Dry cured ham

[Bonejour]

I took this pig last January with Neil. It's my first attempt at dry curing. Froze the ham for three weeks at -20*F, then packed in Kosher salt for 10 days (1 day per pound). Then smeared with lard and coated with ground pepper, wrapped in cheese cloth and hung to dry for the past 11 months. Tried it today on bagels, and with tomato and avocado this afternoon. Tastes pretty good, but i need to slice it super thin because it's tough.
Has anyone else tried this? Prosciutto typically is sliced in line with the grain but I may try crossing the fibers if I can't slice it thinner.

 

[NBK]

That looks awesome Don!

 

[SurfNHuntSD]

Very intrigued and impressed.. where did u hang your ham? Just curious. I figure there's alot of variables with that like humidity and whatnot but sounds like it worked out. To slice it thinner and tender could u refreeze it then slice it cold against the grain maybe?

 

[Lungpopper]

Interesting. Don did you take any pics during the process ?

 

[Bonejour]

Interesting. Don did you take any pics during the process ?

no pics during the process, but I have another one hanging and I'll send a pic. the method is from this book, which I highly recommend:
Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated) by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn
https://itun.es/us/4dcdM.l
For aging while hanging, the ideal environment is cool and dry. I live on a hill and have a cave under the house that's cool and dark, so great for storing wine, but this ham started to show surface mold because of the humidity, so I moved it to the garage. Not as cool as I'd have liked, but dry enough to stop the mold from spreading and in the end there was no spoilage.

 

[Forum Janitor]

Very cool Don.

You have a cave under your house? Ummmm I'm switching your name to batman

 

[Bonejour]

Lol. Better clarify: cave-like environment. Pics to follow after the morning hunt.

 

[tonyjohnson619]

looks tasty...

 

[Bonejour]

Okay, here is the "cave",
And the other ham still hanging from the rafters in the garage. Both hams lost about one third of their original weight during the curing process.

 

[msteiger]

Don I need to speak with you about your cave. Urgently. Your liver is in danger! I can help.

 

[Bonejour]

 

[ilovesprig]

Dang Don..........I thought I was looking at BevMo..........Nice cellar.......... ;D

 

[Bonejour]

Dang Don..........I thought I was looking at BevMo..........Nice cellar.......... ;D

last time my wife wanted to do some remodeling, this was my only request: that we screen in part of the crawl space so I could take advantage of the near perfect conditions for a cellar. The screen is necessary because slugs like the glue in the labels. I have a neighbor who ended up with a bunch of wine with no labels. Had a helluva party trying to figure out which wine was which.

 

[NBK]

When I first heard about the cave or crawl space under the house I was going to do a drive by and check your garbage for lime bags from sprinkling lime over the bodies (John Wayne Gacy)! ;D

Good looking wine cellar Don! When I start drinking again I might just stop over with a nice cut of beef and a few cigars to enjoy with some of your wine!

 

[SurfNHuntSD]

So when are u hosting a SoCal Hunting Forum wine n ham night haha

 

[Bonejour]

Sounds good to me!

 

[ilovesprig]

So when are u hosting a SoCal Hunting Forum wine n ham night haha

I'll provide the cheese....................... ;D

 

[Bonejour]

That would be fun. I'd better arrange a couple more pig hunts with Neil!

 

[Muledeerhunter]

Looked good.

 

[Bonejour]

Ya really tasty. I figured out how to slice it paper-thin, which is key because otherwise it is really chewy and tough. The big thing with dry cured ham is what the pigs were fed. Prosciutto, or Parma ham, is from pigs fed with by products of Parmesan Cheese; Serrano ham (Spanish) pigs are fed nuts (peanuts maybe?). The last pig I took with Neil was out of an orange orchard. I'm going to dry cure those hams and see how they taste.