CUSHION(?) HAM

[I-am-Chorizo]

There is this round muscle from the pork leg that was being exhibited in the local butcher window. I saw it and inmediately protrayed a ham in my mind. Asked for the name and the butcher said "Carabelita"...¿What's the name that my fellows of SMF give to this piece? I don't really know...but i think that SmokinEdge or N nlife called it cushion in a conversation we had about ham. I am no ham expert whatsoever...but here it is, my "Cushion Ham"

I injected this 3lbs guys with a brine made of:
2.5g cure#1
4.5g Sodium tripolyphosphate
1g Sodium Erithorbate
22g salt
11g sugar
150ml water

Patiently let them cure for 15 days then smoked for about 8 hours and finished them in 80°C hot water until they reached 70°C internal temp. after that, put them in a large pot with crushed ice and water, let them rest overnight, sliced with knife (don't have a slicer yet) and selaed.

¿What do you guys think? ¿What do you call this cut?

Greetings from Colombia.

 

[nlife]

That looks amazing to me!

SmokinEdge was the one that called it a cushion. Unfortunately I've never seen one in my little slice of Canadian heaven.

 

[jcam222]

Beautiful hams! You've got a nice operation going there!

 

[SmokinEdge]

There is this round muscle from the pork leg that was being exhibited in the local butcher window. I saw it and inmediately protrayed a ham in my mind. Asked for the name and the butcher said "Carabelita"...¿What's the name that my fellows of SMF give to this piece? I don't really know...but i think that SmokinEdge or N nlife called it cushion in a conversation we had about ham. I am no ham expert whatsoever...but here it is, my "Cushion Ham"

View attachment 713789

I injected this 3lbs guys with a brine made of:
2.5g cure#1
4.5g Sodium tripolyphosphate
1g Sodium Erithorbate
22g salt
11g sugar
150ml water

Patiently let them cure for 15 days then smoked for about 8 hours and finished them in 80°C hot water until they reached 70°C internal temp. after that, put them in a large pot with crushed ice and water, let them rest overnight, sliced with knife (don't have a slicer yet) and selaed.

¿What do you guys think? ¿What do you call this cut?

Greetings from Colombia.

Everything looks excellent Albert. Very nice work. The piece of meat in the picture looks more like it came from the hind leg. Traditional pork cushion here in the USA comes from the lower front leg. It typically has darker meat. What you have looks more like a cut from the hind leg because the meat color is lighter.

Either way the whole product looks fantastic, very delicious.

 

[Astralogics]

Ham looks great! Job well done there!

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

They look awesome Nice smoke.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Those hams look great! Add some eggs and it would be perfect!

Ryan

 

[I-am-Chorizo]

Everything looks excellent Albert. Very nice work. The piece of meat in the picture looks more like it came from the hind leg. Traditional pork cushion here in the USA comes from the lower front leg. It typically has darker meat. What you have looks more like a cut from the hind leg because the meat color is lighter.

Either way the whole product looks fantastic, very delicious.

Hello Eric!

You were totally right about injecting the ham instead of submerging in a brine pool. Thanks a lot for your advice...it took me some time to attempt this method, but the results were (as you said) reproduceable in every ham (I made 8).

On the other hand, the muscle. It is a whole muscle, it is almost round and you have to work very little with the net in order to give it an spheric shape, it usually weights 1.5kg with some minor variations...not enough knowledge about pork leg anatomy in order to call it by its real name. Butcher says it comes from the leg.

Greetings

Albert

 

[chopsaw]

¿What do you guys think?

They look great . Water finish is interesting .

¿What do you call this cut?

I do a lot of pork cushion . You're the only other person I've seen do them , or even mention it .
Comes from the front leg , off the side of the picnic . It's a great cut of pork .
I buy them in bags of 5 .

I use it for ,
Roast pork

Prosciutto ,

Sausage chubs ,

and of coarse hams .

 

[LoydB]

I use pork cushion in sausages a lot, it's a great cut. I need to try a ham.

Why is injection superior to immersion for brine?

 

[I-am-Chorizo]

They look great . Water finish is interesting .


I do a lot of pork cushion . You're the only other person I've seen do them , or even mention it .
Comes from the front leg , off the side of the picnic . It's a great cut of pork .
I buy them in bags of 5 .
View attachment 713818
I use it for ,
Roast pork
View attachment 713821
Prosciutto ,
View attachment 713822
Sausage chubs ,
View attachment 713823
and of coarse hams .
View attachment 713824

OMG...those are some amazing products. Very curious about those "Sausage chubs" they look like Salami...Could you give me a little more info about it? or guide me to a thread if you happened to post one about it. Also got tempted by the roast pork.

