A long but wonderful journey

Pete
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Post by Pete » Fri Jan 31, 2014 01:05

Enjoyed the thread BB, thanks for putting it up. :grin:
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sawhorseray
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Post by sawhorseray » Fri Jan 31, 2014 15:40

Boy howdy BB, your butchering job looks professional to say the least! Everything you've done with that hog looks first-rate, including that wonderful breakfast. :wink: RAY
“Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.”
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Butterbean
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Post by Butterbean » Fri Jun 10, 2016 23:39

I thought I'd update this thread today because I was given what I felt was a tremendous compliment which really made me feel good.

From this thread you can see where I cut into one of the hams and though it was good - people here just don't appreciate this type meat and don't appreciate it for what it is. Though I had a few people ask me to cut into the second ham I chose not to. Instead, I just left it hanging and gave the ham to a friend in Colorado for his retirement present. He is Italian whose career was in food sales to high end restaurants. He had tasted some of the meat from the first ham and liked it a lot so I felt giving him the whole joint would be like giving a puppy to a good home.

I just got word from him today that he and one of his Italian friend's who is a salami maker and has visited Italy and eaten hams of all sorts in Italy sat down and began carving this leg this week and his friend said that this prosciutto was as good if not better than anything he had ever tasted in Italy. My friend said the flavor was awesome and it just melted in your mouth like butter sending all sorts of flavors dancing through their mouths. They were both pleased with it but I don't think either are as pleased as I am that it was a hit. It was a long journey and I'm just chuffed it was good and they appreciated it. Now it seems, once shaved it will be taken to Minnesota to some big affair they have going on up there and it will served alongside what I'm sure will be some top quality products. I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging its just that after you spend so much time making something its nice to know it is appreciated by those who truly appreciate good food.

Here is the last photo I have of my baby before it went west.

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redzed
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Post by redzed » Sat Jun 11, 2016 07:02

Nearly two and a half years, wow! You certainly have good reason to be proud!

How did you manage in keeping the mould off?
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Butterbean
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Post by Butterbean » Sat Jun 11, 2016 07:43

The smoke kept the mold off for a good while but eventually mold did colonize the ham. After maybe a year I noticed some gnat-like flies around it so I painted the cut portion with lard and black pepper. This seemed to keep things in check for a while but eventually I just forgot about it and a mold colonized the ham. The colors were varied and included white, greens, blues and even black. Needless to say I was a little concerned but I had all but lost interest in it so I didn't bother messing with it and just let it go. One day a friend who is a retired microbiology professor who lost his sister to food poisoning came by for a visit and I asked him about the mold. He is about the most anal person I know when it comes to food safety and he gave the mold a quick dismissive look and said nothing wrong with that. I asked him how could he tell and he said, "because its growing on meat". Having my fears of wild molds so quickly dismissed by him is one of the most valuable things I learned from this project I think.

But in short, it did have mold on it and this last photo is how it looked like after I wiped it down with blueberry wine before they carried it off to Colorado. Just couldn't see sending it off with it not looking its best.
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