xmas ham cure

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xmas ham cure

Postby jimbo » Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:31 am

Hi all,
I am looking for some specific advice. I have a 4.5 kg piece of GOS leg in the freezer which has the bone in. I want to turn this into a ham for christmas but am getting a bit confused about reciepes and quantities for a brine cure. I have very succesfully, over the last year, cured bacon using Francos traditional cure. I have a mind to remove the bone from the GOSW leg joint and cure using francos traditional bacon cure for the recommended quantities/times ie 30gms/kg and one day/half inch of thickness. This seems to work very well for all the belly meat I have cured but I do remove the skin before starting the cure. My question is, is there any reason why I should not treat this leg joint as a very thick piece of bacon but not remove the skin as I think it will cook better with skin on.

To add flavour to the meat I would then simmer the tied up joint in very well honied and peppered water for 50 mins/kg.
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Postby Paul Kribs » Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:01 am

Jimbo

I recently made a traditional ham using a boned and rolled leg with the skin on. I opted to try out Franco's brine cure in conjunction with the Old English boiled ham recipe on the main site. It came out very well indeed, very tastey and tender. There is mention of it on this thread http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=1030
I took the skin off before carving. The next one I do will be boiled, skin removed and then roasted in a honey glaze, but that's in the future. You don't have to pump the brine, just leave immersed for 14 days, making sure to turn each day. And there's still plenty of time to do it before christmas. :wink:

Regards, Paul Kribs
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Postby jimbo » Wed Nov 30, 2005 12:57 pm

Hi Paul
Thanks for the reply. Francos brine cure sounds good but where on this website is it advertised. I have ordered some traditional bacon cure and casings today so could add some of this brine cure to the order. Will go and look at the receipe now.

regards jimbo
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Postby Paul Kribs » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:22 pm

Jimbo

I have emailed Franco to see what has happened to the brine advert, you are right, it seems to have dissappeared. I cannot help you with regard to using the bacon cure on a leg as I have never done it, just belly, loin and collar. I see no reason why it should not work out OK.
I think if I were doing it with the bacon cure, I would bone the leg and open it out for curing, that way being thinner it would take less cure time. Leave the skin on but use about 90% of the cure on the flesh and fat, and the other 10% lightly over the skin. After the curing period I would wash it and leave to dry for a day, then I would tightly roll it using a butchers twine. You could if you wish sprinkle a little bit of gelatine powder over the flesh prior to rolling/tying. This would help hold the meat together while carving. For cooking I would still add a few flavourings to the water, ie. bay leaves, juniper berries, cloves, onions and peppercorns and gently simmer for at least 2 1/2 hours.

Alternately, there is a good discussion regarding brine curing ham, and a easy ham recipe on this thread: http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=207&highlight=ham+brine

It might be worth phoning Steph on 01204 433523 to enquire about wether the bine cure is still available.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Paul Kribs
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Postby Oddley » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:41 pm

Hi jimbo
Have a look at the thread below for my English brine recipe. It might meet your needs.


http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=992
Last edited by Oddley on Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby jimbo » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:43 pm

Thanks again Paul,

I have phoned and they tell me it has been removed from the web site temporaily but hope to have it back on soon. Don't know what the problem is.

I expect to get my bacon cure from franco this weekend so will use that and follow your advice about the boning into a thinner piece (about 4 inches) and then rolling and tying when cured. I actually want this ham on the 18th of december so just about have time to do it assuming the 30gms/kg and one day/half inch plus 2 days of thickness rule.

Many thanks again for your help

regards

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Postby aris » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:19 pm

Oddley - what is the best temperature to wet-cure a ham using your brine? I don't really have space in my fridge - i was wondering if the garage would be OK - temperatures between 7 and 10C.
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Postby Oddley » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:43 pm

I'm sorry to say, I would not recommend any temp over 4 C. Temperatures above this encourage the rapid growth of bacteria. In fact I like to keep mine between 2 - 3.5 C.

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Postby aris » Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:07 pm

Oddley - thanks for the info.

I understand your caution - but would the same not be true for a dry cured ham then too?

Makes you wonder how they did it in the days before refridgeration :-)
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Postby Oddley » Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:44 pm

aris, As you say I'm being cautious. It may well be OK to cure in higher temps because as we know most bacteria require Oxygen to grow. But they only need a very small amount such as air bubbles sticking to the meat. Also if the meat breaks the surface this could also cause bacterial growth. So by keeping the brine etc at a low temp we are giving ourselves a bit more protection. As far as air drying hams you will get bacteria growth on the surface. The surface salt will help a bit and penicillin mould growth will also be a bacterial deterrent. I have seen recommended by bacon makers also, to wipe the surface with vinegar this will lower the surface ph.

I have read some papers that say there are still significant amounts of bacteria, that grow in salami but normal healthy people can normally tolerate these concentrations. Don't ask where I read it, I read so much I kind lose track of most of it.

In the past we don't really know how many food poisonings were caused by poor hygiene and poor storage conditions.
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Postby Franco » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:52 pm

The brine cure should be back for sale tomorrow . I sold out of the last batch and couldn't get a replacement until now.

Due to requests for a complete brine including seasoning I am also introducing 3 new brine cures that I have been testing recently.

Wiltshire cure, An adaptation of the classic English cure, contains demeerara sugar, sea salt and English spice.

Honey roast ham cure, this is made with 60% granulated honey, I've trying to get hold of this for ages and think it's a great ingredient that I'll sell on the site if there's any interest.

Old English boiled ham cure, this is probably my favourite ham cure with bay, juniper, nutmeg and pepper.


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