Making smoked dry ham:
I tried for the first time to make ham myself. It still needs some improving but for the first time I am actually pretty content. For this recipe, you can lean on mine but of course you can add or change it for your own desire.
For this specific Ham I used just a little piece of lean pork meat. I can't remember what kind of
meat it was but I found it at a hispanic store and paid less then $3 for it.
Back home I used a pot to mix the ingredients together. For this one here I used Kosher Mediterranean sea salt, 2 small teaspoons of sugar, handful of Juniper berries and Peppercorn. The last two I smashed a bit in a mortar. Then I rubbed everything into the meat very thoroughly. Putting it in a ziplog bag and tried to get all air out. I used a big bag so I could fold it and leave a big corner hanging down so the juice can drain in there.
After 1 1/2 weeks I took the meat out and watered it
in a big bowl of Water for 3 hrs. (next time def. longer since it was still very salty).
After the 3 hrs I dried it and put a S hook thru the meat and hang it outside to let it dry over night. (I am in central Florida, we still have it warm enough). Next day we started smoking it.
We have an electric smoker and we used Hickory wood on 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 hrs.. After the 6 hrs we hang it in the fridge for allowing it to rest for 3 days. After the 3 days we smoked it again for 3 hrs.. After that we couldn't wait for it to try though.
It was quiet salty so I put it in a wet cheese cloth for a day and now it is a lot better. It is very delicious and I can use it for cooking or eating just like that.
For my next Ham I want to get additional seasons:
Curing salt
Coriander seed
Bay leave
Garlic Powder
and smoking in Pine wood chips
Guten Appetit
yummy
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