Franco's Step by Step Parma Ham

[Paul Kribs]

akesingland

Yes, conditions are starting to get a bit worse but I shall bear with it. It's a case of having to make the best of it. It's all down to the fact that I missed out on � a pig and had to wait a further 3 weeks otherwise it would have been well under way by now.

Follow Oddleys tutorial if you want to upload any pictures. I use my own little bit of webspace, which is fast reaching it's maximum.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[akesingland]

Dear All

Here are the photo's of my ham. It is a tunnel boned tamworth leg I bought from the Ginger Pig at Borough Market. It weighed 5.5Kg, I didn't think to take a picture of the raw leg.

1 Ham after the initial 15 day cure


2 Ham after the second 15 day cure


3 Ham after drying, sewing and larding


4 Ham after 3 days in the airing cupboard


5 Finally after one months airing


I scraped a lot of the pepper lard mixture as I think I had too much on.

Cheers
Adam

[Paul Kribs]

Adam

It is looking OK thus far. Don't worry about too much pepper and lard, just rinse it off with warm water when the ham has finished. I would stress, as you have sewn it, keep an eye on it as it dries out because it could form a cavity, which could manifest some dark green mould. I have had this with 2 loins which I eventually discarded. They were bones, cured rolled and tied.. and as they dried created the mouldy cavity. Not wishing to alarm you, but you don't want to lose it.. Constant inspection and monitoring should do the trick.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[akesingland]

Hi Paul

You have me worried now. I have a few spots of light green/white mold in or around where the bone would have been. Should I cut it and look? I have a few small spots of mold elsewhere too. Having said that I have no smell other than that of the cure that I have had all along. I could scrub it and re lard it?

Any advice

Cheers
Adam

[Paul Kribs]

Light green and white should be OK, but if you want to remove it just wet a cloth in vinegar and wipe it off and re-lard it.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[akesingland]

Hi All Parmas

Still a little worried, but I am leaving my current ham as it is. Today is day 39 (drying). I had in my head 60 days, just because Franco's legs went that long. I have visited a few websites regarding green mold, got this one (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Molds_On_Food/index.asp) interesting, scroll down to the bit about country ham. I'm thinking even if I were to scrub the mold off, I still think it would be a cosmetic thing so I am not going to do it. As my old Biology teacher said, "power of conviction". From the biology I can still remember the hyphae (little fillaments) are inside the meat anyway. Apparently the spores give the colour.

So how are everyone elses hams going? Although the weather is not too good, conditions are spot on for all those people who started their hams late (Sorry for the South of UK slant on that one). Or maybe the damp is the reason for my mold?

Paul where do you get your pork from?

Finally, my girlfriend Marie, Sky+ed "Return to Tuscany" on UKTV Food regarding air dried hams. The way the butchering was done, and possibly the curing or pressing meant a fairly flat two sided piece of meat. The area of the exposed meat side was just as big as the skin side. I was pleased as the meat side was heavily pepper/larded (No sign of mold ). They all look boned to me too. Then he stuck a wooden skewer, not a horses bone (Parma) in the middle to have a sniff.

Cheers
Adam

[Paul Kribs]

Adam

When I require � a pig or a lamb I get it from a smallholding near Polhill, between Sevenoaks and Orpington. If I require smaller cuts, I buy from the butcher in New Eltham, same applies for beef. If there are special cheap deals in supermarkets I will take advantage of that.

It is interesting you say a wooden skewer was used to test the ham as most wood has a very prominent smell of its own.

Unfortunately, I have discarded my ham. The smell increased to become quite rancid. I also noticed some light brown gunk oozing from the flesh. Out of curiosity I decided to investigate and cut it open. It appeared that the main leg artery was exuding the gunk for whatever reason and this was giving off quite a putrid smell which had penetrated some of the flesh. I don't believe the bone was sour at all. Although there was a lot of flesh that didn't smell, and looked well cured, I decided not to take any chances and discard it.
Bit of a waste, and as My son really wanted to try it, it seems I will have to get to the butcher pretty quick and maybe pick up a loin to do.. only got just over 2 months before he visits.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Rik vonTrense]

THAT WOULD BREAK MY HEART PAUL........................


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[Paul Kribs]

Rik

I accept it as part of the learning process. We all get failures at some time. I have had failures with salami due to severe case hardening etc, but when it goes right I feel it is worth it. My wife was more put out then me, she said I could have made a couple of nice boiled hams.. but we have to try these things. I still believe the beast wasn't bled enough at the abattoir, and feel it was the blood still sitting in the artery that failed. Don't know for sure, but I will go back to making the parma with smaller boned pieces of pork.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[pokerpete]

Rik

I accept it as part of the learning process. We all get failures at some time. I have had failures with salami due to severe case hardening etc, but when it goes right I feel it is worth it. My wife was more put out then me, she said I could have made a couple of nice boiled hams.. but we have to try these things. I still believe the beast wasn't bled enough at the abattoir, and feel it was the blood still sitting in the artery that failed. Don't know for sure, but I will go back to making the parma with smaller boned pieces of pork.

Regards, Paul Kribs

Unfortunately Paul, I can't come to terms with your pig not being bled correctly unless a) It died of natural causes, b) It died of a disease.
In the correct manner used in killing halls or dedicated pig killing lines, the pig is stunned with a Lethalor or similar apparatus which delivers an electric shock. The pig is still alive at this time but unconscious, it is then hoisted up by its rear legs onto the trackway. The pig is suspended over a chute and it's jugular cut, the blood is collected to make genuine black puds with. Meanwhile the heart is still pumping out blood, and when the heart stops the pig is dead. AND NOT BEFORE. Leaving the dead pig hanging will not result in any more blood coming out of it. The pig is then moved along the trackway for scalding, dehairing, etc.
So unless you can work out how you've got a legful of blood, I'm baffled.

[Paul Kribs]

pokerpete

As I say, I am unsure, but as the gunk was coming out of the artery area I assumed that the cause was blood as I cannot see any other reason for it. Could be on the wrong track but either way it has been discarded. I have had no problems with the pork from my supplier in the past, and all the rest of my charcuterie with the same pork all ended with good results.
The pig was dispatched at a reputable abattoir, and I believe that any animal dying of natural causes is not allowed to be sold for human consumption.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Heather]

Paul, I have a vague (very vague) recollection of reading about something like this somewhere (I'll trawl my books at home to see where), and something about having to squeeze any remaining gunk (technical term ) out of main arteries. I'll post more if I can find the info.

[Paul Kribs]

Heather

Thanks, I would appreciate that, help me to come to terms with my loss..

regards, Paul Kribs

[Rik vonTrense]

Would it not be a wise precaution in the future to flush out the offending artery with a bit of water pressure. ?

[pokerpete]

Would it not be a wise precaution in the future to flush out the offending artery with a bit of water pressure. ?

It has been known, and might be a useful ploy. Also what might be useful is a stainless steel hand operated brine pump to inject brine into the thick part of the leg. This is useful as it cuts down the time in the brine tub, and secondly helps with the osmosit rate in the flesh.
This unfortunate 'gunk' of Pauls may have been caused by the uncured pork meat, therefore still 'live' not having had the benefit of the brine until quite a long time later.