Hams and Bacon

[Rancid Crabtree]

Ok the hog is hanging.

Please give any suggestions on what and how to make. I plan to try doing hams and bacon for my first time.
Any advise is appreciated and resources you'd recommend.

Thanks

[PartTimeHunter]

Dick 284 just posted some pics of bacon that he made. I had a similar recipe to his but mine called for some bourbon - I like mine better.
I don't think we are allow to post links so will pm a link to my recipe

[Rancid Crabtree]

Thanks for the pm parttime.

[PartTimeHunter]

Originally Posted by Rancid Crabtree

Thanks for the pm parttime.

you're welcome

[Opa]

Check this out. Lots of good information and recipes!!!

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/saus...curing/methods

[Johnny Huntnfish]

First, decide if you want to brine or dry rub
Second, go buy the spices for either brine or dry rub
Third, apply brine or dry rub and wait
Fourth, smoke bacon accordingly, cool, wrap and store....slice when necessary

[Suka]

This is how I've been doing it, I researched a lot on the net before I started making ours.

Brine:
For every 2l water;
3/4 cup kosher salt(coarse salt)
4 tsp morton's tender quick
1+ packed cup brown sugar
WHOLE cloves and garlic to taste (if you use crushed cloves you'll have little black flecks concentrated where you inject that looks like mold but it's not, it's the crushed cloves.)
Mix the above in a large stock pot over med. heat to dissolve ingredients. I find it should "almost" smell like soup.
You need enough brine to cover the hams. I use a plastic garbage can I bought and use only for this purpose. Let the brine cool before adding/injecting the hams or you'll tighten up the meat.

Inject the hams daily or at least every other day, if you don't inject enough you'll have areas of pork roast instead of ham. Inject until it's running out of other injection holes. More is better. Bone in hams be certain to get lot's from the bone out. Place in a clean container,and store around 38 degrees. A fridge is too cold, I find an unheated garage this time of year is about right. Inject daily for a week, use a plate or bowl to keep the hams under the surface of the brine.

After a week-10 days, rinse the hams, and soak them in cold water for an hour. I then smoke them for around 6-7 hrs at 160 or so with maple. You'll be amazed how good ham is; I didn't realize how bland storebought had become until I started making our own again.

Recipe works same for game, injection is more important. I've made moose, deer, bear and elk hams. All are great.

Bacon is simple.
Place cut in plastic bag. Cover with kosher salt and maple syrup all sides, toss in fridge for about a week, turning daily, smoke, enjoy. I've even made bacon out of game shoulder steaks, it's still great.

[Rancid Crabtree]

Thanks Suka
So the hams soak submerged in the brine and you inject them every day or two ?
Just being sure I got that right before I get started.

[wildwoods]

I'd like to stress an important point about sodium nitrite (in tender quick and other cures such as FS cure). Read and follow label directions. Some curing salt is only 5% sodium nitrite and other 6.5 etc. Don't pull a generic measurement off the net. Again, read and follow the label for making brine. Add your spices to taste off any recipe. Just don't mess up the measurements with the nitrite.

[sjemac]

Get the book Chacuterie by Michael Ruhlman. It's my bible for all pork.
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B005...ie=UTF8&btkr=1

It's based on tried and true methods.

[sjemac]

I do guaniciale, pancetta, lardo, and prosciutto from our pigs every year. The prosciutto hangs in the basement for a full year before eating. Not including the 30'lbs of bacon .

[Suka]

Originally Posted by Rancid Crabtree

Thanks Suka
So the hams soak submerged in the brine and you inject them every day or two ?
Just being sure I got that right before I get started.

That's correct. I've tried different spices in the brine(thyme, etc); my problem is I never write down what I used and every batch is slightly different. Best one I used fresh crushed garlic and lot's of it. Just finished a batch and it could have used more garlic IMO, but I like lot's of garlic and heavy smoke flavor. All comes down to personal taste.
I'm certain you'll find even just the basic brine a vast improvement over storebought. You'll be amazed at the flavor.
The injector I use looks like a big stainless needle except it has 6 or 8 holes that it squirts out of the side of the needle instead of the point. Got it from a sporting goods store.

