Charcuterie_ The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing - Michael Ruhlman [93]
5. Hang the ham in a cool, dry place (ideally 60 degrees F./15 degrees C. with 60 to 70 percent humidity) with good ventilation for at least 4 to 5 months, or as long as a year. The ham should lose almost half of its original weight. You will know it is ready when there isn’t much give when you squeeze it. (You can also take a metal skewer and insert it in the center remove and smell—it should have a cured aroma. This takes practice.)
6. When the ham has dried, wipe off all the lard and carefully remove the rind with a sharp boning knife. Slice paper-thin, parallel to the bone with a sharp slicing knife.
Yield: One 9- to 11-pound/4- to 5-kilogram cured ham
BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES COUNTRY HAM
This is an American Southern-style ham that’s cured and heavily smoked. Blackstrap molasses, available at health food stores and some grocery stores, is a residue of cane sugar refining, very syrupy and rich; it gives the skin of this ham a very dark color, nearly black, and the meat a smoky-sweet flavor. This style of ham, one that’s cured, then cold-smoked before drying, is common in the United States and in the northern climes of Europe. The best-known smoked and dry-cured hams today may be those of the German region of Westphalia (once a province of Prussia), a region that’s been famed for its cold-smoked hams for two millennia.
This ham can be a little more tricky than its cousin, the American-style glazed ham (page 93). Whereas that ham is brined and completely cooked, this ham is dry-cured, then heavily smoked, then dried. Ideally, when fully dried the interior will be as dense as any dry-cured ham. If it is not dried through to the center, it is still delicious cooked, especially in soups, stews, braised greens—any dish that would benefit from the smoked ham flavor.
3 pounds/1.3 kilograms kosher salt
12 ounces/335 grams Insta Cure #2 or DQ Curing Salt #2 (see page 106)
1 pound/450 grams dark brown sugar (about 21⁄4 packed cups)
21⁄4 cups/560 milliliters blackstrap molasses
1 cup/250 milliliters dark rum
1 tablespoon/10 grams grated or minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon/3 grams cayenne pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon/1 gram coriander seeds, toasted and ground (see Note page 52)
1 tablespoon/8 grams juniper berries, crushed with the side of a knife
One 12- to 15-pound/6- to 7-kilogram fresh ham, skin on, aitch-bone removed
1. Combine the salt and Insta Cure #2 or DQ Curing Salt #2 in a medium bowl and stir. Add all the remaining ingredients except the ham and stir to combine.
2. Rub the cure mixture all over the ham, giving extra attention to the area around the exposed bone. Place in a nonreactive container big enough to contain the ham and the liquid that will be drawn out by the salt cure. Using a platter or a board and some type of weights, weight the ham with about 15 pounds/7 kilograms. Refrigerate for 12 to 15 days—1 day per 1 pound/450 grams); turn the ham and redistribute the cure as necessary after 6 days.
3. Remove the ham from the cure and rinse it under cold water. Soak it in cold water for 8 hours to remove residual salt from the surface.
4. Set the ham on a rack and refrigerate it, uncovered, overnight
5. Cold-smoke the ham (see page 77), for 18 hours at 60 degrees F./15 degrees C.
6. Hang the ham in a cool, dark place (ideally 60 degrees F./15 degrees C. with 65 to 70 percent humidity) to dry for 7 weeks.
Yield: One 10-pound/5-kilogram smoked ham
BRESAOLA
This air-dried beef is common in the mountainous regions of northern Italy. A very lean, intensely flavored preparation, it’s usually sliced paper-thin and drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice. You might also serve it with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, some greens, and thin slices of toasted baguette. If possible, use grass-fed or organically raised beef.
THE SPICE CURE
1 ounce/25 grams kosher salt (about