# This is the first time i have cured a ham i need to know if it is safe.



## Hannahjeffres1 (Jun 27, 2020)

I have cured a ham I did a salt and brown sugar curing kit so I made sure it was the right curing salt. I rinsed it off there is no bad smell and it is not slimy but there are some discoloration near the bone does that mean it is bad? I want to cold smoke it but I am nervous I dont want to make my family sick.


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## sawhorseray (Jun 27, 2020)

Did this kit include Cure #1, AKA Prague powder or sodium nitrite?  Did you inject the cure near the bone, that's something that needs to be done when curing a ham. I've only done wild hog hams, but they are all pretty much the same. How long did you let the hams cure for. BTW, welcome to SMF from Gilbert, AZ. Now answer the questions, that's important before you smoke. RAY


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## smokin peachey (Jun 27, 2020)

Welcome to the forum. In order for us to correctly answer your question we need more details. Sawhorse covered some questions so as soon as you share the details we can help you out. We need weight of meat, amount and type of cure, amount of time cured and method of curing submersion aka pops brine or injection.  The color around the bone isn’t enough for us to gauge the safety of the meat off of.


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## Hannahjeffres1 (Jun 27, 2020)

sawhorseray said:


> Did this kit include Cure #1, AKA Prague powder or sodium nitrite?  Did you inject the cure near the bone, that's something that needs to be done when curing a ham. I've only done wild hog hams, but they are all pretty much the same. How long did you let the hams cure for. BTW, welcome to SMF from Gilbert, AZ. Now answer the questions, that's important before you smoke. RAY


I used the Morton home meat cure. I did the dry rub cure I watched you tube and copied them I made slits along the bone and and score mark s on the top and rubbed the dry cure rub in thebclits and then rubbed the ham all over it it was put ina plastic container fir 16 days like it said to do. I dont know who much it weighs it was my first time butchering a pig that was 2 halves I cured and smoked bacon and that came out great for my first time ever doing it but I was reading if I mess up the cureon any game we could get all sick. I dont know if discoloration if a sing of the game being bad


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## smokin peachey (Jun 28, 2020)

I am not familiar with that Morton kit you are mentioning. Is the amount of cure used not based off of the meat weight?


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## daveomak (Jun 28, 2020)

Please post the complete recipe you followed and the U-Tube video....

The ham leg must be cooled to 36-38F for at least 2 days prior to curing so the leg bone gets cold to prevent bone sour...
Prior to slaughter, the pig must be totally relaxed for a day or so as to not generate body heat..  
There's much more but let's start here....


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## Hannahjeffres1 (Jun 28, 2020)

daveomak said:


> Please post the complete recipe you followed and the U-Tube video....
> 
> The ham leg must be cooled to 36-38F for at least 2 days prior to curing so the leg bone gets cold to prevent bone sour...
> Prior to slaughter, the pig must be totally relaxed for a day or so as to not generate body heat..
> There's much more but let's start here....


I did 6 cups of the curing rub and 2 cups of brown sugar and some pepper like the you tube said to do. The pig was slauterd and partial butchered and was in there cooler for 24 hours before we picked up the two halves and I finished butchering it at home and let it in the refrigerator for another 24 hours before I cured it.


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## daveomak (Jun 28, 2020)

How long did they say to keep it refrigerated ??  Then what were you supposed to do with it ??

The COMPLETEmethod would help....  

Post the U-Tube video....    

The reason....  There are idiots on U-Tube .....


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## Hannahjeffres1 (Jun 28, 2020)

daveomak said:


> How long did they say to keep it refrigerated ??  Then what were you supposed to do with it ??
> 
> The COMPLETEmethod would help....
> 
> ...


 This is the recipe I followed and then I watched you tube for how do do it 


*SALT CURED HAM: OLD-FASHIONED PRESERVING*


COURSE: BREAKFAST, DINNER, LUNCH
CUISINE: AMERICAN

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 18 DAYS

SERVINGS: 1 HAM

CALORIES: 69.7KCAL

AUTHOR: LEE TOTTEN


Salt cured ham has been around for centuries as an old-fashioned preservation method. It's simple to cure your own ham at home with this easy recipe.

