Salted Air-Dried Ham from Charcuterie


 
Justin - Thanks for the link. Still no fuzz, but I'm watching closely.

Shawn - The ham is not visibly dripping anymore. There are a variety of factors in what shows through. Most of the ham had a layer of fat so it appears white, and other parts have more layers of cheesecloth and appear white. The dark area is where there was no fat layer and not a lot of cheesecloth and lard. I may give it another rub with lard.

Jim
 
It has been 2 months since my last update and 5 months total since I started the ham. It still looks and smells good. No mold or other growth is visible.

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Shot with DMC-TZ1 at 2009-03-07

I expect to keep aging the ham as long as my basement remains cool, maybe another 3 or 4 months.

You may find this post and the linked article on prosciutto making at the Ruhlman.com blog interesting. Some of World's best prosciutto is produced in Iowa.

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Looking good.

I read this a while back and thought of you and your ham:

http://tomthebutcher.blogspot....rch/label/Home-Cured

as it turns out I have some friends who are acquaintances of an old timer who does this sort of stuff all the time in his garage. He tosses fresh hams into crates of salt and then hangs them for a year. He wife was never a fan, but I guess he found deli that will slice it paper thin and she now loves the stuff. between this guys story, and the one above, I'm thinking of taking the plunge.
 
I have to say that this thread as been an inspiration. When I see that this thread has been updated it's like Christmas Day. I hope that it turns out great! You and your ham are in my prayers.
 
Gerry,

I didn't think that this was that exciting. That ham looks the same every time I see it. I'm glad you are enjoying my updates.

If you haven't already, go to the link in j biesinger's post. It is very entertaining and inspires my confidence that this ham will turn out great.

Jim
 
If you haven't already, go to the link in j biesinger's post. It is very entertaining and inspires my confidence that this ham will turn out great.
Click to expand...

glad you liked the link. its a great food story.

I finally got to see the pic you posted of the proscuitto plant (I never had the patience to wait for it to load, the downside to free wifi). I didn't realize they cure them with the bone in.

That explains the thing I bought. From Parma sausage in pittsburgh, I purchased a sort of rectangular piece of house-cured pork that is a squared off, upper leg bone (not good enough with anatomy to figure fore or rear). The counterman told me it would be impossible to slice on my slicer, but at 2.99/lb I couldn't pass it up. I've knocked a few pieces off and got those sliced. Its quite tasty, but a bit salty, so you can't eat too much at once.
 
I cut into my Prosciutto di Baraboo tonight. It has been over 8 months since I began the process. I was skeptical about what I was getting into, it was hanging around a cool, dank basement for most of that time. As I unwrapped the cheesecloth there was no odor of any kind and the meat looked good.

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I didn't know where the bone was, so I poked around with a skewer then hacked a wedge out of the ham. The marbling on this small-farm Berkshire pork is outstanding.

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I cut some thin slices to try the salted ham and it was really good. Salty, of course, especially near the outside, but it had the flavor of good prosciutto and an unctuous mouth-feel I don't find on some commercial products.

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I wrapped some of the ham around some asparagus that I was grilling for a really nice appetizer. Thanks to Brad Olson for that idea.

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I'll put it through my meat slicer this weekend and freeze most of it for later use.

If you have access to a good fresh ham, like my Berkshire pork, this is definitely a project worth trying.
 
Bravo!

When you get out your slicer par-freeze your meat to firm it then slice some paper thin. Put wax paper or parchment between the slices, stack, then vac and freeze. (You can extract a slice or two or three at a time this way.) Make some slices 1/4-inch thick then dice to 1/4-inch. Freeze in 1/4- and/or 1/2-cup amounts. Very handy.

For the asparagus, try: Take a paper-thin slice and halve it lengthwise. Toss the asparagus in a little evoo and season with salt and white pepper. Grill till 1/3-1/2 done then remove and wrap tip-to-end with the ham, allowing some asparagus to be exposed as you wrap (i.e., don't overlap as you wrap). Return to the grill to finish. Serve with a little creamy Dijon drizzle and a glass of chardonnay from Santa Barbara County.

It looks outstanding. Really outstanding. Perfect color. The Berk's marbling looks great -- as it should. Definitely buy from that grower again.
 
That makes me cry! That is some of the most beautiful ham I've every seen. Can't get over the marbling. Well done.
 
Kevin,

Thanks for the tip on putting away the ham cut into different forms. That will maximize its versatility.

I actually wrapped the asparagus as an afterthought last night. Using a knife and trying to cut relatively warm meat meant paper thin was not going to happen. I used EVOO and Penzey's Fox Point Seasoning (freeze-dried shallots, chives and scallions) on the asparagus. Nothing else was needed.

Marc - Check out the marbling on this butt from the same hog.

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Jim
 
Sorry, but that is ridiculous! I so worship that pig... Please let me find one with so much to offer!
Does everyone get this? Just how beautiful this is.
 
Marc-- Call Michael or Anna at Manda Farms (Plainfield, Mass) and see if they have Gloucestershire Old Spots. An excellent breed. 413.634.5333 Moon in the Pond Farm (Sheffield, Mass) raises Large Blacks. Great flavor. 413.229.3092
 
Jim,

you certainly earn your "one bad *** home cook" badge. You're a pro, from sourcing that pig, to having the stones to cure it and hang it, and the patience to wait 8 months. It seems like only yesterday when I first read you're post and thought you were insane.

forget these trivial karma ratings based on number of posts (I mean really...me a pro because I posted 1000 times?). we need to start earning merit badges that we can put there instead.

Proscuitto makes one an eagle scout in my eyes.

well done.
 
j b -

Thank you for the kinds words, but I think you went somewhat over the top.

My sourcing was dumb luck. One of the members of the Badger Barbecue Forum happened to have a neighbor raising Berkshires and put me in touch with him. The technique was incredibly simple, I just followed the recipe in Charcuterie.

I took eight months because I was hesitant to eat raw pork. When I finally cut into it this weekend, I felt like Andrew Zimmern. Although he might even draw the line at this.

This is something that anyone at this forum could produce given the desire and the nerve to do it.

Jim
 
j b -

Thank you for the kinds words, but I think you went over somewhat the top.

My sourcing was dumb luck. One of the members of the Badger Barbecue Forum happened to have a neighbor raising Berkshires and put me in touch with him. The technique was incredibly simple, I just followed the recipe in Charcuterie.

I took eight months because I was hesitant to eat raw pork. When I finally cut into it this weekend, I felt like Andrew Zimmern. Although he might even draw the line at this.

This is something that anyone at this forum could produce given the desire and the nerve to do it.

Jim
Click to expand...

don't be so modest, by the fact that you haven't succumb to lysteriosis means something. and what's key from my point of view is "the nerve to do it."

I still think we need some kind of merit badge rating.
 
Kevin, Thanks for the pork leads... I'm going to make the calls this week to see what's what. Not sure if I'm quite up to tackling a whole ham or not but after seeing the pic of that butt (I had no idea pork could look like that!) I have to at least try something!
 
Kevin,
You seem to be familiar with both.
I'm planning a drive to either Manda Farms or Moon in the Pond Farm in the near future. Not to get involved in a long project, but as long as I'm there, will buy something. I'm just a backyard smoker/griller looking to try something more than store bought. With this in mind, which one would you suggest?
By the way, JR, awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.mandafarm.com/index.html
http://www.mooninthepond.com/orders.html
 
How's this for a coincidence? Over a year after buying the Berkshire in this post, the grower called tonight to let me know this year's hogs are going to slaughter this week. I reserved a side.

I told him about the prosciutto and he was surprised to hear people actually do that at home.
 
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