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Curing whole muscles
- Thread starter mattsteg
- Start date
Kurt
Well-Known Member
That's a fine looking piece of venison. I'd be interested in knowing about the process as well.
RavenHill
Member
Looks amazing...have always wanted to learn
Cript2014
Well-Known Member
I’d like to know the process also thanks!
OK, back home now and can refer to my notes. This is one of 2 hams that I did from a doe I got last Dec. 30, and they've been aging since then. This was my first try and something I will definitely be repeating moving forward.
I mostly used this recipe with a few modifications: Venison Prosciutto Recipe. You want a recipe that's scaled by mass.
I also took from: Second Venison Dry Cured Ham recipe
I also looked at the below, but the 2 above were what I printed out and worked from.
Additional reference
Because venison is quite lean and the cure is skin-off, drying out is a concern. There are various ways to address this:
1) build a humidity-controlled curing chamber (this has been on my todo list for a year and a half)
2) Have a place that happens to have the right humidity/temp
3) Various coatings (lard, beeswax, "sugna", etc.)
I assembled my cure as in the first link. The prague powder/instacure #2 and salt proportion I recommend either taking from a reputable recipe or doing your homework on cured food safety. There are right and wrong amounts to use! The sugar, herbs, seasonings, etc. you can adjust to taste. I made one ham to the recipe as written, and the one that we cut into for NYE I think i went to table sugar and a 50g/50g garlic/coriander mix (I think this is a total for a 4.2kg/9.2 lb ham) I was swamped for time when I was putting everything together and other than the safety-critical details like weight, my notes kinda suck.
I applied half the cure, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for 2 weeks. Then applied the second half and gave it another 2 weeks. You want it on a platter to catch juices, but ideally try to wrap it well enough to keep everything contained. I also flipped the hams every day or 2 to help distribute the cure. I think I found some roasting bags to help with this as well, but in all it's a pain to do well.
When it was time to hang, I rinsed, dried, noted and logged the weight again. I hung in my basement, which is about 55 degrees (ideal) but 35-40%RH (too dry) this time of year. Ideally affix a label to the ham or where it hangs from. I didn't bother with any coating initially, but I should have. The outside dried out, and i ended up glopping on a super thick lard layer which helped to soften it up. It was dry enough I cut myself on a stiff chunk of meat. This year, I'm gonna try a thin lard coating from the get-go. I was concerned that it wouldn't let the moisture out if I did it right away, and wouldn't let me watch for any iffy molds. I think that was probably a misplaced concern in hindsight.
If you see the outside drying out too fast, you can:
1) lard it up (like I ended up doing)
2) put in a sealed plastic bag for a few days to let the moisture equalize (I've heard that this is a great way to resolve hardened exterior early in the drying process).
Keep track of the weight, weigh it periodically (and log) to watch the weight drop. When the weight-loss plateaus, and the weight is reduced about 30% (Technically you want to achieve a specific "available water"), it is safe to eat and ready to go. If aging longer, make sure it's protected from drying out. Log your hanging weight and finished weight.
The ham should feel firm to the touch, and will keep really well once it's cured.
The thinner the slices, the more delicious. I'm shopping for an upgraded slicing knife/jamon knife and meat slicer right now. tissue-thin is awesome.
Other than having a deer's hindquarters taking up fridge space for a month, it was pretty easy and convenient. And even severely "mistreating" it and letting it dry out too much wasn't a huge issue to overcome.
Do pay attention to any molds that grow. White is good. Black, green, etc. can be bad news. If you see anything pop up that looks questionable, wipe off with vinegar if you catch it early, and if anything looks sketchy, probably best to throw it out and resolve to do better nest time.
With that said - this went smoothly and gave a beautiful and delicious end product. I highly recommend it.
I mostly used this recipe with a few modifications: Venison Prosciutto Recipe. You want a recipe that's scaled by mass.
I also took from: Second Venison Dry Cured Ham recipe
I also looked at the below, but the 2 above were what I printed out and worked from.
Additional reference
Because venison is quite lean and the cure is skin-off, drying out is a concern. There are various ways to address this:
1) build a humidity-controlled curing chamber (this has been on my todo list for a year and a half)
2) Have a place that happens to have the right humidity/temp
3) Various coatings (lard, beeswax, "sugna", etc.)
I assembled my cure as in the first link. The prague powder/instacure #2 and salt proportion I recommend either taking from a reputable recipe or doing your homework on cured food safety. There are right and wrong amounts to use! The sugar, herbs, seasonings, etc. you can adjust to taste. I made one ham to the recipe as written, and the one that we cut into for NYE I think i went to table sugar and a 50g/50g garlic/coriander mix (I think this is a total for a 4.2kg/9.2 lb ham) I was swamped for time when I was putting everything together and other than the safety-critical details like weight, my notes kinda suck.
I applied half the cure, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for 2 weeks. Then applied the second half and gave it another 2 weeks. You want it on a platter to catch juices, but ideally try to wrap it well enough to keep everything contained. I also flipped the hams every day or 2 to help distribute the cure. I think I found some roasting bags to help with this as well, but in all it's a pain to do well.
When it was time to hang, I rinsed, dried, noted and logged the weight again. I hung in my basement, which is about 55 degrees (ideal) but 35-40%RH (too dry) this time of year. Ideally affix a label to the ham or where it hangs from. I didn't bother with any coating initially, but I should have. The outside dried out, and i ended up glopping on a super thick lard layer which helped to soften it up. It was dry enough I cut myself on a stiff chunk of meat. This year, I'm gonna try a thin lard coating from the get-go. I was concerned that it wouldn't let the moisture out if I did it right away, and wouldn't let me watch for any iffy molds. I think that was probably a misplaced concern in hindsight.
If you see the outside drying out too fast, you can:
1) lard it up (like I ended up doing)
2) put in a sealed plastic bag for a few days to let the moisture equalize (I've heard that this is a great way to resolve hardened exterior early in the drying process).
Keep track of the weight, weigh it periodically (and log) to watch the weight drop. When the weight-loss plateaus, and the weight is reduced about 30% (Technically you want to achieve a specific "available water"), it is safe to eat and ready to go. If aging longer, make sure it's protected from drying out. Log your hanging weight and finished weight.
The ham should feel firm to the touch, and will keep really well once it's cured.
The thinner the slices, the more delicious. I'm shopping for an upgraded slicing knife/jamon knife and meat slicer right now. tissue-thin is awesome.
Other than having a deer's hindquarters taking up fridge space for a month, it was pretty easy and convenient. And even severely "mistreating" it and letting it dry out too much wasn't a huge issue to overcome.
Do pay attention to any molds that grow. White is good. Black, green, etc. can be bad news. If you see anything pop up that looks questionable, wipe off with vinegar if you catch it early, and if anything looks sketchy, probably best to throw it out and resolve to do better nest time.
With that said - this went smoothly and gave a beautiful and delicious end product. I highly recommend it.
Cript2014
Well-Known Member
Man I wish I had seen this before my season ended I’d love to have tried this with one of the deer I killed this year! I’ll be doing this next year for sure thanks
This looks awesome. Something I've wanted to try for a few years but haven't yet.