Print Recipe

*INGREDIENTS*

6 cups Curing Salt
3 Tbs Red pepper
3 Tbs Black pepper
3 cup Brown sugar
1 Fresh Ham
*INSTRUCTIONS*

Mix salt, red pepper, black pepper and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside, this is your curing mix.
With a ham that's between 36 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, rinse in cold water and pat dry.
Put a layer of curing mix ¼” – ½” deep on a tray to act as a bed for the ham.
Place the ham on top of the layer of curing mix.
At the H-bone (hip) and the hock joints, cut slits down to the bone then pack with as much of the salt mixture as possible.
Rub and cover the rest of the ham with the curing mix.
Leave the tray in a cool place (such as a refrigerator or a cooler packed with ice) for 18 days at 36-40 degrees.
Cure for 18 days (or more - see recipe notes).
Once the ham is cured, rinse well with cool water then smoke it, cook it or freeze it for later (see recipe notes for cooking tips).


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## daveomak (Jun 28, 2020)

Since you are making a 'dry cured ham' focus on that method in this paper....



			https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2011-title9-vol2/pdf/CFR-2011-title9-vol2-sec319-106.pdf
		



301 Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA § 319.106 § 319.106‘‘Country     Ham,’’     ‘‘Country Style    Ham,’’    ‘‘Dry    Cured    Ham,’’ ‘‘Country  Pork  Shoulder,’’  ‘‘Country Style    Pork    Shoulder,’’ and ‘‘Dry Cured Pork Shoulder.’’ (a) ‘‘Country  Ham,’’   ‘‘Country  Style  Ham,’’ or ‘‘Dry Cured Ham,’’ and ‘‘Country   Pork   Shoulder,’’   ‘‘Country   Style   Pork  Shoulder,’’ or ‘‘Dry  Cured  Pork  Shoulder.’’ are   the   uncooked,   cured,   dried,  smoked  or  unsmoked  meat  food  products made respectively from a sin-gle  piece  of  meat  conforming  to  the  definition   of   ‘‘ham,’’ as   specified   in   § 317.8(b)(13) of this subchapter, or from a  single  piece  of  meat  from  a  pork  shoulder.  They  are  prepared  in  accord-ance  with  paragraph  (c)  of  this  section  by the dry application of salt (NaCl), or by  the  dry  application  of  salt  (NaCl)  and  one  or  more  of  the  optional  ingre-dients  as  specified  in  paragraph  (d)  of  this  section.  They  may  not  be  injected  with curing solutions nor placed in cur-ing solutions. (b)  The  product  must  be  treated  for  the     destruction     of     possible     live     trichinae   in   accordance   with   such   methods as may be approved by the Ad-ministrator upon request in specific in-stances  and  none  of  the  provisions  of  this standard can be interpreted as dis-charging  trichinae  treatment  require-ments. (c)(1)  The  entire  exterior  of  the  ham  or pork shoulder shall be coated by the dry application of salt or by the dry ap-plication  of  salt  combined  with  other  ingredients  as  permitted  in  paragraph  (d) of this section. (2) Additional salt, or salt mixed with other permitted ingredients, may be re-applied  to  the  product  as  necessary  to  insure complete penetration. (3)  When  sodium  or  potassium  ni-trate,  or  sodium  or  potassium  nitrite,  or  a  combination  thereof,  is  used,  the  application of salt shall be in sufficient quantity  to  insure  that  the  finished  product has an internal salt content of at least 4 percent. (4)  When  no  sodium  nitrate,  potas-sium   nitrate,   sodium   nitrite,   potas-sium  nitrite  or  a  combination  thereof  is used, the application of salt shall be in  sufficient  quantity  to  insure  that  the  finished  product  has  a  brine  con-centration  of  not  less  than  10  percent  or  a  water  activity  of  not  more  than  0.92. (5)  For  hams  or  pork  shoulders  labeled ‘‘country’’ or ‘‘country  style,’’ the combined  period  for  curing  and  salt  equalization  shall  not  be  less  than  45  days  for  hams,  and  shall  not  be  less  than  25  days  for  pork  shoulders;  the  total time for curing salt equalization, and  drying  shall  not  be  less  than  70  days  for  hams,  and  shall  not  be  less  than 50 days for pork shoulders. During the drying and smoking period, the in-ternal temperature of the product must not  exceed  95  °F.,  provided  that  such  temperature    requirement    shall    not    apply to product dried or smoked under natural climatic conditions. (6)  For  hams  or  pork  shoulders  labeled ‘‘dry  cured,’’ the  combined  period  for  curing  and  salt  equalization  shall  not  be  less  than  45  days  for  hams,  and  shall  not  be  less  than  25  days  for  pork  shoulders;  and  the  total  time  for  cur-ing,  salt  equalization,  and  drying  shall  not  be  less  than  55  days  for  hams  and  shall  not  be  less  than  40  days  for  pork  shoulders. (7)  The  weight  of  the  finished  hams  and pork shoulders covered in this sec-tion  shall  be  at  least  18  percent  less  than  the  fresh  uncured  weight  of  the  article. (d) The optional ingredients for prod-ucts covered in this section are: (1)    Nutritive    sweeteners,    spices,    seasonings and flavorings. (2)  Sodium  or  potassium  nitrate  and  sodium  or  potassium  nitrite  if  used  as  prescribed  in  this  section  and  in  ac-cordance  with  a  regulation  permitting  that  use  in  this  subchapter  or  9  CFR  Chapter III, Subchapter E, or in 21 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter A or Subchapter B. [42  FR  3299,  Jan.  18,  1977,  as  amended  at  64  FR 72174, Dec. 23, 1999] EFFECTIVEDATENOTE:  At  46  FR  1257,  Jan.  6,  1981,  the  Safety  and  Quality  Service,  De-partment   of   Agriculture,   announced   that   ‘‘the  temperature  and  time  period  provisions  of  9  CFR  319.106,  paragraphs  (c)(5)  and  (c)(6),  have  not  been  in  effect  since  November  17,  1980, and will not be enforced pending future Agency  action  in  the  matter.  However,  ham  and pork shoulders must continue to be pre-pared  in  compliance  with  all  other  provi-sions  of  9  CFR  319.106  in  order  to  be  labeled  ‘country  ham,’  ‘country  style  ham,’  or  ‘dry  cured  ham,’  and  ‘country  pork  shoulder,’  ‘country  style  pork  shoulder,’  or  ‘dry  cured  pork shoulder.’’’


