Brine curing small ham from frozen

Recipes and techniques using brine.

Brine curing small ham from frozen

Postby seaweasel » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:46 pm

I'm relatively new to curing and would appreciate some help. I've managed some unsmoked bacon and an air cured ham from our own pigs, however I was planning on making a small ham for Christmas (1.7KG boned). All our remaining pork is in the freezer however I've read that it's possible to defrost meat in the brine.

I've been using mostly River Cottage recipes so far however this seemed a little more complex as I'd be curing from frozen, plus the cure of Hugh's is cider based which I'd be more than happy with but not all the family like fruity pork!

So here are my questions:

    Can anyone suggest a suitable recipe for curing from frozen?
    If I end up using a River Cottage recipe for a second ham, how would the Cure #1 quantity fit in with the salt quantity in the existing recipe?
    What sort of time am I looking at, would the three weeks left be long enough for small hams such as these (1.5-2 KG)?

Thanks for any help.
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Postby quietwatersfarm » Sat Dec 04, 2010 6:56 pm

Hi and welcome.

Defrost then cure seems simpler.

There is just about time for defrost, cure etc before xmas

If you want things pretty salty then Hugh's recipes are generally ideal, otherwise there are plenty of great brine recipes on here :D
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Postby captain wassname » Sat Dec 04, 2010 7:53 pm

I would use a combination cure

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... 61b8a61133

This will cure before christmas no worries.


Jim
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Postby seaweasel » Sat Dec 04, 2010 8:02 pm

Thanks both of you, defrosting first would seem sensible. Will have a look at the combination cure.
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Postby quietwatersfarm » Sat Dec 04, 2010 8:56 pm

seaweasel wrote:Will have a look at the combination cure.


You could also look at the approved BIIAB* method. :D

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... highlight=






*Bung it in a Bag
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Postby captain wassname » Sun Dec 05, 2010 11:57 am

I was a bit bothered about the time line for brining 17 days for curing dont leave a lot of time for equalisation and cooking

Jim
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Postby quietwatersfarm » Sun Dec 05, 2010 12:53 pm

Hot out of the oven with the smell of a Honey glaze on Christmas Eve supper time sounds ok to me :D
Last edited by quietwatersfarm on Sun Dec 05, 2010 1:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby grisell » Sun Dec 05, 2010 1:03 pm

captain wassname wrote:I was a bit bothered about the time line for brining 17 days for curing dont leave a lot of time for equalisation and cooking

Jim


I agree, it seems a little short to me too, but since you are cooking it directly there is no danger. Maybe the innermost part won't be so salty.
André

I have a simple taste - I'm always satisfied with the best.
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Postby captain wassname » Sun Dec 05, 2010 4:14 pm

You should be OK with the combi.cure

Jim
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Postby saucisson » Sun Dec 05, 2010 7:25 pm

I often brine turkey from frozen , so I certainly would not worry about a 1.7kg ham, just don't include the thawing time in the curing time... Dropping it in water accelerates thawing so why not drop it in its brine... tonight...
Curing is not an exact science... So it's not a sin to bin.

Great hams, from little acorns grow...
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Postby captain wassname » Sun Dec 05, 2010 7:39 pm

A 1.7 kilo ham using 2-1 brine cure will take 17 days IMHO after which idealy I would look for 10 days equalisation may be OK for the new year.

Jim
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Postby saucisson » Sun Dec 05, 2010 8:18 pm

I think you are right Jim, I wasn't thinking enough about how long it would need to be in there..
Curing is not an exact science... So it's not a sin to bin.

Great hams, from little acorns grow...
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