The ham most of us eat today has only a little in common with the ham that was common at the table a century ago. Yes, it is smoked, cured pork. But today, that ham is typically cured by injecting it with a solution of brine and flavor additives; faster, and it puts the consumer in the position of paying ham prices for water. Look carefully at the supermarket label and you will likely see in small print, "ham and water product" or "10% added water by weight."
The country hams of old were a different beast. Pork, yes, and generally pork leg, they would be rubbed down with a mixture of salt, sugar (or molasses) and spices, and left in this for days or even weeks, a process which drew water out of the pork, jump-starting the drying process as it preserved the ham.
This was prior to the days of the refrigerator and freezer, and that was the core concept of the ham - by drying the meat out, infusing the flesh with salt and nitrates, and smoking it, the perishable pork was transformed into something you could hang up in an outbuilding for months without spoilage.
To keep away insects and bugs, the ham was also typically rubbed down with spices prior to its being smoked.
This yielded a much different product than the supermarket ham. Preparation of the finished product involved scrubbing it to get rid of any surface mold or dirt, and soaking it for a day to draw out some of the salt and rehydrate it before it was subjected to long, slow simmering.
You can find such hams nowadays, but you'll have to look, and you'll pay for them.
There is a way to produce homemade ham that is relatively quick and in some ways is reminiscent of the hams of old. Tasso ham, a common foodstuff in cajun country, can be produced in a day. It is traditionally used more as a condiment than a main dish, being diced up small and added to greens, sauces, etc to punch up the flavor. You can produce tasso like this in a day if you start in the morning.
Homemade Tasso Ham
You can get pork shoulder in the markets for cheap, often under a dollar a pound,frequently in cryovac packages. That's what I usually start with, although I'd happily use locally raised pork instead.
Carefully bone it out. When done, there will be a raggedy flappy end of the pork shoulder. I normally trim that off and use it for another purpose such as sausage. Cut the remainder into steaks roughly an inch thick. In the bottom of a large glass casserole or similar container, scatter about a half-cup of Mortons Sugar Cure, Morton's Tender Quick, or similar. Lay the pork steaks in it, one layer deep, and cover with another half-cup of cure. Make sure it is well-distributed. If you did a cryovac with two pork shoulders you will likely need at least two glass casseroles to hold all the steaks.
Let the meat sit for 4-6 hours. You will notice a lot of liquid being drawn out of the pork. That's fine. The pork will actually change texture and appearance, the meat becoming much firmer to the touch and a dark translucent pink when it is ready to come out of the cure. Once it is firmed up, remove each piece, and thoroughly wash off the salt. Then it gets the spice rub.
I use a spice rub adapted from the book "Charcuterie" by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. It's two parts allspice, two parts dried marjoram, two parts black pepper, one part cayenne pepper. For one shoulder, you will probably want to use a quarter cup each of the allspice, marjoram and black pepper and two tablespoons of the cayenne. Rub this spice mixture generously into the pork, and then hot-smoke the pork for a couple of hours. Applewood does nicely, oak works well also. The internal temp should be at least 150 degrees.
I generally freeze mine when its done, but it could be hung up for further drying as well.
This will give you an intensely flavored, very dry-fleshed ham. You can dice it finely and add to whatever you want to give flavor to, or you can slice it paper thin and wrap slices around small pieces of fruit.
The country hams of old were a different beast. Pork, yes, and generally pork leg, they would be rubbed down with a mixture of salt, sugar (or molasses) and spices, and left in this for days or even weeks, a process which drew water out of the pork, jump-starting the drying process as it preserved the ham.
This was prior to the days of the refrigerator and freezer, and that was the core concept of the ham - by drying the meat out, infusing the flesh with salt and nitrates, and smoking it, the perishable pork was transformed into something you could hang up in an outbuilding for months without spoilage.
To keep away insects and bugs, the ham was also typically rubbed down with spices prior to its being smoked.
This yielded a much different product than the supermarket ham. Preparation of the finished product involved scrubbing it to get rid of any surface mold or dirt, and soaking it for a day to draw out some of the salt and rehydrate it before it was subjected to long, slow simmering.
You can find such hams nowadays, but you'll have to look, and you'll pay for them.
There is a way to produce homemade ham that is relatively quick and in some ways is reminiscent of the hams of old. Tasso ham, a common foodstuff in cajun country, can be produced in a day. It is traditionally used more as a condiment than a main dish, being diced up small and added to greens, sauces, etc to punch up the flavor. You can produce tasso like this in a day if you start in the morning.
Homemade Tasso Ham
You can get pork shoulder in the markets for cheap, often under a dollar a pound,frequently in cryovac packages. That's what I usually start with, although I'd happily use locally raised pork instead.
Carefully bone it out. When done, there will be a raggedy flappy end of the pork shoulder. I normally trim that off and use it for another purpose such as sausage. Cut the remainder into steaks roughly an inch thick. In the bottom of a large glass casserole or similar container, scatter about a half-cup of Mortons Sugar Cure, Morton's Tender Quick, or similar. Lay the pork steaks in it, one layer deep, and cover with another half-cup of cure. Make sure it is well-distributed. If you did a cryovac with two pork shoulders you will likely need at least two glass casseroles to hold all the steaks.
Let the meat sit for 4-6 hours. You will notice a lot of liquid being drawn out of the pork. That's fine. The pork will actually change texture and appearance, the meat becoming much firmer to the touch and a dark translucent pink when it is ready to come out of the cure. Once it is firmed up, remove each piece, and thoroughly wash off the salt. Then it gets the spice rub.
I use a spice rub adapted from the book "Charcuterie" by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. It's two parts allspice, two parts dried marjoram, two parts black pepper, one part cayenne pepper. For one shoulder, you will probably want to use a quarter cup each of the allspice, marjoram and black pepper and two tablespoons of the cayenne. Rub this spice mixture generously into the pork, and then hot-smoke the pork for a couple of hours. Applewood does nicely, oak works well also. The internal temp should be at least 150 degrees.
I generally freeze mine when its done, but it could be hung up for further drying as well.
This will give you an intensely flavored, very dry-fleshed ham. You can dice it finely and add to whatever you want to give flavor to, or you can slice it paper thin and wrap slices around small pieces of fruit.
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