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Cukixg Hams

A method for curing hams with salt, molasses, saltpetre, brine, and smoking.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Corn and apple work together. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 330 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Cukixg Hams

Ingredients

Directions

Cure

  1. Hang the hams for 7 to 10 days in a cool, dry place.

  2. Mix salt, molasses, and saltpetre in a bowl.

  3. Rub the mixture thoroughly into the hams, especially around the bones.

  4. Repeat the rubbing process until all the mixture is used.

  5. Let the hams sit for 2 to 3 days.

  6. Submerge the hams in brine for 3 weeks.

Soak and dry

  1. Soak the hams in cold water for 8 hours.

  2. Hang the hams to dry in a convenient place for at least a week.

Smoke and store

  1. Smoke the hams for 3 to 5 days, keeping the hocks down.

  2. Store the hams in bags for summer.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Corn + appletop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together330 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Molasses + appletop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together970 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  3. Molasses + corntop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together644 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Egg + corntop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,484 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Egg + appletop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,461 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Salt
Draws moisture out of the meat and preserves it against spoilage during curing.
Saltpetre
Helps preserve the meat and gives cured ham its characteristic pink colour.
Molasses
Adds sweetness and a little moisture to the cure, balancing the saltiness.

The step that matters

Rubbing the cure in thoroughly. Salt and curing agents only preserve where they reach. Rubbing well, especially around the bones where meat is thickest and most likely to spoil, ensures even penetration and reduces the risk of spoilage.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, egg, corn):

  1. Raisinfits better
  2. Vanillafits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, egg, corn. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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