Make Your Own: Cured Ham

I'm SO excited to share this recipe/process with you! I've been working on it all summer trying to get it just right. Let me tell you, our summer sandwiches have greatly benefitted from all the trials! We've been able to have a little more variety than just PBJ's and BLT's.  These hams have really been great for sandwiches, but they will also be amazing for having at the holidays. I know we're still months from holidays, but there is an item needed in this that you'll probably need sent or brought from the US, so I wanted to give you plenty of heads up. I have searched high and low here in China to find the curing salt that is needed for this, but I have not been successful finding it. I'm sure there has to be a local option, I'm just not sure where else to look. So, you'll need to get some, but a little bit goes a long way. I have found it most easily on Amazon. Its called several different things: Curing Salt, Pink Curing Salt, Instacure #1, or Prague Powder #1. To state the obvious, this is what gives ham its nice pink color! I think Williams Sonoma also sells it. Do not confuse it with Himalayan Pink Salt, which is a kind of coarse salt. Before I share this, let me say, DON'T be intimidated by this! Is SO easy--it just takes time in your fridge. It is SO worth the effort. I can't believe I didn't do this many, many years ago!

How to Make Ham

Helpful Equipment to Have:

• Plastic container for brining
• Meat thermometer
• Roasting pan with a rack in the bottom

The Brining Process:

• You'll first need to find a butcher with pork and get a ham piece. The ones I find locally are small and already boneless. Ask for a leg/thigh piece. For me these average about 500-900g (1.5-2 lbs).

 

• Once you have your meat, you'll need to make a brine--the recipe is below. You need to brine the meat in a plastic container (non-metal anyway). I choose one that isn't much larger than my ham so I don't have to make a bunch of excess brine or take up too much fridge space! In order to find out how much brine you need to make, place the meat in the container and then measure in water to cover it. I usually need 1-1.5 liters. Drain out water and remove meat. 
• Add fresh water to the container in the amount you need. Add salt, brown sugar, and curing salt. Place the meat in the brine and cover.

• Place container in the fridge for 4 days for an 800-1000g piece of meat. If it is on the 500g side you can just do 3 days. 

Notes: In all my research, it said to cure the ham 24 hours per 2 lbs. That was not nearly enough for my 2 lb ham. I think they were expecting you to be curing a 10-15 lb ham. So this is how long we figured out it takes for a boneless ham about this size after 3-4 test pieces! 

The Cooking Process:

• Remove ham from brine. Allow to come to room temperature. 
• Place ham on a rack in a roasting pan. The reason for the rack is so the ham doesn't have to sit and bake in the salty juices that come out of it. Its not the end of the world if you don't have the rack. Cover with foil. 
• Bake ham at 325-350F (165-180C) for about 30-35 minutes per pound. Its best to have a meat thermometer so you can test for doneness. The center of the ham should register 160F. Remove from oven and cool.
• At this point, you have a ham! Thinly slice for sandwiches (it helps to use a cerated knife like for bread) or just eating! You could also cover with a glaze for a special occasion! 

The Recipe: 

1 Liter water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup + 2 Tbs salt

2 tsp curing salt

Mix the above for the brine. Mix according to how many liters of water you need to cover the ham with brine in your container. I have cured up to 3 ham pieces in about 2 L of the brine. 

Notes: The original recipe called for kosher salt, which I can't get. So I researched substituting regular table salt. It said to put less but I found that was too little salt. So I'm using the regular salt I have locally available in the same amounts it called for kosher salt. 

Freezing: I have cured several hams at once. I then froze the uncooked, brined ham. When I was ready to bake it, I thawed it and then proceeded with the baking. This worked great! It helped maximize my brine and gave me a fresh cooked ham when I wanted it. 

China people: Meat thermometers are readily available on Taobao if you don't already have one. They run about Y30, give or take a bit, and can register in F and C.