To Cure Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Hang the hams for a day or two.
Rub the hams with the mixed salts and sugar.
Drain the hams for another day.
Cure
Rub the mixture into each ham daily for four days, turning it each time.
For small hams, continue rubbing for three weeks; for large hams, continue rubbing for an additional week.
Do not rub after four days.
Drain the hams before drying.
Dry and smoke
Cover the hams with bran before drying.
Smoke the hams for ten days.
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
- Saltpetre
- Helps keep the cured meat pink and adds a characteristic cured flavour.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and preserves it against spoilage.
- Coarse sugar
- Balances the saltiness and softens the harshness of the cure.
The step that matters
Rub the mixture into each ham daily for four days. Salt and cure must penetrate evenly and consistently; uneven or skipped rubbing lets spoilage bacteria survive in thinner or missed areas, and the cure only works if the salts are fully absorbed before the rubbing stops.
“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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