Uncooked ham

[Farang Ky Ay]

Hi,

A member asked me to share my recipe for uncooked ham... Nothing complicated here, just need to be patient.

English is not my mother's tongue so sorry if I don't use the right terms or write convoluted sentences ...

Buy a piece of pork, contrary to the one pictured which was my first try I advise to take one containing fat. If you choose one with the skin still on, you will need to put the skin side on top in the salting stage or else it will hinder the water flow out of the meat



Grab some salt (coarse or not, with the later you can add 10% sugar to kill the acidity but not mandatory) and apply generously on the meat (at least 1cm on all sides) then wrap it a piece of fabric and put it in the fridge. The salt will suck water out of the meat so I use some containers to make sure the meat doesn't linger in the water and that water doesn't spill in the fridge.

Important: 1 day salting per kilo not more

For larger pieces, requiring a few days salting I advise to check if the salt get soaked, if so remove the wetter part and add some fresh salt.



Salting finished, clean the meat with clear water (tap water is ok), you need to renew the water at least 2 times to remove the salt.



Dry the meat with paper towel, then apply some spice on the meat. Here I coated one with black pepper and the other one with black pepper and chilli...You can use any spices you like (Thyme etc)



Then wrap tightly the piece of meat in clean cotton fabric (do not use softener as the smell would transfer to the meat) and put it in the fridge for at least 1 month.



During the first week, unwrap the meat every 2 days then rub it with your hands and wrap it again (no need to change the fabric or add spice, if you don't spill it in the process) after the first week do it once a week.

After one month you get something like this



PS I wrote this thread from my mobile phone, I didn't manage to embed the pictures, Mods can fix this if you have time?

Edit : I posted the pics again from my computer

[David48atTD]

First up ... a 'dinner' thread ... great!

Sadly, the only photo I can retrieve is the last one ...

[Topper]

It does look yummy!

[misskit]

Thanks, FKA. Will give this a try.

Unfortunately, couldn't see the pics.

Posting photos from a phone is beyond my abilities also.

[Pragmatic]

Writes better English that a lot of posters on here. Myself included.

[Dillinger]

It looks gangrenous

[Farang Ky Ay]

Thanks!

I managed to post the pics from my computer. The piece of meat look ragged because I grazed it, I was fearing that the spices and salt didn't permeate well while staying in the fridge (usually the meat has to stay at 13/15 °c during the process not at 4/5°C in the fridge) but I can now tell you don't need to do it.

1 month is a minimum, 2 months will be better if you're patient enough.

[misskit]

It’s amazing that piece of pork I’m curing has shrunk so much in just under a month. I want to slice into it and take a look. Don’t know if I’ll be able to hold off for two months!

[Thai3]

Disgusting muck, mrs would probably love it though!

[aging one]

no no not at all,

https://parmacrown.com/what-is-prosciutto/

[hallelujah]

Hi,

A member asked me to share my recipe for uncooked ham... Nothing complicated here, just need to be patient.

English is not my mother's tongue so sorry if I don't use the right terms or write convoluted sentences ...

Buy a piece of pork, contrary to the one pictured which was my first try I advise to take one containing fat. If you choose one with the skin still on, you will need to put the skin side on top in the salting stage or else it will hinder the water flow out of the meat



Grab some salt (coarse or not, with the later you can add 10% sugar to kill the acidity but not mandatory) and apply generously on the meat (at least 1cm on all sides) then wrap it a piece of fabric and put it in the fridge. The salt will suck water out of the meat so I use some containers to make sure the meat doesn't linger in the water and that water doesn't spill in the fridge.

Important: 1 day salting per kilo not more

For larger pieces, requiring a few days salting I advise to check if the salt get soaked, if so remove the wetter part and add some fresh salt.



Salting finished, clean the meat with clear water (tap water is ok), you need to renew the water at least 2 times to remove the salt.



Dry the meat with paper towel, then apply some spice on the meat. Here I coated one with black pepper and the other one with black pepper and chilli...You can use any spices you like (Thyme etc)



Then wrap tightly the piece of meat in clean cotton fabric (do not use softener as the smell would transfer to the meat) and put it in the fridge for at least 1 month.



During the first week, unwrap the meat every 2 days then rub it with your hands and wrap it again (no need to change the fabric or add spice, if you don't spill it in the process) after the first week do it once a week.

After one month you get something like this



PS I wrote this thread from my mobile phone, I didn't manage to embed the pictures, Mods can fix this if you have time?

Edit : I posted the pics again from my computer

Brilliant stuff. How does it cure in the fridge though? I always thought that it needed humidity to aid the process. Does the fridge have that?

[Farang Ky Ay]

It’s amazing that piece of pork I’m curing has shrunk so much in just under a month. I want to slice into it and take a look. Don’t know if I’ll be able to hold off for two months!

That's the main issue : being patient enough, a full month is IMHO a minimum... depending on the size of the piece and your appetite, you could start to eat at 1 month and still have some left at 2 months, you can keep it in the fridge (wrapped) for much longer ... Maybe you can post some picture and tell us how it tastes when it's ready?

I'm curing 2 new pieces since late October, both contain some fat, one has 2 fat layer in the middle the other on the exterior with skin still on...not sure about this one as while drying the skin get quite hard, maybe it will not be easy to cut through..time will see. I'll post some pictures when these pieces are ready.

