's soul rest in peace.


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## whistech (May 2, 2016)

Sniper, so sorry to hear your Mother has passed.    My condolences are with you and your family.   May God Bless you and your family and help you through this difficult time.


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## canuck38 (May 2, 2016)

Sorry for your loss.......my condolences.


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## smokin monkey (May 2, 2016)

Snipe, just caught up with this, sorry to hear the news.


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## hoity toit (May 4, 2016)

So sorry to hear about your loss. Condolences to you and your family.

HT


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## sniper7990 (May 6, 2016)

Thanks guys...your kind words are really appreciated.

Just held service for mum and now sitting at home with a very large dark rum and coke.

So....in memory of mum, and with a little tribute to her at the end of the video, i have published the final results of my Prosciutto project.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the results!!!!

I hope one or two of you have a go at this because the results are really worth it

I dont know if the video will post here, but if it doesn't here is a link to it on my YouTube channel

Once again....thanks for all you kind words......God Bless

Russ and family

Enjoy


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## atomicsmoke (May 6, 2016)

'Sciutto looks great. Love the carving setup. I need to build something too.


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## sniper7990 (May 26, 2016)

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Well, its been sitting on our kitchen table for a while now, in the stand, and just covered with a tea-towel. Its been shrinking LOL


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## getbent (Jan 3, 2017)

That is awesome...good job


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## mneeley490 (Mar 11, 2017)

Sniper, can't thank you enough for your step-by-step here. You've inspired my to try my hand at it. So far, I've done a bresola and a couple of capicola, and they turned out pretty well. My friends have been after me for a long time to try prosciutto (funny how they never want to do it themselves.)  So anyway, today I happened across a pork leg at a good price, and will be using your videos as my guideline.

Wish me luck!


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