Recipe: Sugar Cured Ham

Title: Sugar Cured Ham
Categories: Meats
Yield: 1 servings

1 pt Jefferson Island Salt or can 1 tb Ground red pepper
2 tb Black pepper

We raise hogs and salt or sugar cure our hams and bacon. You will need
FRESH hams, preferably from a salughter house as these are fresher than
those available at grocery stores. You will need the above ingredients FOR
EACH JOINT (local name for ham or shoulder.) To cure two hams, double the
ingredients. Mix all above and rub well into meat, filling hole in end of
the bone. Wrap in brown paper and place in a cloth sack. Hang hock (small
end) down. Time will cure it. Additional details: Should be hung in a cool
(around 40 degrees) place. That's why before refrigeration hogs were only
killed in the winter.
If you are curing without refrigeration, try to do it when the
temperature will remain from 35 to 50 degrees for at least the first three
days. After that it's okay if it goes up or down more. You can hang the
meat in an old refrigerator to cure it or if you are curing outside and the
temp goes haywire, you can move it to the refrig. Needless to day, if you
are hanging the meat in an out building or garage, hang it high enough to
keep it out of the reach of dogs. They do love fresh ham. The ham should
hang for at least 6 month (I prefer a year) before being cut. If you want
to smoke the ham, it is best to wait about three months from hanging before
doing it.
Be aware that you may loose a ham. By that I do not mean that someone
will steal it, though, I suppose that is possible. I mean that it may ruin.
That's one of the chances you take. We've lost a few but most of them have
been salted down rather than sugar cured. It is possible to sugar cure
bacon in your refrigerator using Morton Sugar Cure (using recipe on bag)
and then smoke it. It's GREAT! Much better than what you buy in the store.
Yes, I can just hear all the health food people groaning at all this talk
of ham and bacon and smoke. Ah, cholesteral (sp?) and salt and cancer
causing smoke! May not be good for you but 99.9% of all taste buds will
vote for it!
Virginia Petty
Kentucky Hog Farmer