Lol...okay Cushion Bros. get in here! The time has come to conform the World Cushion ham league...or the World Cushion ham Fellowship? or the World Comittee for the promotion of cushion ham? Friends of the cushion ham?...

Greetings!

 

[chopsaw]

Here's the Umai thread .

Carne Salata ( Pork cushion proscuitto )

This is from Len Poli's site , crossed over to Umai bags . Used his basic spice profile , then followed most of the Umai directions . I say most because Umai called for 4 months in the fridge . This lost 40% in 4 weeks . That's where I wanted it . Cured 2 weeks with the spices in a vac bag ...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Roast pork . Uses the Dave Omak phosphate injection .

Smoke Roasted Pork cushion

I started buying pork cushions at GFS when they were cheaper that pork butts . They come from the area of the picnic on the animal , and make a great ham . I found a couple in the freezer and thought I would do some roast pork . 185 to 195 is a sliceable temp for this cut . I mixed up a...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

The sausage is in this thread . I used the injection based on the weight of the grind , and mixed it in . No other seasoning . Was going for a ham sausage flavor .

Wanted spare ribs , ended up with pork cushion .

I've been wanting to do some full spares . Went 2 weeks ago and they were out ( GFS ) . Went last Thursday . They had some . Price changed my mind . 3 Pack . Ended up with a pack of pork cushion . It was actually down in price . Check you pack date and sell by , Figured I would cure them...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Here's one you might enjoy .

Whole front leg . Ham , sausage and some bacon .

I bought this at GFS when other stuff was out of stock . They don't normally have them , so I figure they were putting out what they could get . This was a at least 3 months ago . Maybe more . 99 cents a pound . Cleaned it up and boned it out . Tied up part of the picnic end and did Dave's...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[I-am-Chorizo]

Here's the Umai thread .

Carne Salata ( Pork cushion proscuitto )

This is from Len Poli's site , crossed over to Umai bags . Used his basic spice profile , then followed most of the Umai directions . I say most because Umai called for 4 months in the fridge . This lost 40% in 4 weeks . That's where I wanted it . Cured 2 weeks with the spices in a vac bag ...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Roast pork . Uses the Dave Omak phosphate injection .

Smoke Roasted Pork cushion

I started buying pork cushions at GFS when they were cheaper that pork butts . They come from the area of the picnic on the animal , and make a great ham . I found a couple in the freezer and thought I would do some roast pork . 185 to 195 is a sliceable temp for this cut . I mixed up a...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

The sausage is in this thread . I used the injection based on the weight of the grind , and mixed it in . No other seasoning . Was going for a ham sausage flavor .

Wanted spare ribs , ended up with pork cushion .

I've been wanting to do some full spares . Went 2 weeks ago and they were out ( GFS ) . Went last Thursday . They had some . Price changed my mind . 3 Pack . Ended up with a pack of pork cushion . It was actually down in price . Check you pack date and sell by , Figured I would cure them...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Here's one you might enjoy .

Whole front leg . Ham , sausage and some bacon .

I bought this at GFS when other stuff was out of stock . They don't normally have them , so I figure they were putting out what they could get . This was a at least 3 months ago . Maybe more . 99 cents a pound . Cleaned it up and boned it out . Tied up part of the picnic end and did Dave's...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Hello There!

Thanks for the guide. I am definitely trying the whole front leg ham and the sausage. They both look delicious and those pics are very inspirational. I was wondering if it is worth rubbing the ham with spices and/or introducing herbs in the curation stage (I do it in a vacuum sealed bag). In the case of bacon, and following SmokinEdge advice, I eye-rub the bacon slab with coarsely ground pepper and garlic...do the same possibilities apply to ham making?

Greetings from Colombia!

 

[chopsaw]

I eye-rub the bacon slab with coarsely ground pepper and garlic...do the same possibilities apply to ham making?

Sure . I did some loin hams that I rubbed with fennel and anise . I just do it by eye , and it comes out great .
This was a boned and rolled pork butt . Cured and seasoned with Italian herbs and anise , then smoked .
Really good .

 

[OldSmoke]

Amazing looking ham’s, and your daughter is a cutie (From an old grandpa)!

 

[bigfurmn]

Call it what you want!!! Just don't call me late to dinner for that! Looks amazing