Smoking a whole schinken (Ham) German/Austria Style


 
Andrew16

Andrew16

TVWBB Member
Hello All,

Just a general question. Out here in Germany, they tend to eat smoked, dried (I assume they hang it) ham. It is typical to eat out here with some cheese, pickles, different spreads, bread, etc. They call it out here a brotzeit. We always get ours from a guy in Austria who does it himself and it is so good! My question to all of you professionals out there is how can I do this myself? Does anyone have any special recipes or old tricks on how to smoke and then hang dry some schinken? The word they use here is "geräucherter Schinken"

Thanks for any special tips!

Andrew
 
This sounds like it may be similar to what are generally called "country hams" around here, with the most famous variety being Smithfield hams. (The term Smithfield ham refers to the process of how, and where, the ham is prepared, not to the manufacturer. "Genuine Smithfield hams are hereby defined to be hams processed, treated, smoked, aged, cured by the long-cure, dry salt method of cure; and, aged for a minimum period of six months; such six-month period to commence when the green pork cut is first introduced to dry salt, all such salting, processing, treating, smoking, curing, and aging to be done within the corporate limits of the town of Smithfield, Virginia"). I've never cured a ham, but have met people who were second generation ham producers so I picked up a little knowledge. Originally, such hams were cured by packing them in salt for an extended period of time, and cold-smoking. Later, commercial producers began injecting the hams with a brine solution to speed up the process. Old-cure hams often have a layer of mold on the outside, which is simply washed off prior to cooking. The old-style hams may be aged for years - I once saw two that were 50 years old (cured by the company owner's father - one was used as his "show ham" with a few slices taken occasionally to enter into competitions. The other he was saving to serve at his daughter's wedding reception, should she ever get married).

That's probably more than you wanted to know. Here's a link to how to cure your own hams: http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G2526
Good luck!
 
Larry,

Thanks for the very detailed reply! This might be the direction I was looking for. I will take a deeper look at the process you have provided and see what would work.

Thanks again!
 
Larry D. said:
Beautiful! One of those would really look good on the table for Christmas. I wonder if I have a container big enough to brine a ham... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Don't tell anybody, but I use a kitty litter bucket that I washed out until the perfume smell goes away.
 
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