Country Ham

story28
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Post by story28 » Mon Jun 25, 2012 19:33

Well, we are 24 salted hams in and a bit sore in the back. And now - we wait.

I just got off the phone with Benton's and they had some cool information to share with me. I won't waste time writing what Mr. Marianski has already posted and published. But, I thought I would share the tidbits here. They invited me over for a deeper insight so I will be sure to share the experience. Anyways, here is what they said today.

The cure comes in two doses. The first is a heavy dose, primarily consisting of salt. The second dose is the sweet rub (brown sugar/salt) where they apply primarily along the shank and middle end.

Their hams come in at roughly 22# and salt for 30 days.

The hams are not rinsed or brushed after curing. They are netted and hung, hock-side up to help shape the ham better.

Hardly any black pepper is used. "Less than 2 grams per 50 pounds of salt"
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Post by DLFL » Mon Jun 25, 2012 20:54

I am cheering for the progress your shop is making. May you two have great times and good health.
Dick

Never quit learning!
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Post by story28 » Tue Jun 26, 2012 16:22

Thanks a lot! Carolina and I definitely appreciate the support and encouragement from you and the rest of the forum.
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Post by story28 » Mon Jul 02, 2012 15:40

I just got done talking with Mr. Benton (featured in Mr. Marianski's HPQMS book) and he had some nice advice worth sharing. He said that following a two day per pound ratio for salting is just fine. However, that is the minimum.

One thing to remember, he mentioned, was that larger hams need to be equalized much longer. A lot of references point to equalizing hams at 44 F, but he said that it is still ok if temperatures don't exceed low 50s. That was good news to me because our hams salting right now range from 14 to 39#!

We just order a nineteen month old ham from him today and we are looking forward to cutting into it later this week.
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hams

Post by story28 » Thu Nov 01, 2012 14:49

I finally got some time to figure out our problem with uploading photos. Anyways, we starting hanging some hams in our ham house. We have about ten more to add so I will be sure to add a few more later.

I will also be able to send a few photos of salamis and other fun stuff.


Image[/img]
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Post by ssorllih » Thu Nov 01, 2012 16:13

Jason, You certainly don't do anything by halves.
Nancy and I spent a few days in Harper's Ferry, WVA in early October. The restaurants out there take great pride in selling "local meat" on their menus. There may be a small but steady market for some of your product in that venue.
Ross- tightwad home cook
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Post by Butterbean » Thu Apr 11, 2013 00:56

Story, that is what I envision heaven as looking like. Beautiful setup.
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Post by story28 » Fri Apr 12, 2013 14:33

Thanks for the kind words! Right now, they are all being smoked as we... type.

For your hams, I have a little humble advice. I could be wrong, but it looked like you had removed the aitch bone. You want to keep that attached. Removing it creates nooks and crannies, even when the aitch bone is harvested cleanly. Leaving it in gives you a flat surface where molds are easier to see, control, and remove if needed. Another tip, if you are interested in aesthetics, I would remove the hock, encase the ham in netting, and hang it shank side down. This will compress the meat and give you a nicely rounded ham. Although, depending on how long, temperature, and humidity you equalized, the meat might be too stiff.

In any case, it looks like you will have some good ham in your future.
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