Prosciutto

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Jogeephus

Jogeephus

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Joined
Jul 17, 2006
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South Georgia
Started this nearly a year ago and noticed some skippers in the tail so I took it down to treat with some lard and pepper and decided to give it a taste. Not there yet but its not far off either. Nice nutty flavor but the interior is mild like a city ham. Am tempted to cut give it a go around the first of the year but I many just let it cure till and slice on Ramadan in 2014.

 
highgrit":2tptt3jq said:
What are skippers Jo?? You must have a cast iron stomach.
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Skippers are just a nuisance. AKA a cheese fly or an antler fly. I coat the cut portions of ham with lard and pepper to keep them out. All they do is lay eggs in the dry area and they form some dust. I'm sure you've seen deer antlers or hides that have had sawdust like stuff around them from these little nuisance bugs. Nothing but a nuisance really cause they don't bother the meat so much as they do the bone. My daughter and her friends were cooking flatbread and pizza and they cut some ham but didn't lard the cut when they were finished so this gave them an entry spot.
 
After seeing that pic I had to do some research on prosciutto, all I can say is wow! I don't know if I could wait that long, If it were mine I would be sneaking in too often with a knife and block of cheese.
 
Jo I admire your spirt.

Can you walk us thru the process? Where do you have that is the right temp and dryness?
 
HDRider":1qnhycft said:
Can you walk us thru the process? Where do you have that is the right temp and dryness?
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HDR, its really pretty simple. You start out with a fresh ham preferably one that has never been frozen and you coat the cut naked fleshy portions with a pre-measured amount of salt mixed with curing salt and you leave it in refrigerated conditions for seven days. After seven days you repeat this process for another seven days. You then just take the hams out and rinse off the excess salt and hang the ham in cool conditions for another two weeks - you can do this in a barn or outside if its winter. This allows the salt in the outside portion of the meat to transfer throughout the ham so each piece will have the same amount of salt. If you did not do this it would become too salty.

Once this equalization period is met the available water inside the ham is so low bacteria cannot live. At this point the ham is cured and will keep indefinitely as long as it is kept dry and you keep the skippers away.

What you do with it after that is up to you. I chose to cold smoke these for 120 hours in pecan and now I am just aging them. The longer you age a ham the more intense the flavor becomes and it will form a nutty flavor. Some people hang them in their attics and the hotter the dog days the better they like it.

I always thought it interesting that the when the Bohemians had a baby girl they would cure hams and serve these hams at her wedding. The longest I ever aged a ham was 3 years and it was pretty intense but a real pain to slice. Its really not something you would want to center your meal around and is best used to compliment a meal. Thin slices of prosciutto served with cantaloupe is pretty hard to beat - especially during Ramadan.
 
HDRider":32hpy6vg said:
Jogeephus":32hpy6vg said:
It could come in handy one day if we have a zombie apocalypse or something.
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What do you mean "IF"??
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You must have more doubts than I do because I don't see any hams hanging in your barn. :lol2: Of course if you have a 50 gallon drum filled with rice and topped off with nitrogen gas you are better prepared than me. (note to self - a few more sacks of rice)
 
Jogeephus":3anj8h5t said:
HDRider":3anj8h5t said:
Jogeephus":3anj8h5t said:
It could come in handy one day if we have a zombie apocalypse or something.
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What do you mean "IF"??
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You must have more doubts than I do because I don't see any hams hanging in your barn. :lol2: Of course if you have a 50 gallon drum filled with rice and topped off with nitrogen gas you are better prepared than me. (note to self - buy a few more sacks of rice)
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