Ham curing

[scottdoherty]

I I have injected my ham using the country brown sugar cure, And now it is soaking in the brine.

Is it necessary to soak for 24 hours? Can I pull it out early or leave it longer?

Is it necessary to rinse and soak in clean water before I smoke it?

After I pull the gam from the brine, can I hold it in my cooler for a day before I smoke it?

[Jarhead18]

My experience with injected cures and soaking in brine tell me that that longer you soak in the brine the stronger the flavor. The less time, the weaker the flavor. Follow instructions the first time and then adjust for your own personal taste in subsequent cures. I don’t soak in clean water, I rinse well and pat dry, soaking may dilute the flavor. Once meat is brined and cured and just sitting dry in the fridge you are good for a day or two, but I’m a big fan of fresh. Out of the brine, rinse and in the smoker.

[YooperDog]

scottdoherty I agree with Jarhead18 . Personal experience I would give it an extra day or two for flavor and equalization. You could start with a smaller fresh ham so this way you would have less to use if not happy with the outcome. Starting at the basic starting point and keeping good notes will give better direction on the product you want.

[Jonathon]

scottdoherty The reason for holding is equalization within the meat and flavor development. If you used a cure that didn’t contain sodium erythorbate it also allows the cure time to work. I agree with Jarhead18 and YooperDog

[Jonathon]

Also, apparently 911 notifications are still broken for me. I will try to do some testing on this in the coming days so you might see some 911s from me

[carlcat]

Hello! I need some help with a county brown sugar 10% pump and cold phosphate.
(No sodium earthobate)
Should the cold phosphate only be pumped and not residual in the cover brine. Or it is ok to leave I the 50% cover for 3 days? Thanks. I have had some good results with county brown only but looking to make hams with some more moisture content.

[carlcat]

carlcat said in Ham curing:

Hello! I need some help with a county brown sugar 10% pump and cold phosphate.
(No sodium earthobate)
Should the cold phosphate only be pumped and not residual in the cover brine. Or it is ok to leave I the 50% cover for 3 days? Thanks. I have had some good results with county brown only but looking to make hams with some more moisture content.

[Jonathon]

carlcat Yeah, only pump the Cold Phosphate and make sure it is the very first thing that is dissolved into the mix. It takes a lot of mixing to properly dissolve that so if there is anything else already suspended in the water you are going to have a heck of a time. When you are calculating your cover 50% strength brine leave out the phosphate.