A Famous Bristol Method of Curing Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Cure the hams
Mix the fine salt, brown sugar (or molasses), and powdered saltpetre together.
Rub each ham well with the mixture.
Lay the hams in tubs for 5 to 6 days.
Brine and smoke
Put the hams in brine strong enough to float an egg.
Keep them in the brine for 4 weeks.
Smoke the hams thoroughly.
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
- Fine salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and preserves it during curing.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the harshness of the salt.
- Powdered saltpetre
- Helps keep the meat pink and cured-tasting during long curing.
The step that matters
Brine strength. The brine must be strong enough to float an egg, because weak brine lets the cure fail to preserve the meat over the four-week soak. Keeping the hams submerged for the full time lets salt and curing agents penetrate 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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