Curing Bacon Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pig
Fast the pig for 24 hours before killing.
Kill and dress the pig, then hang it until the next day.
Remove the seam, tallow, feet, tail, and ears.
Salt the pig
Rub coarse sea salt into the skin, especially on the shoulders and hams, for at least 30 minutes.
If using, sprinkle 4 ounces of finely ground saltpetre over the inside and ends of the shanks.
Cover the inside with about 1 inch of salt, pressing it down gently.
Place the side on boards in a frost-free area, skin side down.
If curing multiple sides, alternate back and belly parts, stacking them skin side down.
Cover with a cloth and place a light weight on top.
Cure
Leave for 10 days before removing.
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
- Pig
- Supplies the hams, shoulders, and belly meat that are cured into bacon.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and helps preserve it during curing.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and keeps its colour pink during curing.
The step that matters
Salting the skin and inside evenly. Salt draws out moisture and slows spoilage. Missed or thin patches let bacteria grow and can leave parts of the cure unprotected, so coverage should be thorough and even.
“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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