Boneless Hams

sausagemaneric · Post by **sausagemaneric** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 06:03

Have any of you guys made a good looking boneless ham? I have been goofing around with this for a few years. I think to do it right I need a tumbler, so the protein comes to the surface of the meat to bind the pieces together. Ideas?

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 14:54

sausagemaneric wrote:Have any of you guys made a good looking boneless ham? I have been goofing around with this for a few years. I think to do it right I need a tumbler, so the protein comes to the surface of the meat to bind the pieces together. Ideas?

There are hams that are boned out, cured, rolled and tied and smoked. like this:

and they come out pretty good with the most basic equipment:

. And there are boned and cured hams that are composites of many pieces that are cooked in a press and come out like this.

Which style are you seeking?

NorthFork · Post by **NorthFork** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 21:42

There are hams that are boned out, cured, rolled and tied and smoked. like this: Image

Ross, I would like to try the rolled/tied/smoked ham-is the recipe posted? It looks great and I'm sure it tastes even better!

Pat

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 22:36

Northfork, The finished piece there was about one third of a large butt. I remove a slab from the skin side like this:

and then remove the blade and divide the butt into two pieces. The one I slather with a mixture of salt white sugar, molasses and cure #1 in the ratio of 2% salt 1% sugar,.25 % cure #1 and just a little molasses. This is rubbed into and over the piece and into all the nooks and crannies. Then I stuff it into a zipper freezer bag and refrigerate it for about a week and a half turning it everyday. When I am satisfied that it has been in the cure long enough I put it on a tray and start tying it into something that looks neat and round. The strings are just pulled snug and all of the bits and pieces are tucked in under the strings. It is as slippery as a fish at this stage and I am shaping it as I work. After I get all of the circumferential ties on then with a crochet hook I make longitudinal ties to stabilize it for hanging. After that I hang it to dry and then smoke.

crustyo44 · Post by **crustyo44** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 23:00

Ross,
As I recall, you don't wash or wipe the cure mix off the meatpieces. Correct?
Man this looks good.
Jan.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 23:07

Jan that is correct.

NorthFork · Post by **NorthFork** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 23:09

Thanks Ross-this is next on my list. Crusty is on the money-This Sure Looks Good!!

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 23:32

I believe that all of the handling during the cure process develops much of the protein that we want in sausage to make it stick together when it is cooked. Rinsing the cure off would also wash away those proteins that glue the cut surfaces together. It is for this reason that I limit the salt to 2%. If it is all absorbed by the meat then the salt level will be about right as it is with sausage when we mix it into the mince.

sausagemaneric · Post by **sausagemaneric** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 03:00

That is a good point about not rinsing after brine. Those are nice looking products. Do ou use gelatin?

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 03:09

sausagemaneric wrote:That is a good point about not rinsing after brine. Those are nice looking products. Do ou use gelatin?

No gelatin. There are instructions in many places that call for kneading the meat until it becomes sticky. I once tried to make moulded chicken using brined drum and thigh meat instead of dry cured. The package looked nice but fell apart when I tried to slice it. Tumbling will achieve the same purpose as kneading but for less than ten pounds I can handle by hand. Don't be bashful about abusing the meat pieces they will get to the stage that they stick to the sides of the bowl.

sausagemaneric · Post by **sausagemaneric** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 05:29

So when you say "kneading". What exactly does that look like with half of a boneless leg of pork?

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 05:52

sausagemaneric wrote:So when you say "kneading". What exactly does that look like with half of a boneless leg of pork?

Massage, deep heavy handed massage if it were done on your back it would be just short of bruising you. With the leg laid open to remove the bones(there are two) the meat is only a few inches thick and you would rub the cure mix into it with some vigor and not too gently work it into all of the fold creases and crevases and spaces between the muscles. five minutes is enough the first time but a few hours later you can repeat the effort without opening the zipper freezer weight bag and a couple of times each day for the next week. At first you will notice a large flow of exudate flooding the bag but in a few days that is reabsorbed by the meat. After a week if the bag were to be punctured it would not leak very much.
Some instructions advise allowing the exudate to drain as waste but that is for meat that you intend to preserve by drying. Allowing the meat to reabsorb the exudate keeps the piece more moist. that is good for hams and not so good for bacon but I do it anyway for bacon because I think the taste is better.

NorthFork · Post by **NorthFork** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 13:15

Ross-I don't think I can wait to try this. I found a nice twin pack of boneless butts at our local URM Store for $1.49/lb and am thinking of picking them up tomorrow and turning them into hams. Am thinking of trying one with the molasses as you suggest and perhaps use honey on the other-any thoughts on using the honey in place of the molasses?

Pat

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 14:52

I have a friend who own a couple of companies that repackage sugar. I learned from him that light brown sugar contains 10% molassas and dark brown 15%. For my mix I probably get close to 30%. There is netting sold for the same purpose as the twine but it is a bit pricy and string is pretty cheap and a little goes a long way for rolling roasts and hams.

Boneless Hams

Boneless Hams

Re: Boneless Hams

Re: Boneless Hams