My first (piece of) ham - with as much detail as possible...

[Crispybacon]

That looks exactly like the ham I want to make � it looks delicious.
I buy the most wonderful non-smoked ham from a German smallgoods producer. The texture is slightly dry and very meaty (a bit like the texture of the eye in a bacon rasher) as opposed to the more moist and �rubbery� texture of a lot of hams. I would love to be able to replicate it and yours looks very similar.

BTW the detail in your description is very much appreciated and very helpful. Looks like I�ll be making ham�.must try and get the bacon right first though!

[jenny_haddow]

I've just given the ham another turn over and it's looking pretty good. Iwas going to cook it tomorrow, but will leave it until Sunday/Monday as I have to go away for a couple of days. I have to decided to cook it as per Dougal's excellent description and I will post pictures of the result.

Jen

[jenny_haddow]

Well, the ham has turned out very well, looks similar to Dougal's but I've left my camera at my daughter's so cant post a picture! I've put half of it through my electric slicer for sandwiches and the first lot of those has gone off to work with the OH today. It cuts very well, with a good firm texture, and has a very subtle flavour of the added cooking ingredients, and not at all over salty.
Most impressed and will move on to a larger piece next time.

[saucisson]

Something else for me to try !!

Regarding accurate scales, several of us have bought 0.01g scales from here:

http://ukscales.com/shop/index.php?cPath=62

I got the DS-250, but I think Oddley spent a bit more and got one with a larger weighing platform.

Dave

[dougal]

Well, the ham has turned out very well...

Delighted for you!
(And just a touch relieved!)

Apart from scaling up, is there anything you've thought of that you'd do differently next time?

If you want it saltier, then simmering in less water (a tighter pot) would probably achieve that. I'd be tempted to use a small pot inside the bigger one - in order to keep the slow change of temperature.
BUT - I'm not sure I want it salty.

I did think I might increase the spices. There's this subtle light note from the herbs and veg, that is a touch distinct from the ham. More juniper, peppercorns, more or fresher cloves and maybe a couple of blades of mace?
I've got a feeling that an ever so light smoking would be good - but I'm not there yet...

[Crispybacon]

Apart from scaling up, is there anything you've thought of that you'd do differently next time?

Is it just a case of scaling up the ingredients to suit the weight of the meat? How would you adjust for the brining time?

When I have a go I want it to be as simple as possible and when it comes to buying the pork I�ll probably have to make do (size wise) with what�s available at the time. The pork legs I've seen so far have part of the bone left in - is there any reason why I can't bone it and roll it myself or is it a bit more complicated than that?

[dougal]

Apart from scaling up, is there anything you've thought of that you'd do differently next time?

Is it just a case of scaling up the ingredients to suit the weight of the meat? How would you adjust for the brining time?

The idea was to do an "equilibrium cure", where the meat takes up as much as it ever could of water, salt and nitrate from the amount supplied.
In my first post, I showed how the calculation is done. The Nitrate (and salt) amounts taken up are calculated using the assumption in the US meat inspectors handbook (linked from the first post) that at equilibrium the Nitrate (and salt) is distributed into the meat in the same proportion as the meat represents (by weight) of the complete closed system of meat + brine.
Because my saltpetre measurement accuracy could have been as poor as �10% (I didn't use my own standard solution trick), in the calculation I show, you will see that I have rounded off the numbers - a simplifying assumption.
You can calculate to 5 significant figures, but if the measurement accuracy isn't there, the result's accuracy will be much less than the precision with which it is stated.

The Nitrate "ingoing" to the meat depends on the amount of Nitrate in your brine, and the weights of brine and meat that you are using. Its a simple calculation. The only awkwardness would be pounds and ounces - USE GRAMS - its easy!
Note that I explained that I first measured how much brine I would need for that joint in that particular container, then calculated the brine contents and only then mixed the brine.

Cure time.
Dunno for sure, but I'll explain my thinking.
The idea is to get to equilibrium. After that it can't get saltier (or pick up more Nitrate) - that's the meat inspector's assumption. Lets hold onto it for now.
Commercially, the idea is to maximise production and the use of production capacity. Hence a commercial immersion (equilibrium) "curing time" is a *minimum* not a recommendation like the time to cook fish.
But commercial equilibrium curing is seriously unusual.
Jane Grigson was using equilibrium curing. She doesn't use the word, but talks about "any time from 3 days to a month" for a small piece of ham - that sounds like equilibrium to me!
But Jane Grigson was working at cool room temperature, perhaps 10 to 15C. We are working under refrigeration - in my case 6C. Its going to take longer. School Chemistry teaches that "a rise of 10 degrees C (but actually K) will double or triple the rate of a chemical reaction". Here we have diffusion, chemistry and biochemistry, but as a starting point it seems reasonable to allow it double Mrs Grigson's times.
Nevertheless, I'd be checking it for any sign of spoilage as one approached a month... just in case. For Mrs G, brining was a means of preservation prior to the general use of refrigeration - combine them and food ought to keep even longer.

