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emszxr
28-May-07, 19:56
i will be getting a pig this week hopefully to feed up. we had 1 last year and just done roasts and chops etc out of it. but this one i would like to do hams with. but i have no idea how to do it, so some help would be very much appreciated. ta

fred
28-May-07, 21:36
i will be getting a pig this week hopefully to feed up. we had 1 last year and just done roasts and chops etc out of it. but this one i would like to do hams with. but i have no idea how to do it, so some help would be very much appreciated. ta

You can't get the ingredients these days, terrorists can use it to make bombs.

I got some ready mixed bacon curing salt sent up from England. If you want to just use ordinary curing salt you can, only the colour is affected.

Get a plastic dustbin, cut a round piece of wood to fit inside the top. Take hams and bacon and rub dry salt into them especially into any cracks and up between the meat and the bone, put them into dustbin. Heat a gallon or so of water and dissolve salt until an egg will float in it, leave to cool then pour over hams till they are covered. Put round piece of wood on top of hams then a big lump of stone (don't use anything metal) on wood.

Wait several weeks.

buggyracer
29-May-07, 19:58
copied this from another forum i got on, the guy also had pictures, which i can copy, but the bacon really did look very good!! hope it helps..

if you go to sainsburys in the week take a look at the bacon isle,everything from basics at 99p a pound to dutchy originals dry cure bacon at over £18.00 per Lb!!!!!!!!!!! most bacon these days isnt realy bacon as we think of it,pork is injected with brine and left for 24 hours then sliced and packed,thats what the white scum is when you cook it! also the brine adds weight!so you are paying for water!!!! :banghead: also mixed into the brine are artificial preservatives,the product needs this as isnt realy cured and there fore will go off when not in a vac pack! even dry cures contain preservatives in the salt rub.I for one am allergic to the preservatives and cant eat bacon baught from the shop!!! :angry4:
last year i worked at a farm shop cutting plant and there i was given the job of bacon curer,and it is realy easy! i cant see how the shops can get away with the price! i started to make my own bacon at home,minus the preservatives in the rub as i now make my own rub Tonight gareth and i made 20lb of dry cured streaky bacon and it took only 30 minutes! it will take 4 days to cure then i shal smoke it.
below is the basics of bacon making.pork,rubs and knife


firstly the ribs need cutting off and put aside for the BBQ,your butcher will gladly do this for you.also trim the flare fat and trim any mis-shaped edges off the piece.

next turn the meat skin side up,and stab/ pierce the skin all over with a knife point,dont go too deep 1cm should do!(It helps to think of 'psyco'shower scene!)


next spinkle the rub mix libraly onto the skin side and rub in hard ,pushing the rub in with the heel of yer hand:

next turn the meat over and repeat the process,ensuring that you rub the mix into all the seams and folds.


not forgetting the sides of the meat,use plenty of rub,dont be shy!!!

and here you have the final product ! best hung in a fridge or outside in the winter,when hhanging outside i put it in a pillow case to keep the bugs off! this time of year i just pop mine in a bag and place in the bottom of the fridge for 4 days,at which time i pat it dry with a cloth and smoke it,its ready to try now and is fine if you like 'green' bacon.

doodlebug
18-Jun-07, 20:57
Hi chick, have you got pig yet? speak to you soon.:Razz

emszxr
19-Jun-07, 08:27
gettin a pig in 6ish weeks i hope