Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service wrote:Method of CuringCuring materials may be in either dry or liquid form. They
will be applied either to the surface of meat or into it by some
injection method. The oldest method of cure application is dry
cure in which the curing ingredients are rubbed on the surface
of the meat. The dry, sugar cure method can be used under
wider temperature variations and will have less spoilage
problems under unfavorable curing conditions. A simple and
time-tested dry-curing formula is as follows:
• 8 Ibs. salt
• 3 Ibs. sugar
• 2 oz. sodium nitrate
• 1/2 oz. sodium nitrite (or a total of 3 oz. nitrate available;
remember, excess nitrite is toxic)
Also, a prepackaged cure or modern cure mix can be
purchased from a spice or seasoning company.
One ounce of cure mixture per one pound of pork should
be used. Hams will require three separate rubbings at threeto
five-day intervals. Picnics and butts will require two rubbings
at three- to five-day intervals. The belly will require one
thorough rubbing with a little sprinkling over the flesh side of
each belly. The cure mixture should be divided into two or
three portions for the number of rubbings. At the end of the
three- or five-day interval another portion of the cure mixture
should be rubbed in. When curing, meat should be held in a
non-corrosive vat or containers that will drain so the cuts do
not rest in their own brine.
The length of curing is seven days per inch of thickness.
An example, if a ham weighs 12-14 pounds and is 5 inches
thick through the thickest part, this ham should be cured 5 x
7 = 35 days. A belly two-inches thick should cure in 14 days.
Another important consideration is to be sure the cure is
rubbed into the aitch bone joint and hock end of the ham to
avoid bone sour. During curing the product should be stored
at temperatures between 32� to 40�F.
If the dry cure mix is dissolved in water, it is called a brine
or pickle. The meat can be covered with this pickle and the
system is known as immersion curing. Immersion curing is
slower and the pickle solution has to be changed every 7 days
to prevent spoilage. A sweet pickle cure with a salimeter
reading of 75� can be produced by adding 5 gallons of water
to the 8-3-3 mixture (above). A salimeter (salometer) should
be used to measure the strength (salinity) in the curing brine.
For quality curing and maintaining the same salt level in
the finished product, a salimeter is a necessary instrument of
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the industry. When using the salimeter to determine the salt
level of the brine or pickle, be sure salt is the only ingredient in
the water. Sugar and phosphates will raise the salimeter
readings. Also the temperature of the water will influence the
reading, so be sure and check the temperature at which the
salimeter is to be used. However, most salimeters are used at
60�F. (Salimeters can be purchased at a meat equipmentsupply
for approximately $7.)
A useful calculation for determining percent salt in a brine
is to multiply the salimeter reading by 26.4 percent. The
26.4percent comes from 100� brine (saturated) equals 26.4percent
salt.
The percent salt in 70� brine is:
70 x 26.4percent (0.264) = 18.48percent salt in brine.
The next application is to relate the saltiness of the brine
to the saltiness of the pumped meat.
% salt in finished product =
%salt in brine x percent pump x 100
yield
Example 1: 70� brine, pump 15% yield of finish product 102%
%salt in finished product =
(2.72 % Salt)
.1848 (% Salt) x 15 (% Salt) x 100
1.02 (%yield of finished product)
Example 2: 70� brine, pump 15%, yield of finish product 85%.
% salt in finished product =
(3.26 % Salt)
.1848 (% Salt) x 15 (%Salt) x 100
.85
For pumping pickle its usually recommended to use a
salimeter reading of 70� to 85�. Then for the cover pickle the
pump pickle can be diluted to 55�-65� brine.
Curing time for hams and picnics in brine is 3 1/2 to 4 days
per pound per piece of meat. Another way to figure curing
times is to allow 11 days per inch of thickness measuring the
greatest thickness through the center of the cut. A 15 pound
ham will take 60 days to cure by the immersion cure method.
To speed up curing, the brine or sweet pickle can be
pumped or injected into the cut. Injection of the cure is
accomplished either by stitch or artery method. The stitch
method involves the use of a perforated needle or several
needles that distribute the pickle when injected into the meat.
Another type of cure injection used especially for hams,
picnics and beef tongues is by the arterial system. This
procedure utilizes the naturally occurring vascular network for
quicker and complete distribution of the cure. The pickle is
pumped by a small gauge needle through the femoral artery of
the ham.
Any type of injection curing will speed up the distribution,
and the more complete the distribution, the shorter the curing
time. The curing time with the injection method may be as short
as 24 hours. The pickle solution can be prepared by the
procedure previously explained. The pickle can be pumped
into the ham at equivalent to 10 percent of its weight (a 15
pound ham requires 1.5 pounds of pickle). When pumping,
place the meat on a scale to determine when the proper
amount of pickle has been pumped into the meat. During the
curing period, the product should be kept at 36 to 40�F.
. I would have thought you could fit two hams in a 5 gallon brewing bin. I see no reason not to cure them together, I put my ham in a bucket with two loins and a joint of brisket. I would base curing time on the size of the biggest joint, not total meat, but volume of cure needs to be based on the latter. I've not attempted hams that big, so someone else may have a better idea of volume required.
