Hams, Curing of
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the carcass
Hang the carcass of the hog to cool.
Lay it on a strong table and separate the head from the body at the neck.
Remove the feet and internal organs.
Cut the carcass into two sides by dividing the ribs about an inch from the spine.
Remove the flesh above the spine and the internal organs between it and the kidneys.
Cure
Rub the skin side of the pork with a mixture of salt and saltpetre.
Rub the incised parts of the ham and the inside of the flitch with the same mixture.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and seasons it, helping preserve the pork.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and gives cured pork its characteristic pink colour.
The step that matters
Rubbing the cure into the incised parts and inside of the flitch. Salt and saltpetre must reach the deeper cut surfaces, not just the skin, or those areas may cure unevenly and spoil. Thorough, even coverage of every exposed surface helps the cure penetrate the thick meat evenly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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