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Prosciutto di Nanoose

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 18:38
by redzed
Two days ago I cut into a ham (Prosciutto di Nanoose) that I first salted in January 2017, two and a half years ago. I never intended to leave it that long, but here we are. For those of you who are interested in the process, a summary is below:

Salting The 9.5kg ham was first rubbed with a mixture of 500g fine salt and .3% Cure #2, then covered with a layer of coarse sea salt. It was then placed in a plastic tub, pressed, and cured for two weeks. During that time it was turned over 6 times and the exudate was poured off.
Post-Salting (equalization). The salt was washed off the ham and it was placed in a lug and in a fridge (3C) for one month. The lug was covered, but the lid was slightly opened and the ham was turned over every few days. During this stage the humidity should be over 80%. To compensate for the dry RH in the fridge, I placed a plastic grate in the lug and added water with salt to increase the humidity around the ham. At the end of this phase the ham was hung to dry at an ambient temp of 18-20C for one week. The purpose of this was to help to set the colour and give a better start to the enzymatic activity, which functions better in warmer temps.
Ripening/DryingThe ham was hung in a curing chamber where the temp fluctuated between 11 and 12C, and the humidity was set at 78%, but often was much higher since other products were loaded into the chamber during that time. In the middle of November 2018 my curing chamber failed and the ham was hung outdoors in a covered and sheltered area, in a vented wooden box, where it stayed until the latter part of March. The temps were all over during that time from highs of 15C to a few days below freezing. With a lot of rain in November, December, and January, the humidity was over 70% for most of that time. Over this period, sugna was applied to the exposed meat part of the ham six months after the initial salting and then on two other occasions. Before each application the ham was washed and scrubbed with a brush in hot water.
Equalization under vacuum For the last 4 months the whole ham was vacuum sealed and rested in the fridge at 3C for 4 months.

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Re: Prosciutto

Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 23:13
by Agoracritus
WOW!!!

I doubt that any charcuterie connoisseur in the world wouldn’t be thoroughly impressed by that ham!

I bet it almost feels like a crime, or serious sin, to actually slice into and savour it.

I hope everyone you share it with appreciates how fortunate they are to get a little slice of the heaven that took such an incredible amount of passion, dedication and patience to create.

I can’t even stop salivating over just the pictures in your post!

Kudos!!!

Re: Prosciutto

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 01:11
by Butterbean
That looks really good. I'm sure its delicious but I have a suggestion you might want to try with some of the little "off cuts" you are sure to encounter while slicing.

With the off cuts I dice them up into small pieces and with a wonton wrapper in one hand I make a bed of shredded sharp cheddar cheese then top this with the prosciutto pieces. Then clench your hand and take the four ends of the wrapper and pull together with moistened fingers and give a twist forming what looks like a Hershey's Kiss. Then drop in hot oil and fry till the wrapper is done.

While this may be to some seen as sacrilege, it is extremely good and a good use of those off cut crumbs. Best I can describe the taste is that of a hot ham and cheese sandwich on steroids.

Re: Prosciutto

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 07:34
by jens49
Redzed; that prosciutto looks absolutely flawless.
Perfectly dried!

Re: Prosciutto

Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2019 16:25
by BBQBob
That looks amazing!! This is something I would love to do one day.

Re: Prosciutto

Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2019 18:04
by jjnurk
Hey Chris,
that looks really nice and tasty. Certainly something that I want to try, however I'm not sure if I have the patience for it :D

Re: Prosciutto

Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 16:38
by redzed
Not a difficult thing to make. Probably one of the easiest products for us hobbyists. As long as you press out the blood out of the vein that runs along the leg and salt it well, nothing could go wrong. Two and a half years for a market hog ham is a probably too long. One year to 18 months will do it.

Re: Prosciutto di Nanoose

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2020 00:41
by bluc
Awesome.