Penny-wise, it's quite a good deal, around 200/300 bahts for 2kg of meat, 20/30 bahts for 1 kg of salt, around 20/30 bahts worth of spices...cheap stuff and you know what you eat (no fancy chemicals added in the process, no salt solution injected in the meat..). I don't think I can get the same taste as imported Parma ham (or French or German uncooked ham) but well last time I checked they were between 2k and 4k for 1kg...

[Farang Ky Ay]

^^ the fabric wrapping helps keep some moisture, but I agree that the meat can get quite hard (especially if there's no fat). I could also put it in the moisturised part of the fridge (the vegetables shelf) but it's usually full, with some time some leaking from unattended bags ... Don't want to risk my precious there...

After the curing maybe put the wrapped piece in a plastic bag?

For the first pieces I made, I noted that taking them out of the fridge 30/45 minutes before cutting slices with a sharp knife was OK and hopefully it will be better with the fat containing pieces ...

Btw I do not pose as a specialist on uncooked ham, I would be happy to get some feedback and tips on curing and spices mix ...please share

[hallelujah]

^^ the fabric wrapping helps keep some moisture, but I agree that the meat can get quite hard (especially if there's no fat). I could also put it in the moisturised part of the fridge (the vegetables shelf) but it's usually full, with some time some leaking from unattended bags ... Don't want to risk my precious there...

After the curing maybe put the wrapped piece in a plastic bag?

For the first pieces I made, I noted that taking them out of the fridge 30/45 minutes before cutting slices with a sharp knife was OK and hopefully it will be better with the fat containing pieces ...

Btw I do not pose as a specialist on uncooked ham, I would be happy to get some feedback and tips on curing and spices mix ...please share

I'm certainly not criticising! I take my hat off to you, and I think you've done a great job, but it's not gonna be perfect in a fridge.

The way I've always seen it has been underground. Do you have a cellar?

Easier said than done, of course...

Brilliant job so far though. Fair fucking play.

[stroller]

I don't think I can get the same taste as imported Parma ham (or French or German uncooked ham)

Those are smoked.
I have done some very tasty batches of hot-smoked ham in the smoker, like to move on to cold-smoking (German Schinken), but it's very temperature sensitive (too hot and it's not raw any longer).

[Farang Ky Ay]

^ interesting, I could try to cold smoke one piece next time...just need some proper wood, a large pipe (1,5/2m), some sticks and cardboard to make the smoking chamber.

While at it, it would be a good occasion to make my own sausages and smoke them as well

[hallelujah]

Those are smoked.
I have done some very tasty batches of hot-smoked ham in the smoker, like to move on to cold-smoking (German Schinken), but it's very temperature sensitive (too hot and it's not raw any longer).

How do you cold smoke and hot smoke? Where do you draw the line with the temperature?

Whenever I've been in Germany, which has been an awful lot over the years, the smoked meats tend to be some of the very best.

[Farang Ky Ay]

I'm certainly not criticising! I take my hat off to you, and I think you've done a great job, but it's not gonna be perfect in a fridge.

The way I've always seen it has been underground. Do you have a cellar?

Easier said than done, of course...

Brilliant job so far though. Fair fucking play.

Don't worry I didn't feel criticised, I'm actually open to advices, tips, ideas ...

I think I stated in the OP that usually the piece of meat should stay at around 13°c but as there's no way to get this temperature here in Thailand (even with a cellar) I opted for the fridge...for sure it won't be as good as the real thing but well mine is also at least ten time cheaper (in addition to having some fun, self esteem in the process)

[stroller]

How do you cold smoke and hot smoke? Where do you draw the line with the temperature?

Cold smoking should be done below 30 Centigrade and takes several days.
Warm smoking below 60 for several hours - that's as far as I got so far, with the occasional peak heat above 60, the result is very tender. Even buffalo meat.
Hot smoking is 60-120, it's almost like a BBQ.

Temperature control is an issue with my humble equipment and frankly lack the dedication to get up in the middle of the night to check the smoker.

[Topper]

For me, cold smoking is where the meat is only exposed to the smoke from the fire, hot smoking is where the meat is placed directly over the fire and smoke.

[Pattaya Plies]

Top work me auld secocia, a variant on blue pork.

[stroller]

For me, cold smoking is where the meat is only exposed to the smoke from the fire

That's right, commercially done in large smoke chambers, can take weeks. Then it is matured in a cellar-like atmosphere for months, a bit like dry-aging. Edible moulds on the skin give certain sausages & hams their distinctive flavour.

hot smoking is where the meat is placed directly over the fire and smoke.

It really is the temperature which defines it, one can hot-smoke in a two-chamber smoker without direct exposure.

[Pattaya Plies]

Ham is already cooked hence why it's called cooked ham rather than pigs arse.

[misskit]

Curiosity got the best of me. Two days short of a month and I could hold off no longer!



As you can see, I used cracked peppercorns to flavor the meat. It’s wickedly good.

I’ll be on the lookout for a fattier piece of pork for next time, too. The only place this is nice and tender is near the fat.


(If I’m not online tomorrow morning, I probably died from eating a hunk of raw pork which has been sitting in the refrigerator for a month. )

[Pattaya Plies]

Outstanding Misskit.

Couple of CSSFAN pickles and well sorted.