If by chance you actually write down the amounts of spices and it's a killer batch let us know. (they're never bad, just some are really, really, good)

[Suka]

Originally Posted by sjemac

I do guaniciale, pancetta, lardo, and prosciutto from our pigs every year. The prosciutto hangs in the basement for a full year before eating. Not including the 30'lbs of bacon .

You've peaked my interest, I'm guessing you use a dry cure? Please elaborate with a recipe and some pointers if you don't mind, I'm all ears as I read up on it, but have never had the guts to try it.

[sjemac]

Originally Posted by Suka

You've peaked my interest, I'm guessing you use a dry cure? Please elaborate with a recipe and some pointers if you don't mind, I'm all ears as I read up on it, but have never had the guts to try it.

I really just follow the recipes contained within the book. While I change out the spices all the time, the parts I keep the same every time are the ratios of pink salt, salt, and sugar. That's the most important part. After that you can basically do anything you want.

This leg has been hanging for a year. It will be cut up around Christmas and replaced with one that has been sitting in salt since 1 November.



Here are my cured pork jowls and pancetta. They have been hanging a month. They are due to be vacuum packed and frozen this weekend.




The raw product.

[Rancid Crabtree]

Looks great, thanks for all the advice.

Where would one find the curing salt in red deer area ?
Also where would one get the syringe and needle for injecting hams ?

[Suka]

sjemac I'll definitely be ordering that book, thanks. Suspect it'll open a whole new world of meat curing.

crabtree I see cabela's sells them: http://www.cabelas.ca/product/23775/...cial-injectors

I just got mine from a local sporting goods store. Maybe even Cdn tire? They sell grinders, spice kits and pressure canners, etc?

[sjemac]

Halfords in Edmonton, has everything you need. They sell the pink salt.

[Predator]

Dumb question, but why is cure needed in bacon? I know it's for stopping bacterial growth, but it's a cooked product so I don't understand why it's necessary. Could someone enlighten me?

[sjemac]

Originally Posted by Predator

Dumb question, but why is cure needed in bacon? I know it's for stopping bacterial growth, but it's a cooked product so I don't understand why it's necessary. Could someone enlighten me?

Its why bacon tastes like bacon. It also maintains the color. Cooked bacon without curing salt is kind of grayish. Nobody likes cooking up gray bacon.

[Predator]

Originally Posted by sjemac

Its why bacon tastes like bacon. It also maintains the color. Cooked bacon without curing salt is kind of grayish. Nobody likes cooking up gray bacon.

Thanks for the answer. I didn't know that it also helped with flavour. I did hear about it stopping the colour change. Thanks again.

[Rancid Crabtree]

Well I got the hams in the brine and bacon curing.

[Throttle_monkey1]

Originally Posted by Suka

This is how I've been doing it, I researched a lot on the net before I started making ours.

Brine:
For every 2l water;
3/4 cup kosher salt(coarse salt)
4 tsp morton's tender quick
1+ packed cup brown sugar
WHOLE cloves and garlic to taste (if you use crushed cloves you'll have little black flecks concentrated where you inject that looks like mold but it's not, it's the crushed cloves.)
Mix the above in a large stock pot over med. heat to dissolve ingredients. I find it should "almost" smell like soup.
You need enough brine to cover the hams. I use a plastic garbage can I bought and use only for this purpose. Let the brine cool before adding/injecting the hams or you'll tighten up the meat.

Inject the hams daily or at least every other day, if you don't inject enough you'll have areas of pork roast instead of ham. Inject until it's running out of other injection holes. More is better. Bone in hams be certain to get lot's from the bone out. Place in a clean container,and store around 38 degrees. A fridge is too cold, I find an unheated garage this time of year is about right. Inject daily for a week, use a plate or bowl to keep the hams under the surface of the brine.

After a week-10 days, rinse the hams, and soak them in cold water for an hour. I then smoke them for around 6-7 hrs at 160 or so with maple. You'll be amazed how good ham is; I didn't realize how bland storebought had become until I started making our own again.

Recipe works same for game, injection is more important. I've made moose, deer, bear and elk hams. All are great.

Bacon is simple.
Place cut in plastic bag. Cover with kosher salt and maple syrup all sides, toss in fridge for about a week, turning daily, smoke, enjoy. I've even made bacon out of game shoulder steaks, it's still great.

New guy here, but I've seen many of you on CGN.

Suka how does a game ham turn out? I was thinking of trying a ham from a deer. Might use cherry wood.

[wildwoods]

Welcome Throttle Monkey
Deer hams are excellent. Much like pickles taste like their pickling, hams taste like their brine...

[Throttle_monkey1]

Thanks wildwoods!

How is the texture of the meat? I prefer a drier ham, I'm thinking a deer ham might be perfect since it's already leaner than pork.

[Rancid Crabtree]

Thanks for all the help in the thread and also by pm.

I've been enjoying the best bacon I've ever had. I made side and also back bacon. I really like the back bacon.
Christmas breakfast will feature home made bacon.

[EZM]

If you like a smoked prosciutto like they have in Croatia ..... they salt cure and smoke the hams ...... with no nitrates or preservatives. It's worth a little research but the outcome is absolutely amazing.

I prefer that style of ham over traditional parma (italian salt cure with no smoke) or the spanish version (serrano).

[Dick284]

Back Bacon Recipe:

2 pork loin roasts(1/2-3/4 lb. each)

Injection cure;
1/4tsp Prague #1 curing salt.
1tbs kosher salt
1/4tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
2tbs brown sugar
1tsp honey.
Shoot up the roasts real good.
Excess cure goes into your non reactive coverable container.


Main cure;
3/8tsp Prague #1 curing salt.
1/4 cup kosher salt
2tbs black pepper
1/4 cup maple syrup
1tbs honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 bay leaf
10-12 whole cloves
1tbs whole pepper corns
1 cap of maple extract.(1/4tsp)
Enough water to cover the roasts.
Cure for a week in the fridge.
Roll the roasts daily.
Remove from cure, rinse, and air dry over night in the fridge.
Smoke at 130*F for at least 3 hours, increase temperature to 170-180*F and continue smoking till internal temperature is 150*F.

[Skybuster]

I have read a couple of these bacon making threads and I really wish to try it. However I am unable to find the meat here in the Peace. I believe Omega50 has posted where he has found some great priced pork bellies in the Calgary area, unfortunately I don't get down there very often. I will be down to Edmonton next week, anyone know where a guy can get cheap pork bellies or sides in the Edmonton area?

The local grocery has pork sides on for $15/kg. Seems way too high to me.

[Suka]

Originally Posted by Throttle_monkey1

Suka how does a game ham turn out? I was thinking of trying a ham from a deer. Might use cherry wood.

Ungulate hams are just a darker pink color than pork ham. The absence of fat doesn't seem to make a big taste difference. Frankly if you had people over and didn't tell them it was a game ham they likely wouldn't guess it was. (unless your house is like ours and people just know if they eat here it most likely will be wild meat. )

Never tried cherry, have only used maple for hams.

[PartTimeHunter]

Originally Posted by Skybuster

I have read a couple of these bacon making threads and I really wish to try it. However I am unable to find the meat here in the Peace. I believe Omega50 has posted where he has found some great priced pork bellies in the Calgary area, unfortunately I don't get down there very often. I will be down to Edmonton next week, anyone know where a guy can get cheap pork bellies or sides in the Edmonton area?

The local grocery has pork sides on for $15/kg. Seems way too high to me.

Not going to help you for next week but Sangudo Custom Meat will bring pork bellys in. I paid $4.50/lb. they were about 12 lbs. each