I wanted to get the pastured pork people1 to sell at our market day
here in Cow Hill. Alas, they probably can't make it next Saturday. But
I did score two bellies and a whole fresh ham from them this evening.
Delivery is tomorrow.

Me? I'm gonna make bacon and cure that ham.

1Wouldn't Pastured Pork People be a good name for a band? Here's
Leadbelly on pig meat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_91CySMAV6s (In
case you need some inspiration)
--

modom

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:56:10 -0700, Ranee at Arabian Knits
> wrote:

>In article >,
> "modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:
>
>> Me? I'm gonna make bacon and cure that ham.
>
> Sounds really good. How do you make yours?
>
I follow the recipes in "Charcuterie" by Ruhlman and Polcyn. Bacon is
not so much of an undertaking -- cure it in the fridge and then smoke
it.

Curing a ham is a much longer proposition. The only other time I did
it, I packed it in salt and weighted it down in the fridge for one day
for each pound of uncured weight. I used a big enameled pan and a
smaller Pyrex dish and a 20-lb dumbbell. After that it has to be
wrapped in cheesecloth and air cured for months.

I cured it for six months the first time, using a wine collector's
temperature controlled storage unit I got from Overstock.com. It kept
the ham at a constant 50-55 degree F temp during the cure. I also
added a pan of water to the unit every now and then to increase the
humidity because the condensation tray in the back filled up pretty
fast at first. You don't want it to dry out too fast and develop a
crust on the outside that prevents the inner parts from drying. And to
prevent it from getting yucky, I changed the water out periodically.

Six months is the lower limit for curing, according to Ruhlman. This
time, I plan on a longer time in the cooler -- maybe closer to a year.
We'll see.
--

modom

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:13:20 -0500, modom (palindrome guy) wrote:

> I wanted to get the pastured pork people1 to sell at our market day
> here in Cow Hill. Alas, they probably can't make it next Saturday. But
> I did score two bellies and a whole fresh ham from them this evening.
> Delivery is tomorrow.
>
> Me? I'm gonna make bacon and cure that ham.
>
> 1Wouldn't Pastured Pork People be a good name for a band? Here's
> Leadbelly on pig meat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_91CySMAV6s (In
> case you need some inspiration)

ry cooder does a nice cover of that on his first album:

<http://www.amazon.com/Ry-Cooder/dp/B000002KOU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254924542&sr=1-3>

your pal,
blake

On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 10:10:14 -0400, blake murphy
> wrote:

>On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:13:20 -0500, modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
>
>> I wanted to get the pastured pork people1 to sell at our market day
>> here in Cow Hill. Alas, they probably can't make it next Saturday. But
>> I did score two bellies and a whole fresh ham from them this evening.
>> Delivery is tomorrow.
>>
>> Me? I'm gonna make bacon and cure that ham.
>>
>> 1Wouldn't Pastured Pork People be a good name for a band? Here's
>> Leadbelly on pig meat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_91CySMAV6s (In
>> case you need some inspiration)
>
>ry cooder does a nice cover of that on his first album:
>
><http://www.amazon.com/Ry-Cooder/dp/B000002KOU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254924542&sr=1-3>
>
Yes, D had that album when we first met. Airstream on the cover and
Leadbelly inside -- I couldn't help but fall for her.
--

modom

On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:39:00 -0700, Ranee at Arabian Knits
> wrote:

> I'm assuming this is for a higher quality product than the packed in
>liquid hams at the grocery store. I just don't imagine that they cure
>them that long and still sell them at the prices they do.

The recipe is for prosciutto.
>
> We have an extra fridge that we are going to set up here for drinks,
>extra produce and the use of the freezer, that seems like the perfect
>place for curing a ham for 6-12 months. Maybe one at 6 months and
>another at 12, just for research.
>
Check with Ruhlman's book. As I recall, he rcommends hanging the ham
at ca 55-60F and ca. 60% humidity. But I may be really wrong about
those numbers. Your fridge might be too chilly and too dry.
--

modom

On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:18:00 -0500, modom (palindrome guy) wrote:

> On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 10:10:14 -0400, blake murphy
> > wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:13:20 -0500, modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
>>
>>> I wanted to get the pastured pork people1 to sell at our market day
>>> here in Cow Hill. Alas, they probably can't make it next Saturday. But
>>> I did score two bellies and a whole fresh ham from them this evening.
>>> Delivery is tomorrow.
>>>
>>> Me? I'm gonna make bacon and cure that ham.
>>>
>>> 1Wouldn't Pastured Pork People be a good name for a band? Here's
>>> Leadbelly on pig meat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_91CySMAV6s (In
>>> case you need some inspiration)
>>
>>ry cooder does a nice cover of that on his first album:
>>
>><http://www.amazon.com/Ry-Cooder/dp/B000002KOU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254924542&sr=1-3>
>>
> Yes, D had that album when we first met. Airstream on the cover and
> Leadbelly inside -- I couldn't help but fall for her.

i can understand the attraction.

your pal,
blake