Home-Cured Vacation Ham – Cause Down Y'all Brine, Thence Y'all Brag

There are many reasons for making your ain vacation ham, but the best 1 of all, may live on the most superficial. After the holidays, every bit people are standing to a greater extent than or less the H2O cooler, bragging how bully their glazed carrots were, or how amazing the cranberry sauce came out, you lot tin say, “That sounds great, but did anyone else cure their ain ham? I didn’t intend so.”

Above together with beyond establishing your culinary potency amongst friends, the other reasons are pretty expert too. You tin season your ham whatever agency you lot want; you lot tin somewhat command the tabular array salt content; together with depending on how many people you lot postulate to feed, tin cure whatever size cutting of pork you lot want, from a whole leg to a modest loin roast.

There are thousands of dissimilar brine together with spice combinations, but the physical care for is pretty much the same no affair which agency you lot go. However, at that spot is 1 thing all these recipes convey inwards common, pinkish salt. To brand a truthful ham, you’re going to postulate a curing tabular array salt that contains sodium nitrite, which is what gives the meat its pinkish color, together with signature “ham” taste, verses something that only tastes similar roast pork.

This magical part goes yesteryear several names, including Pink Curing Salt #, Insta Cure #1, or the 1 I used, Prague Powder #1. Yes, you lot tin theoretically operate things similar celery juice, but long floor short, nitrites are nitrites, together with it doesn’t affair where they come upward from. For to a greater extent than information on that, together with potential wellness issues, this article yesteryear Michael Ruhlman is a expert read.

Once the ham is cured, you’ll desire to give it a soak to rinse off the brine, together with how long you lot make this tin termination how salty your meat is. I prefer only a quick dunk, but you lot tin larn out it for every bit long every bit 24 hours, which volition make what I’ll telephone telephone a low-sodium ham. It’s yet pink, together with 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 only 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 abide by 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 tabular array salt (this is well-nigh ii 1/4 cups Morton's Kosher Salt, or three 2/3 cups Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, every bit they convey divergence size grains)

2 cups brownish sugar

2 tablespoons addition 1 teaspoon pinkish tabular array 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 tabular array 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, banking enterprise represent out this Crispy Honey-Glazed Ham video.