Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Cure the ham
Mix and pound the common salt with the coarse sea salt, saltpeter, and saltprunella.
Sprinkle the ham with common salt and let it sit for 24 hours.
Rub the ham with the salt mixture and leave it in a cool place for 3-4 days.
Brine and dry
Boil 2 gallons of water with the brine until it can float an egg.
Once cold, pour the brine over the ham and let it soak for 2-3 weeks.
After soaking, wipe the ham, wrap it in paper, and hang it over a fireplace to dry.
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
- Common salt
- Draws moisture out of the ham and seasons it, slowing spoilage during curing.
- Coarse sea salt
- Adds bulk salt for the dry rub, drawing moisture out of the meat's surface.
- Saltpeter (in the method)
- Preserves the meat's pink colour during curing and helps inhibit spoilage bacteria.
- Sugar
- Balances the saltiness and adds mild sweetness to the cured flavour.
The step that matters
Boiling the brine to float an egg. Brine that is too weak will not preserve the ham or keep it safe, while salt concentration is what the egg test checks. Make sure it is fully cold before pouring it over the meat so the cure is not partly cooked.
“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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