On Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:11:46 -0500, Omelet >
wrote:

>Googled for some recipes, looks like a dry curing process that I've not
>tried yet. I'm sure I could get a fresh (uncured) ham but I could not
>find whether or not the rind gets removed before curing.
>
>I'm also wondering if this can be done at 40 degrees. My Hobart has the
>capacity if I were to "hang" it from the bottom shelf for the required
>curing time.
>
>Any ideas? :-)
>
>And could a Pork Shoulder roast (butt) be used?

From Charcuterie by Ruhlman & Polcyn -

"The dry-cured ham elicits a reverence perhaps unmatched by any other
single charcuterie item. By dry-cured ham, we mean the whole back leg
of a mature hog packed in salt for weeks and hung to dry for many
months or even years."

"The general method for any dry-cured ham is standard. The hams are
packed in salt and sometimes stacked on top of each other, their
weight pressing water out, and typically cured for about a day for
every pound of weight."

"The quality of dry-cured ham may be most reliant on the quality and
diet of the hog. You can dry-cure any fresh ham it's not difficult,
but if the hog is from an American commercial grower, the ham is not
going to taste anywhere near as fine as it would if it were from a hog
raised on grass and acorns and allowed to grow big and fat (the
Iberian hogs can grow to four hundred pounds, while American factory
hogs average about two hundred and fifty pounds at slaughter)."

What counts most is the qualtiy of the ham. If you don't have access
to top quality "free range" acorn fed pork, why bother?

If you're relayy interested in curing meats, I suggest you check out
the book.

- Mark