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Today I bought a 9.6 kg/21 lbs organic ham at a farm (at £8/kg). Three days ago this leg was attached to a live pig. I met his friends there, and they at once shouted - that's Charlie's leg!

I know this isn't anything special for you guys who live in the countryside, but for me this visit was impressive. I had to walk 2.5 miles with that ham to the bus. Maybe I should get a car sometime.

Below, just unpacked:



Below, the flesh is covered with a mixture of 135 g salt, 25 g sugar, 2.5 g saltpetre, 1 g ascorbic acid and 0.8 g sodium nitrite (that is half of the cure, the rest will be added in 10 days). The skin is covered with the same mixture, but wet.



Below, When I told the butcher I was going to make prosciutto, he also gave me 3.6 kg/8 lbs lard for free. Do you know how difficult that is to find here? Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.

Wow! grisell thats a nice one!

It looks very rustic! just like one you would find in italy.

Good Luck with this one grisell!!

Keep us updated

Looks like a winner. Keep us posted. Make some buttermilk bisquits with the lard. They will be the fluffiest best tasting bisquits you've ever eaten.

We call these Angel Bisquits.
5 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup luke warm water
2 cups room temp buttermilk
1 cup lard
3 packs yeast
1/3 cup sugar

Cut lard into flour till it looks kinda crumbly.
Dissolve yeast in water
Combine all together and roll out and cut.

Bake in 400 F oven for about 10 minutes till lightly brown on top.

Jogeephus wrote:Looks like a winner. Keep us posted. Make some buttermilk bisquits with the lard. They will be the fluffiest best tasting bisquits you've ever eaten.

Thanks for the recipe! I will sure try it if I can find buttermilk (that's a problem).

Do you think I should inject brine around the kneecap? I have a syringe somewhere but I have never used it. In that case, how am I going to find the kneecap without X-ray? And what concentration should I use? Cure or ordinary salt? How much? Is it necessary?

Just for insurance I'd inject it too. Use the same cure you are using but mix it at a 1:4 ratio and inject along the bone and joints. I try to inject parallel to bones. Ache bone always throws me though.

Whole milk with a little melted butter in it will work instead of buttermilk.

Thanks a lot!

Jogeephus wrote:Use the same cure you are using but mix it at a 1:4 ratio and inject along the bone and joints.

I assume you mean 1 part curing mixture and 4 parts water - sterilized of course.

Actually no. Just used clean cool water.

It has now been eight weeks at 1-4 C/34-39 F. It will remain there for a few weeks more for the salt to distribute evenly before moving it to the drying chamber. I expect the drying to last 2-3 months at 12 C/54 F and 70% relative humidity. Then I will cover the flesh parts with a 6:3:1 mixture of lard, wheat flour and salt and move it to the balcony. Autumn weather should be perfect. Over the winter I'll keep it in a controlled environment (haven't solved that part yet) at 14-16 C and 60% RH. I expect to enjoy the result in a year from now or so.

This is how it looks today. It smells wonderful:

It's getting time to move it one step further: to the drying process.
Now, my question is: I've seen some recipes that call for a three-day incubation time in room temperature before transferring it to the drying chamber. Some recipes skip this step.
Any suggestions?

A good question grisell. I would also like to know the reason for doing this with solid muscles. The reason's obvious with comminuted products such as salami, but I just can't fathom out the reason for doing it with whole pieces of meat.

It doesn't seem to be done by the Parma professionals:

http://www.prosciuttodiparma.com/eng/info/making/

Phil

The reason would probably be the same as with sausages: to boost lactic acid fermentation (and maybe nitric too). The bacteria are present within the muscle, so it seems logical. I as well as you wonder if it's necessary, though. I might do it anyway, to inoculate it with good mould.

grisell wrote:The reason would probably be the same as with sausages: to boost lactic acid fermentation (and maybe nitric too). The bacteria are present within the muscle, so it seems logical.

I'm sure that you're right in that this is the stated reason, a before and after of the PH would be interesting to see, particularly as the producers of Parma don't feel it's necessary.

wheels wrote: a before and after of the PH would be interesting to see, particularly as the producers of Parma don't feel it's necessary.

Well, that's a new perspective! If the professional producers don't do it, I can think of a few reasons. Maybe there is a risk for deterioration considering the long storage time (12+ months) or the pH dropping to the point where the ham will get a sour taste.

I sure as h*** don't want any of that. It should be noted that the aW is still high at this stage.

Any more suggestions are highly appreciated.

A clue as to why some do it and others don't may be found is this piece from Adam Maranski's site (here he is writing about sausage):

There is a difference in fermented sausage technology between the United States and the European countries. American methods rely on rapid acid production (lowering pH) through a fast fermentation in order to stabilize the sausage against spoilage bacteria. Fast acting starter cultures such as Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococus acidilactici are used at high temperatures up to 40º C (104º F). As a result pH drops to 4.6, the sausage is stable but the flavor suffers and the product is sour and tangy. In European countries, the temperatures of 22º -26º C (72º -78º F) are used and the drying, instead of the acidity (pH) is the main hurdle against spoilage bacteria which favors better flavor development. The final acidity of a traditionally made salami is low (high pH) and the sourly taste is gone.

HTH

Phil