Anyone out there into Charcuterie? I’ve enjoyed learning about this for the last couple of years. I especially enjoy sausage making and dry curing. My favorite resource is the book “Charcuterie” by Ruhlman & Polcyn. If anyone would like to share recipes, ask questions, or start a conversation about it I’m game.

As requested here’s a recipe for aged dry cured ham. This method will produce a product similar to a prosciutto or a serrano ham. The important thing here is good quality meat. If possible, order an organic fresh ham from a specialty meat counter or a local farmer. Enjoy!

4 pounds Kosher salt
1 12-15 pound fresh ham, skin on with the aitch bone(hip ball and socket) removed. The ham comes from the upper hind leg.
1/2 cup lard
Cracked black pepper corns
Cheesecloth

1. Rub the salt heavily all over the ham especially the areas of exposed flesh around the femur bone.

2. Place skin side down in a non reactive roasting pan or plastic tub. Cover with plastic wrap and place another pan on top: weight the ham with about 10 lbs. Refrigerate for 1 day per pound. Check every couple of days or so to make sure all areas are covered with salt. Add more salt if necessary and periodically pour off expelled liquids. You should avoid touching the ham with your bare hands. Use rubber gloves to prevent spreading bacteria onto the meat.

3. On the last day of curing, the ham should feel firm and dense to the touch. If it does not, re salt as necessary and let it cure for an additional 1-3 days.

4. Wipe the remaining salt from the ham, rinse under cool water and pat dry. Spread the lard over the exposed meat and pack the pepper on to the lard. The lard keeps the exposed flesh from drying out and the pepper keeps away bugs. Wrap th ham in 4 layers of cheesecloth and tie with butchers string.

5. Hang the ham in a cool dry place, ideally 60 degrees with 60-70 percent humidity with good ventilation. Let hang for at least 4 or 5 months or as long as a year. The ham should lose almost half of it’s original weight. You will know it’s ready when there isn’t much give when you squeeze it. You can also take a sterilized metal skewer and insert it into the center of the ham then remove. It should have a “cured” smell to it.

6. When the ham is dried, wipe off all of the lard and remove the rind with a sharp boning knife. Slice paper thin, parallel to the bone and serve.

Next year I’ll order a 1/2-pig from a local farmer (we got a 1/2-lamb this year) and I’ll try this. Thanks for the instructions.

Thanks for the recipe - I’ll give it a go once I have the right set up - I know a good source of organic pork.  The link on the equipment looks really useful - thanks! The Virginia Tech one I have come across already and is a good source of background information to gain an understanding of the process.  I suspect others would also be interested in both sites.

Here’s a recipe for a more traditional Holiday ham. I’ll be trying this one this year for Christmas.

1 12-15 lb fresh ham, skin and aitch bone removed.

For the brine:
1 gallon of water (4 liters)
1 1/2 cup kosher salt (350 grams)
2 packed cups brown sugar (360 grams)
8 tsp pink salt (42 grams)

For the glaze:
1 1/2 packed cups dark brown sugar (270 grams)
3/4 cup Dijon mustard (185 milliliters)
1 Tbsp minced garlic (20 grams)

1. Combine all of the brine ingredients in a large enough container to hold the ham and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Submerge the ham in the brine and weight it down to keep it submerged for 1/2 day per lb, about 6 to 8 days.

2. Remove the ham, rinse under cool water and pat dry. Place it on a rack set on a baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered for 12 to 24 hours.

3. Hot smoke the ham at 200 degrees for 2 hours.

4. Meanwhile, mix the brown sugar, Dijon, and garlic in a bowl until smooth. Brush the glaze onto the ham reserving part of the glaze for later. Return the ham to the smoker and smoke to an internal temperature of 155 degrees F.

5. Remove the ham from the smoker and apply the remaining glaze. Allow to cool then refrigerate.

6. To serve, slice and serve cold or reheat in a 275 degree oven until warm in the center.

can i do this with leg of lamb?

I’ve never heard of anyone brining lamb but it would probably end up producing a funky version of corned beef at best. There’s a first time for everything though! I personally wouldn’t recommend it.

whats the difference between kosha salt and every day salt does it make a difference

narelle - 15 December 2008 05:08 AM

whats the difference between kosha salt and every day salt does it make a difference

Koshar Salt is non iodize salt

table salt is an iodized salt = salt + iodine

iodine is very bad for cheese and pickles and curing and brining

Iowa cheese maker - 15 December 2008 12:24 AM

I’ve never heard of anyone brining lamb but it would probably end up producing a funky version of corned beef at best. There’s a first time for everything though! I personally wouldn’t recommend it.

Lamb is very close to pork, from fat point of view ... so why u do not recommend

for me i do not eat pork

While I’m not sure if the curing technique for curing a ham is applicable to lamb, I did manage to find a recipe for salt cured leg of lamb, called “Spekemat”. I’d never heard of brining lamb, I may have to give it a try myself!  It sounds as if a basic lamb brine would be 1 Tbsp of salt for every 1 liter of water. The Spekemat requires a bit more….

Spekemat

3 lb Salt
4 qt Water (less if the leg is smaller)
1 tb Sugar
8 lb Leg of lamb

You will need a large saucepan and a large crock. Dissolve the salt in the water to make a brine. Add the sugar. Put the leg of lamb in a large crock and pour enough brine over it to cover it completely. Put a weight on top to keep it underwater. Leave to take the salt in a cool pantry (not below the freezing point, or the salting process comes to a halt) for 2 weeks for a leg weighing 8 lbs (roughly 2 days per pound of meat.)
Take the leg out after the allotted time and rinse thoroughly so that you do not get too salty a rind. Hang it out to dry in a well-aired cool pantry, wrapped in a loose bag of cheesecloth or muslin to protect it from flies. It will be dry, delicious, and ready to eat in 2 to 3 months.
Serve, sliced very thin with a sharp knife.

how much sugar u said above again ?

1 lb (pound) or 1 teaspoon or 1 Tablespoon?

What do u mean with ” leave the skin on”?

do u mean the real outer skin of the animal ? or u mean the thin layer of fat?

In the recipe for Spekemat, it calls for 1 Tablespoon of sugar. The recipe at the top for aged dry cured ham, says to leave the skin on. It’s the actual skin of the animal.

I would love to get the recipe for “Bastirma - Pastirma”.

It used to be quite a normal thing to make hams and so-on from mutton (sheep meat). The pickling solution and times is the same as for pork hams. On Shetland Isles they still make it and it’s called “reisted mutton”.

Reisted mutton
A kind of prosciutto of mutton and a specialty of Shetland. I made the acquaintance of this admirable comestible only recently. It consists of a leg of mutton – preferably from a Shetland sheep – which has been cured and then hung to smoke lightly in the rafters of a croft. It has a surprisingly delicate, but distinctive flavour. (Courtesy of “The Guardian”).

I’d like to make dry sausage (saucisson sec, salumi, etc.) AND the casing ... anyone done this? Would muslin be OK for casing, sewn into a tube, filled then tied off? Or am I asking for trouble?