Is a roast tyer a necessity for making small hams?

[Polack]

I'm totally new to pretty much everything in meat processing. I want to make small hams for Christmas gifts and was wondering about the roast tyer and how bad I needed it. I'm not even 100% on the whole principle of tying a ham, is it just to keep the meat together, or do you want to compress the meat as well? I'm not sure I'm ready to fork out the big bucks yet so, would the plastic roast tyer work for me and what does it accomplish? If all it does is allow an easier way of sliding the net on the meat than I could probably come up with something a little cheaper on my own. Thanks for any help.

[onewheeler]

I'd never heard of one of those. Most of us use string and knots. It's worth learning and impresses persons of the opposite gender.

There's a video here: http://mattikaarts.com/blog/charcuterie/bresaola/ near the bottom (skip the first minute), the principle is the same whether using a bressaola, joint of meat or a boned chicken.

Martin/

[NCPaul]

You do want to eliminate air pockets in the center which will be an ideal place for molds to develop.

[Polack]

Ok so I watched a video on you tube and now am an expert on tying hams. I just need to tie a ham now. Seriously though, looks real easy. I'm glad I didn't waste money on an apparatus. I could see using them on a commercial scale though.

[DiggingDogFarm]

You could also put the ham in something like a cheap clam bag before tying it as in the video, which is what I often do, that'll bring things together even better.


~Martin

[Oddwookiee]

Another alternative is find a meat processing supplier and buy a roll of zip net or a few ham stockings.

[Polack]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm not sure if I'm going to get my smoker built in time to make hams for everyone but well see.