Westphalia Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Cure the ham
Rub the ham with the sugar.
Let it sit overnight.
Rub it with the saltpetre and common salt.
Let it cure for three weeks, turning it daily.
Smoke and boil
Dry it in wood smoke or near burning turf.
When boiling, add a pint of oak sawdust to the pot.
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
- Coarse sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the saltiness of the cure.
- Saltpetre
- Helps the meat keep its pink colour during long curing.
- Common salt
- Draws out moisture and preserves the ham during curing.
The step that matters
Turning the ham daily during the three-week cure. Salt and saltpetre penetrate the meat unevenly if it is not turned. Regular turning lets the cure reach all parts of the ham so it cures evenly and stays safe.
“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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