# how long to wet cure ham



## icecoldpint

Hi all i am fairly new to smoking only had a couple of goes with pulled pork but im not scared of getting stuck in and trying new stuff. So as i was looking around on the net came across the whole brining thing and thought id like to try that. i thought id start with a small ham so i picked up a small boned leg of pork 1.2kg. theres lots of different brine recipes about but after sum time i picked 1 and went with that it consisted of 100g of salt per 1L of water but i did 500ml of water and 500ml of apple juice then had brown sugar and pickling spices in plus pink salt 2.5g per 1kg of meat. i wasnt sure of the curing time as theres lots of different opinions about on the net but i ended up leaving it for about 1 1/2 days maybe a was a little inpatient. i set up the smoker between 110c - 120c and smoked it till the internal temp was at 70c took it of and let it rest for 20 mins. It smelled fantastic but as i cut into it the centre wasn't pink as i hoped it would be there was a pink ring around the outer side the meat was tender and tasted good the outsider salty but couldn't really taste the salt in the centre of the meat. Do you think i didn't leave it in the brine long enough. And do you think i used enough salt or maybe to much as the outside was quite salty. I was maybe thinking of halving the salt and injecting it into the pork to get it right in the centre any tips or ideas would be great thanks


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## woodcutter

Here is my favorite thread on ham making.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/89979/from-hog-leg-to-easter-ham


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## icecoldpint

Thanks that's a good thread a little larger ham then i did but im sure i can scale it down. If i did a ham that size i would be eating it for weeks lol


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## diggingdogfarm

That's not enough cure amd not a long enough brine time.

http://www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/calculator/paulines_ham/index.htm


~Martin


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## icecoldpint

thanks i like the brine calculator on that link


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## grasshopper

Thank you also. I just want to start out with small amount. I am going to use boneless pork loin, for Canadian bacon.


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## pc farmer

Check out pops brine on here.  Its simple.  I am currently using it on bacon.


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## woodcutter

grasshopper said:


> Thank you also. I just want to start out with small amount. I am going to use boneless pork loin, for Canadian bacon.


Here is a good recipe for Canadian bacon.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/136954/canadian-bacon-using-pops-brine-2nd-try


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