Following the previous format of the Meat Break series, I’ll be structuring this in the format of a Q&A that no one actually asked me about. So here we go:
What part of the pig is ham?
Traditionally, ham comes from the leg of the pig. Literally, the hams, or rear hind legs, are cured or cooked whole. Not-so-traditionally, other cuts which are treated like a ham would be are still called hams. Specifically, in the recipe that will follow this writing, I’ll be curing a portion of pork loin.
What the difference between regular ham and country ham?
More often than not, these two terms refer to the same cut of the animal. Where they differ is in their treatment or curing. The vast majority of the ham you’ll be able to buy in a grocery store is wet cured, “deli style” ham, meaning that it is soaked for days in water and some forms of salt, before being roasted or smoked. Country hams, on the other hand, are dry cured, meaning that they’re rubbed or encased in a mixture of salts and seasonings for an extended period of time, sometimes as much as long as a year, after which they are sometimes smoked It is a completely different experience from the honey-baked, spiral hams that many are familiar with.
How do Jamón Ibérico and Prosciutto differ from it?
Jamon Ibérico comes from a specific Spanish breed of hog called the Black Iberian. Both it and its Italian counterpart, Prosciutto, are cured in much the same fashion as a country ham, less the smoking at the end. In these cases, their curing follows stringent traditional guidelines to ensure the authenticity of the end product. In some cases, these products can only even be produced in a specified area of the country. Much of what gives these products their varying flavors has to do with the quality of pigs used, and what they are fed prior to their demise. In the case of Ibérico, it’s widely assumed that the pigs roam through oak groves and feast on acorns, although they are still pigs, and they will still eat just about anything they can get in their mouths.
What ingredients are in a ham’s cure?
Salt. Sugar and herbs sometimes play a role. Air and humidity always do, but ultimately it all boils down to salt.
How is it cured?
Hams can either be bone-in or bone-out, which obviously means that the bones from the pig’s leg have been removed. They’re cleaned and weighed, then brined in mix of salt, water, and likely sugar and herbs, then stored refrigerated for a set period of time.
When curing a ham at home, your brine can be hot or cold, which confusingly don’t have anything to do with the temperature of the brine. A hot brine employs a more concentrated dose of salt (specifically curing salt) to speed up the curing process. A cold bring uses a lower dose of salt, and cures for a longer period (with respect to the hot brine).
If you’re asking yourself “why wouldn’t you always use a hot brine and cure faster?” you’re definitely using your noodle. Although a hot brine will cure faster, it requires a post-cure soak in clean, cold water for an extended period for the salt content in the ham to equalize, or evenly distribute itself across the meat.
How is it cooked?
Typically roasted or smoked. Hams are usually hot-smoked, or smoked at a high enough temperature that the meat is also cooked. This adds a measure of food safety, as the ham will get above the USDA guidelines for doneness of pork, which represents the temperature at which the vast majority of foodborne illnesses that can be present in meats are unable to survive.
Are honey baked hams really cooked in/with honey?
They’re wet-cured as described above, then coated with a honey-based glaze while they’re roasting.
What is a spiral ham?
Spiral refers to the way the ham is sliced, where it’s run through a machine that essentially makes it into a meat slinky.
Where does the hock come from?
The hock is the very bottom joint of the ham, where the tibia and fibula are connected to the portion of the pig’s leg that makes up its hoof. It is often cured and smoked just like the wet-cured ham above, and then used to flavor soups and stews.
OK, so that lays some of the groundwork of hamming it up. Now on to the recipe.
For accessibility and affordability reasons, I’m curing a pork loin in this recipe. They’re available just about anywhere that carries meat, and they offer an easy entry point to get into curing. They’re also big enough that you could make a smaller portion for ham, if you want, and break down the rest for pork chops, lean ground pork, or even make Canadian bacon. As with other cured meats, the recipe isn’t really difficult, per sé, it just requires time and refrigerator space, and having a smaller chunk of meat that you’re making into ham can help cut down both of those factors.
As previously mentioned in our Corned Beef Meat Break, a kitchen scale is a vital element in this recipe. The best way to cure meats is to measure by weight, not by volume, so with the exception of the odd water measurement (which a weight is still provided), all the ingredients in this recipe will be in grams.
Time Required
10 days
Yield
A 4ish lb Ham
Equipment
Large Storage Container with a lid (at least 8 qts) (you can use plastic wrap if you don’t have a lid)
Large Stock Pot
Wooden Spoon
Kitchen Scale
Small Bowls, Storage Containers, or Ramekins to Weigh Ingredients
A Refrigerator
Paper Towels
Cutting Board and Chef’s Knife
½ Sheet Pan
Oven (or barbecue or smoker, if you prefer)
Ingredients
5 lb Pork Loin
1 gallon Filtered Water (3783 grams)
100 g Kosher Salt
90 g Dark Brown Sugar
6 g Prague Powder #1 (Insta Cure #1)
Method
Add the water, salt, brown sugar, thyme, and rosemary to a large stock pot set over medium heat. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the salt has dissolved, then remove it from the heat. Add the prague powder, and continue to stir until it has dissolved. Allow it to cool completely before moving to the next step.
Place the pork loin inside of a large storage container, and carefully pour the curing liquid over the top of it, making sure that it is completely covered. Place the lid on the storage container (or seal it with plastic wrap), and store it in the back of the refrigerator.
Cure the ham for a total of 10 days, removing the container from the refrigerator every two days and turning the ham over to ensure that the meat cures evenly.
On the 10th day, remove the ham from the refrigerator, drain the curing liquid from the container, and re-fill the container with cold water. Put the container back in the refrigerator for another 4-6 hours, then remove it again (this time for good). Remove the ham to a cutting board lined with paper towels, and pat it dry with more paper towels.
Preheat an oven (or barbecue or smoker) to 250 degrees F. Place the ham on a ½ sheet pan, and bake it in the oven for 3-4 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. Allow the ham to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes prior to cutting/carving and serving.