Here’s a new project that my buddy and I started last month. We came across a deal for a live pig that we couldn’t pass up and we’ve wanted to make prosciutto for quite a while. We had the hams left raw and I picked those up special right away from the butcher when they were ready. Then we salted both hams:
I don’t remember how many pounds of salt it was but I’m thinking right around 10 for both. A layer down first, rub it into the cut part and then cover the whole thing. Of course kosher salt and it can’t be “table salt” because that has an extra agent added to it to keep it from clumping. Did not use pink salt since this is whole muscle. You can use that if your worried but I figure the millennia of history of it being done with just salt is good enough for me. (I’ve never used pink salt or curing salt for whole meat aging but it should always be used if grinding or slicing for aged sausage)
After 21 days we removed them from the salt and washed them thoroughly to remove all surface salt.
Honestly we forgot to take many pictures of that part but it’s a ham in a sink with water running over it. Pretty self explanatory.
Then for the fun part. We lightly coated the hams with canola oil. The oil was so that the seasoning would stick. We each had our own seasoning that we wanted to use. I went with a six pepper blend that was very sweet and nicely spiced and combined that with an equal part of a Bavarian seasoning that I can’t get enough of. My buddy’s mix was a bit more traditional italian but he had some sweet black peppercorns that I really hope we can source again in there. After we spent about 20-30 minutes (the longer you rubbed the better they looked) rubbing the seasonings into the two hams we took them down to my canning cellar and strung them up.
That was the Friday before Father’s Day (6-19-20). Now the most important thing that can happen after hanging them is for the beneficial and protective white mold to start growing. I figured with all the salt and pepper that it would be about 7-10 days before it showed up and I checked daily to make sure no blue or green spots showed before the white did. If it had a simple wipe with some white vinegar would have taken care of it. But right on que 7 days later.
I know, what am I looking at here, it’s just like the other pic? Well, on the very top of the shank of the ham on the right is two quarter sized little white spots. As soon as I saw that I knew we were golden and when I checked the back side....
See all the little wispy white hairs. That’s beneficial mold and it will colonize the meat and protect it throughout the curing process, just like ages cheese.
And this one will be a long age. We plan on pulling these for the holiday season 2021. No that’s not a misprint. It’ll be about a 16 month total aging process from when they touched the salt to when we start carving these bad boys up. We’ll be pulling them early November so if your in Wisconsin for the rut (2021) then look me up and you might get to try it out along with some of my other ages meats and sausages that we always make sure are abundant that time of year.
Happy cooking.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don’t remember how many pounds of salt it was but I’m thinking right around 10 for both. A layer down first, rub it into the cut part and then cover the whole thing. Of course kosher salt and it can’t be “table salt” because that has an extra agent added to it to keep it from clumping. Did not use pink salt since this is whole muscle. You can use that if your worried but I figure the millennia of history of it being done with just salt is good enough for me. (I’ve never used pink salt or curing salt for whole meat aging but it should always be used if grinding or slicing for aged sausage)
After 21 days we removed them from the salt and washed them thoroughly to remove all surface salt.
Honestly we forgot to take many pictures of that part but it’s a ham in a sink with water running over it. Pretty self explanatory.
Then for the fun part. We lightly coated the hams with canola oil. The oil was so that the seasoning would stick. We each had our own seasoning that we wanted to use. I went with a six pepper blend that was very sweet and nicely spiced and combined that with an equal part of a Bavarian seasoning that I can’t get enough of. My buddy’s mix was a bit more traditional italian but he had some sweet black peppercorns that I really hope we can source again in there. After we spent about 20-30 minutes (the longer you rubbed the better they looked) rubbing the seasonings into the two hams we took them down to my canning cellar and strung them up.
That was the Friday before Father’s Day (6-19-20). Now the most important thing that can happen after hanging them is for the beneficial and protective white mold to start growing. I figured with all the salt and pepper that it would be about 7-10 days before it showed up and I checked daily to make sure no blue or green spots showed before the white did. If it had a simple wipe with some white vinegar would have taken care of it. But right on que 7 days later.
I know, what am I looking at here, it’s just like the other pic? Well, on the very top of the shank of the ham on the right is two quarter sized little white spots. As soon as I saw that I knew we were golden and when I checked the back side....
See all the little wispy white hairs. That’s beneficial mold and it will colonize the meat and protect it throughout the curing process, just like ages cheese.
And this one will be a long age. We plan on pulling these for the holiday season 2021. No that’s not a misprint. It’ll be about a 16 month total aging process from when they touched the salt to when we start carving these bad boys up. We’ll be pulling them early November so if your in Wisconsin for the rut (2021) then look me up and you might get to try it out along with some of my other ages meats and sausages that we always make sure are abundant that time of year.
Happy cooking.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk