Home-Cured Vacation Ham – Start Out Y'all Brine, In Addition To Thus Y'all Brag

There are many reasons for making your ain vacation ham, but the best ane of all, may live on the most superficial. After the holidays, equally people are standing approximately the H2O cooler, bragging how groovy their glazed carrots were, or how amazing the cranberry sauce came out, you lot tin sack say, “That sounds great, but did anyone else cure their ain ham? I didn’t intend so.”

Above as well as beyond establishing your culinary authorisation amongst friends, the other reasons are pretty skillful too. You tin sack flavour your ham whatever agency you lot want; you lot tin sack somewhat command the common salt content; as well as depending on how many people you lot ask to feed, tin sack cure whatever size cutting of pork you lot want, from a whole leg to a pocket-size loin roast.

There are thousands of unlike brine as well as spice combinations, but the physical care for is pretty much the same no affair which agency you lot go. However, at that topographic point is ane thing all these recipes convey inward common, pinkish salt. To brand a truthful ham, you’re going to ask a curing common salt that contains sodium nitrite, which is what gives the meat its pinkish color, as well as signature “ham” taste, verses something that but tastes similar roast pork.

This magical element goes past times several names, including Pink Curing Salt #, Insta Cure #1, or the ane I used, Prague Powder #1. Yes, you lot tin sack theoretically piece of job things similar celery juice, but long even short, nitrites are nitrites, as well as it doesn’t affair where they come upwardly from. For to a greater extent than information on that, as well as potential wellness issues, this article past times Michael Ruhlman is a skillful read.

Once the ham is cured, you’ll desire to give it a soak to rinse off the brine, as well as how long you lot make this tin sack final result how salty your meat is. I prefer but a quick dunk, but you lot tin sack move out it for equally long equally 24 hours, which volition make what I’ll telephone telephone a low-sodium ham. It’s all the same pink, as well as flavorful, but barely salty. Experimentation is the alone agency to figure out how long to you lot should go, but I wanted to give you lot the range.

If you lot make desire a home-cured ham gracing your Christmas table, I’ve given you lot but plenty fourth dimension to larn it done. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 local butcher should live on happy to give you lot a few tablespoons of pinkish salt, otherwise it’s quite slow to discovery online. Whether it’s for a vacation dinner or not, I actually promise you lot give this a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

7 to 10 pound fresh, bone-in pork shoulder “picnic” arm roast (or whatever large hunk of pork)

For the brine (adapted from Ruhlman’s basic ham brine recipe):

6 quarts water

18 ounces kosher common salt (this is close ii 1/4 cups Morton's Kosher Salt, or iii 2/3 cups Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, equally they convey deviation size grains)

2 cups brownish sugar

2 tablespoons addition 1 teaspoon pinkish common salt #1

1 rounded tbsp pickling spice, or whatever spices you lot want

For the optional glaze:
1/4 loving cup Dijon mustard
1/4 loving cup maple syrup
pinch of cayenne
pinch of common salt

- Once cured, you lot should smoke and/or roast your ham until it reaches an internal temp of at to the lowest degree 145-150 F.

- For a to a greater extent than detailed video on how I prep a ham for the oven, cheque out this Crispy Honey-Glazed Ham video.