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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2017 06:26
by LOUSANTELLO
I bought 2 hams and salted them. A week later, I bought 2 more and the butcher told me that Volpe removes the bone before salting, so I pulled the bone. After conversations here, I got concerned about removing the bone, so I called the butcher. He felt bad that he even mentioned this and even offered to take them back if they didn't have nitrate on them yet. By that time, I already smothered them in salt and nitrate, si I decided to keep them and press the heck out of them. All 4 pieces were not very big. They averaged 7000-8000 grams. The boneless units were getting really firm toward the thinner bottom, so I decided to pull them. I ran the chamber @ 54 degrees and the humidity was done naturally @ about 55-60%. I had one small area that had some exposure that I cut around, but no sign of fowl odor whatsoever. 2 weeks later, I pulled one of the units that had the bone in. It was a little softer near the thicker area, but I think it will be fine,,,and I still have one more with the bone in hanging in the chamber. Overall good results. Definitely saltier than I expected. Texture is great and it's not chewy at all. I wish there was a better way to know how much salt is really needed. I did the 1/3 weekly ( 3 week process) for salting, then rinsed and hung back at refrigerator temp for another 20 days before I put them in the chamber.

Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2017 22:01
by Butterbean
At what rate did you salt the ham?

Here is something you should try also. Take some small pieces of the sliced prosciutto and lay this in a wonton wrapper you have laying in your hand then sprinkle sharp cheddar cheese over the ham then twist the wrapper closed like a hershey kiss and seal with a dab of water then drop in hot oil and fry till the wrapper is cooked. Just a few seconds. This is delicious.

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 16:15
by redzed
LOUSANTELLO wrote: I wish there was a better way to know how much salt is really needed.
We discussed the different ways of salting earlier in this thread and there really is no correct single answer. Dry cured hams are made in using so many different salting methods. In the end we decide what works best for us and what flavour profile we like best. Because the variances in meat and curing conditions, no two hams that we make will taste exactly the same. You you just have to experiment and learn from that.

Next time you could try the equilibrium method using 3-4%. But in the end, you still need a good amount of salt, that is just the nature of the beast.

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 11:04
by AndyPandy
Thanks Bob. I read through that thread and there was a lot of good info, but not much said of how to do the pressing. So as I said, my partially deboned leg is currently curing and should be done in about two weeks. Should I then debone it completely and then press it (how and for how long?), or should I debone it now, being careful to keep the brine that has accumulated in the bag (remembering that I am doing equlibrium curing), and then somehow press it for the remaining of the curing time (again, not sure how)?

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 13:42
by Bob K
Can anyone help Andy with pressing. I have never done it.

Edit: Lou has a thread on pressing here: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=7879

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 16:08
by StefanS
IMO - if you want make pressing on your ham during maturing - here is one of ideas -
http://ppuhomega.com/oferta/formy-do-szynek/ . It is made by SS wire and letting ham to lose water without blocking evaporation. Also - here is another idea - https://www.sausagemaker.com/Stainless- ... 1-1912.htm. Also - during making my Cultellos - I'm using cloth line to tying it very tight -so it is also some kind of pressing..

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 16:39
by AndyPandy
Bob, thanks for moving my message into this forum.

Hi Stefan, these look like they would work nicely, although bit difficult to get hold of them where I live.

But I can get hold of a steel ham press, something that is normally used to make homemade cooked ham. I am thinking of deboning now, vacum pack it again with the existing brine, and then putting it into this press for the remainder of the cure.

https://www.google.com.br/url?sa=i&sour ... 2641399812

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 16:55
by Bob K
Are you doing a whole leg or a piece? Those are too small for a whole leg. If its a smaller piece treat it more like a Culatello.

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 16:59
by AndyPandy
I am doing a whole leg, but not a very big one - 3.2kg, including the bone stump - so about 3kg after deboning. This mold/press is supposed to make 4kg cooked hams.

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 17:13
by Bob K
AndyPandy wrote: This mold/press is supposed to make 4kg cooked hams.
Yes but they are designed for cooking a chunked formed ham. There is no drainage.
https://www.meatsandsausages.com/hams-o ... ats/formed

The screen type that Stefan posted are for dry cured

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 17:33
by AndyPandy
There is no drainage, but at this point I would not need one, right?
Remembering that I am doing an equilibrium cure, I only want to press the meat to make sure there are no pĆ³ckets of air when I finally hang it to dry.

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:44
by AndyPandy
Ok, so based on the suggestions received I have decided to do the following: I have deboned the leg completely, vacum packed it again with the existing brine, placed it in the ham press to eliminate possible air pockets and also put it into a nice shape. Once the equilibrium cure has finished, I will put it into a cow bung (sort of like a culatello) and then hang it to dry. Since I do not have access to a screen like the one suggested by Stefan, I thought of using a fish grill that I have, something like this:

Image

I guess this should work.

Re: Prosciutto

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 14:02
by bluc
lou one page back with the shot of the hanging ham it looks like one on left has a gaping hole but the leg does not look split/butterflied. Did you tunnel around bone to remove it or did you stich it up? Also did you press after it was cured or right from start?
Awesome thread btw :D