Pork ham suggestions

Post by **Butterbean** » Wed May 22, 2013 15:04

I dry cured some hams from some pigs I raised but have one ham in the freezer and need to do something with it and need some direction, suggestions but mainly some inspiration. It weighs around 30 lbs so I could make several things with it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Post by **Butterbean** » Wed May 22, 2013 21:16

Thanks, CW. I'll try that with some city cured ham I have. But this is an uncured leg I'm trying to figure out what to do with. I don't really want to cure another ham cause I have more than we can eat now.

I'm sortof at a loss of what to do with it. Was thinking about making it into some sort of sausage or luncheon meat or something along those lines. I need to do something with it. I guess I could just add some fat and treat it like a butt but I recall seeing certain recipes that call for leaner pork like ham and I never seem to have it available when I read these recipes.

Its name was Colin if that helps.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Wed May 22, 2013 22:00

Chuckwagon, That sheep dip is pretty much the way I fix mac and cheese. Three or four times a year I gather up all of the odds and ends of cheese from the fridge and melt them into a good sauce.

Post by **redzed** » Thu May 23, 2013 08:34

I would make a nice Krakowska. Cut the the lean ham meat into one inch cubes , emulsify 10% of the weight containing meat with a bit of fat and gristle to bind everything and stuff into 55mm casings. Use the basic traditional spices and don't over smoke.

huckelberry · Post by **huckelberry** » Fri May 24, 2013 13:12

Have you ever tried ham jerky? It is delicious. I would save some of that un cured and cubed up for chile verde. Also some German spek would be good. And some all pork franks would be nice.
I'm so jealous I would love to have your problems. Ohhh what to do. Have fun Bean

Post by **Butterbean** » Tue May 28, 2013 18:42

I haven't tried the jerky. On my list now though.

Have some mortadella and KK in the smoker now. Also took some of the ham and ran it through the cuber for wiener schnitizel and I took the skin and boiled it to make pork rinds. I came close to having one too many irons in the fire. In all, there end result came to just under 40 lbs of sausage. Buff was one big pig!

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Tue May 28, 2013 19:08

Pork jerky is what i find in the back of the fridge in the roasting dish with the leftover ham from last month. Didn't spoil, just dried out to leather.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Wed May 29, 2013 02:51

Hey guys,
If you make pork jerky, remember that it has to have special precautions. We must use "certified" pork to eliminate the possibility of trichinella spiralis. I make a 19 mm meatstick called "kabanosy" very often. I use collagen casings and cut lengths with scissors after the meat "set up" in about 20 minutes. I use large "jelly roll" racks to spread out the "pork jerky" sticks in the oven. It is "prep-cooked" to 140°F for safety, then dried a couple of days until the Aw drops below 0.85. Commercial suppliers are now required to cook it with a certain amount of moisture in it. The FSIS has some new regulations concerning this matter. Check out this link for the new rules: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5789
Be healthy wranglers!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Post by **Butterbean** » Wed May 29, 2013 19:20

I made KK and mortadella. Ended up with just under 40 lbs so I'll be giving a lot of it away and the kids at the ranch will be eating right.

Cabonaia · Post by **Cabonaia** » Wed May 29, 2013 23:42

Hey Butterbean those look fantastic!

40 lbs. is an impressive batch. I am...impressed.

Funny thing -- I made a 10 lb. batch of cotto a couple months ago and had to freeze some of it. This batch I made with 100% pork and I didn't like it as much as when made with 40/60 beef pork, as I've done before. But when it came out of the freezer recently it had somehow improved. Go figure. So you might also think about freezing a bit of that delicious looking stuff. The boys will understand.

Cheers,
Jeff

Post by **Butterbean** » Thu May 30, 2013 02:15

Jeff I don't know if this has anything to do with it but when I'm making stuff I lose my appetite for it for some time. I have no problem tasting it but it takes some time before I'll dine on it. If I'm working all day in the kitchen I typically won't even eat. Weird huh?

Cabonaia · Post by **Cabonaia** » Thu May 30, 2013 21:55

Butterbean I don't know if that is weird. I worked in a restaurant that had a cook named Billy Ray who had it real bad - couldn't eat even when he got home. He would get skinnier and skinnier as the days went by, then take some time off to fatten up. Me, I'm the opposite. By the time I'm done cooking dinner, I'm full!

Think I could use some of what you've got.