When I have a go I want it to be as simple as possible and when it comes to buying the pork I�ll probably have to make do (size wise) with what�s available at the time. The pork legs I've seen so far have part of the bone left in - is there any reason why I can't bone it and roll it myself or is it a bit more complicated than that?

Its no more complicated. As usual, check carefully for bone fragments the butcher may have left, and wash the bone cavity carefully.
I would weigh it *after* boning, and use the boneless weight in my calculation.
Don't waste the bone! Why not chuck it, and any meat scraps adhering, into the brine and then chuck it into the next Pea or Lentil soup you make? An excellent excuse for making such a soup!
When you immerse the meat in the brine, try and dislodge/release any bubbles of air that might be trapped - the odd squeeze should do the trick.

Its amazingly simple.
If you taste the cooking broth and change it if its rather salty, you shouldn't end up with over salty ham.
If you calculate the Nitrate *before* adding the saltpetre to the brine, the Nitrate level should be fine too.
Thereafter, its a matter of cooking the thing really gently - you want the heating to be uniform - unlike much cooking where the contrast between outside and centre can be so important (think of a steak!) - here the idea is to avoid that contrast.
Its easy really.

I've tried to spell it all out specifically to show that there is no mystery, no magic, and (you don't have to tell people) actually not much skill needed. All you have to do is think and work carefully.
What gets more complicated, and perhaps controversial, seems to be working bone-in. Personally, I think one should estimate the bone weight and take it out of the calculations entirely.

[jenny_haddow]

Dougal

I don't think there is much that I would change, although I might play around with the herbs and spices a little, as they do come through in the flavour. The jellied stock that is left I've retained for the next time I have a bunny to put in the pot. I think they would complement each other.

I've just taken delivery of Mrs Grigson learned work which I look forward to reading, but I must say, your method has got me off to a good start, and another, larger piece of pork is on the shopping list for this afternoon as most of the first piece has gone!

Cheers

Jen

[saucisson]

Dougal, is diffussion going to vary much with temperature? I can see that as we approach freezing and the viscosity goes up diffussion will be affected but will it be any different at say 6 than 16C? Here I expose my complete ignorance of Physics for one and all to see

Dave

[hmmm sausages]

<tries to remember back to A-Level Chemistry and physics>

I seem to recall if you have a solution, which is what a brine is (a solid disolved in a liquid) the higher the concentration, the more viscous it will be, which will effect diffusion.

The temperature will make a difference too, but only around the temperature at which the liquid will change its state (going from Liquid to solid, water to ice) A solution normally has lower freezing points too, so the difference between 16c and 6c will be minimal in my opinion

Hope that is of some use to someone, I have to admit though, I havent read the full thread and I am just commenting on Dave's last post lol

Rob
Still Having a very dull day at work

[dougal]

Dougal, is diffussion going to vary much with temperature? I can see that as we approach freezing and the viscosity goes up diffussion will be affected but will it be any different at say 6 than 16C? Here I expose my complete ignorance of Physics for one and all to see

Dave

Dave - the rate of diffusion will, in general, vary with the absolute temperature (�K ie �C +273). That is leaving out phase changes, because we aren't actually thinking of freezing the stuff.
It shouldn't be influenced by macroscopic things like small viscosity changes.
So the diffusion rate will fall, but not greatly with a 10C temp drop.
I think the significant thing that is likely to most affected by a drop in temperature from say 15C to 5C is the rate of the bacteria-moderated breakdown of Nitrate to Nitrite, which is why I happily allowed the thing to come up to room temp to start with, so that I would be sure to have the expected bacterial flora. The reason we use refrigeration is specifically to de-activate the bacteria, and 4C seems to be a threshold that I wanted to be above for once!


Jenny - if you have the same edition as I do, have a look at the Brine-Cures section in "Salt Pork and Hams" (starting page 185) and the following (sub?) section on Unsmoked Hams using English Brine and you should easily recognise my primary source! (But you'll also recognise that what I described isn't entirely one of Mrs Grigson's!)

[saucisson]

Thanks Dougal and Rob, I thought the major slow down at lower temps would be the chemistry/biochemistry rather than diffussion, but I wanted to be sure.
dave

[jenny_haddow]

What a learning curve, and I just 'scraped' 'O' level maths.

Cheers

Jen

[Crispybacon]

Thanks again for your input Dougal.....much appreciated! Am now patiently awaiting the delivery of my new scales so I can get started.