Those hanging hams. Ever wondered what process makes them last? Think of how unusual it is that huge hunks of meat should be safe to eat after being at room temperature for long periods of time, but they are safe to eat. We’re going to explore how to smoke cured meat to add flavor.
Both sets of my grandparents had smokehouses where they cured and then smoked their hams. Seems most country people back 50-100 years ago had them and took great pride and care in producing their own cured meats. Salt curing and smoking meat was a common practice.
Today, not so many people keep smokehouses but lots of people smoke meat. Today we are going to talk about smoking a salt cured ham. But let’s look at how you would salt cure a ham “from scratch.” Then we’ll see how to flavor a cured ham with smoke, whether you cure it yourself or buy one already cured.
Preserve Hams with Salt Curing
Accepted as a safe practice, using salt to pull moisture out of pork hams as a curing method has been used for, at least, hundreds of years and maybe longer. This process involves rubbing salt onto the ham, resting the meat for a period of time, repeating the salt rub and rest a few times before covering the meat and allowing it to hang undisturbed for over half a year. These methods require no refrigeration.
After the meat is cured it can then be smoked to add flavor.
How to Smoke Meat
Gather wood to flavor the smoke. Many like to use fruit trees. Only use hardwood trees and never use evergreen trees. The wood’s size, whether it is logs, wood chips or sawdust is determined by what type and size smoker is used. Whether you wet the wood versus dry smoking is a bit controversial and is left to the individual’s smoking experience and taste.
How long you smoke the meat is determined by different things but simply put it is for you to decide and research, experience and your taste buds will be the determining factors.
How to Build a Smokehouse or Smoker
Some, like my grandparents, had dedicated buildings to hold their meat while curing and smoking. Today there are other options like portable smokers to do the smoking in and most people hang curing hams in their climate-controlled homes that have stable humidity and heat with few fluctuations; however, many still prefer the stand alone smokehouse.
Smokehouses and portable smokers can be used to smoke other cuts of meat besides just hams, of course. Any kind of meat that can be dried can be smoked. Smoke adds benefits to the meat besides flavor like killing some bacteria, preventing mold and helping fats not turn rancid.
Learning to salt cure meat and smoke it is well worth the time and effort it takes. As generations before us have known, practical methods of meat preservation have meant meat on the table during lean times. Today knowing how to smoke means we can add flavor to home-cured or store-bought cured hams and other meats. It’s all good!
I am really interested in this subject Is the more I can learn from this?… you are very informative…. but when you said rest meat for time…. that’s very vague… and rub to meet a few times with salt… how many times????.
I am going to give it try
I would love to know how to preserve meat using this method. But what exactly did you tell us? How do we do this?
I HAVE BEEN CURING PORK FOR YEARS I DO IT A LITTLE DIFFERNT THAN MOST WE SALT & HANG OUR PORK SAME DAY START OUR SMOKING PROCESS ALSO GENERAL SMOKEING & CURING TIME FOR BACON IS FOUR TO FIVE DAYS HAMS SMOKE FOR ABOUT 18 DAYS THAN HANG FOR 2 MOUNTHS ALL MEAT IS TAKEN DOWN AFTER CURING SLICED VACCUMN PACKED & FROZE
I just bought a house, that came with a smokehouse.
Now I “have” to learn how to use it.
I have never salt cured and smoked a fresh ham . I have a smoker .and need to know what temp and how long to smoke it
I have cured and smoked whole hams, picnic shoulder and side pork(bacon) for years. Butchered our own hogs. This is the old world method. Soak all meat in a large earth ware crock in salt water with enough salt to make a raw egg float. Cover and weight down the meats. Soak for 30-60 days. Can add sugar, sugar with salt helps tenderize. I then put in smokehouse for 24 hours. Meat is cured.
Yes, i’ve salt cured and smoked several times. . When it comes to ham, particularly large quarters of up to 10kgs (bone in), it is important to drive a long pin or skewer up the inners side, along the bone. There’s a vein that usually keep too much blood and will foul up the process, by rotting it from the inside. Then you salt it sparingly, lay it on a board a place another board on top and weight it down (that’s why prosciutto aren’t rounded, but flattened. If you want to flavor it first a good recipe is to marinate it in Iced salt water and apple cider for a day or two, before the salting process (pat dried with paper towels before salting). I usually cover the area of meat without pork skin with sweet pepper to deter flies and other bugs. Then hang it in a rather dark area (basement) and wait!! Depending on the weight and size you should give it at least two months for smaller hams, or up to 9 months for the bigger ones. If you want to smoke it, you smoke right after the salting process and then hang it. If smoked you reduce the hanging time by 50%. Smoke, don’t “cook”. Cold smoking is my personal favorite. All you need is to buy the burner away from the smoke shack and connect the chimney with any type of rigid or flexible tube (wide enough) so the smoke cools down before entering the shack. Smoke for a day or two. Don’t worry if the fire goes out during the night, started up again early and it’ll be OK. Hope you enjoy…
We live in Montana and my garage is not heated. What happens if the temp goes below zero while curing?
What fruit trees or other hardwood do you recommend?
Any fruit, Pecan or nut trees. Oak puts acid in it, pine and cedar will ruin it.