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## daveomak (Jun 28, 2020)

Dry Curing Virginia-Style Ham
					






					www.pubs.ext.vt.edu
				









						American Country Ham
					

American Country Ham




					www.meatsandsausages.com
				









						Country Cured Ham - From Go to Show: Q/View
					

"Country Ham"  From Go to Show     Dry curing is becoming a lost art in America, the true techniques of producing a country ham are about to be lost due to modern industry.  Country ham is an uncooked ham, dry salt-cured with or without sugar and spices, after the initial cure, and optional cold...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


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## chef jimmyj (Jun 28, 2020)

Perfect example of questionable online and YouTube Recipes for Curing meat. The Recipe calls for Curing Salt. Most of the would thinks Prague Powder, Cure #1. Some might think Morton's Tender Quick. However, click the recipe link for " Curing Mix "and it takes you to Amazon and Morton's Sugar Cure.









						How to Salt Cure a Ham at Home
					

Learn how to salt cure a ham at home using old-fashioned curing methods to preserve meat.




					melissaknorris.com
				




A bit more searching and you can find references to Tender Quick and Sugar Cure being interchangeable.
The Author is confusing, talking about curing with Salt, Curing Salt, Curing Mix and linking Sugar Cure, all in the same article and Recipe and not sticking with ONE commonly accepted Name for what he is using.

I don't know enough about Morton's Cure to make a call as to safety of this ham. Someone who uses Morton's Products may be able to answer. Sorry...JJ


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## daveomak (Jul 2, 2020)

H
 Hannahjeffres1
 , morning.....  Hey, I developed this method for injecting meats...   This particular method makes some of the best ham I have ever tasted....   Some others on the forum have said the same...   One member butchers his pigs, and they get BIG, and he and his father say the same.... 

Check it out and ask me any questions you may have....






						~5 days from Picnic to Ham....
					

I use non enhanced picnics...   enhanced is OK but I cut the ingredients in half (1/2), to accommodate all the stuff processors add... Gently heat 10% the weight of the picnic, of Low Salt Vegetable stock, to about 100F....  9# picnic ~400 grams of stock.... Once warm, ADD IN ORDER and...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com
				




...


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