Kentucky Country Project by Dr. Benjy Mikel, Extension Meats Specialist

History of Curing pink while the should be white. In addition, the muscles of the ham should be firm, not soft or Curing meat is a very old tradition that was done watery. The ham should have very little fat under for years out of necessity. Before people had and along the butt face and over the collar. refrigerators, meat would spoil quickly is it wasn’t preserved in Most fresh hams weigh between 15 and 35 some way. After animals, pounds at the start of the curing process. The especially hogs, were killed finished country ham will weigh much less because much of their meat was cured a lot of water will evaporate out of the ham during with salt, pepper, and spices. the curing process, making it lighter. Doing this kept the meat fresh Before you cure your ham it should be stored at for much longer amounts of a temperature of less than 40°F. If your ham gets time—sometimes a year or warmer than this, it could spoil before you even start more! to cure your ham! Hog slaughtering was done in the late fall, so the This is an example of an excellent ham. It is temperature would be cool enough to keep the meat heavily muscled with a wide, deep butt face. It is of fresh until it could be cured but not so cold that the high quality with lean that is a uniform, proper pink meat would freeze. This was the perfect time of color. This is very good coloring. This muscles year to save a little fresh meat for the holidays, too. exposed are Every part of the butchered hog was used for firm and not something. Some parts that couldn’t be easily watery, curing with salt, pepper or spices were eaten indicating high immediately. Things such as the brain and quality. Also, tenderloin that wouldn’t keep without spoiling were there is little eaten right away. The fat on under intestines were used to encase and along side that was made from the butt face much of the scrap meat. But and little collar many of the big cuts of meat, fat. such as the shoulder, ham, and This is an example of a light muscled, low side were cured with salt right away so they would quality, fat ham. Its butt face is shallow and narrow. keep without being refrigerated. The ham’s Because we have refrigerators and many other coloring is not modern conveniences we often don’t think about consistent doing things the “old fashioned way.” The 4-H ham throughout its curing contest is a great way to learn a new skill exposed while learning about the past! muscles. But this ham’s biggest fault is Choosing a Ham that it is fat! It Before a ham is cured and becomes a country has too much fat under it’s butt face and around it’s ham, it is first a fresh ham. Sometimes fresh hams collar. This ham has too much fat and not enough are called green hams. When you choose a ham to firm, well colored muscles. cure you should look for many different things. The If you are participating in the 4-H county ham ham should be heavily muscled and have good project your fresh ham will be provided for you. coloring. The color of the lean meat should be light

1 The Ingredients You’ll Need How to Cure a Country Ham in a Bag Salt – This is the most important ingredient. In Mixing the Cure – First mix your cure in the fact, you could cure a country ham with just salt proper ratio. For every 100 alone! When you prepare the cure for your ham you pounds of ham that you cure will need to include 7.5 to 8 pounds you should you 7.5-8 pounds of salt for every 100 pounds of ham of salt. If you choose to use that you will cure. Your finished sugar, you will need 2.5 country ham should contain about pounds. If you decide to use 4% salt. The USDA requires that nitrate, nitrite or a all hams that are shelf stable contain combination of the two you at least 4% salt, while more than will use only 1-2 ounces of 4% salt can make hams too salty. these in total. Finally, you When you cure a ham, the salt must come in contact can use small amounts of spices. with the entire surface of your ham. Rubbing the Cure into the Ham – After you Sugar – Sugar is optional in curing your ham. mix the cure together you must rub the cure mixture Many people include it their cure mix because it onto every part of the ham. Pay special attention to adds flavor to the ham, can offset the harsh taste of rubbing the cure into the exposed muscle tissue the salt, and keeps the ham soft during the curing because the salt will penetrate this tissue faster than process. If you choose to add sugar the surrounding fat or skin of the ham. Make sure to your cure mix, you can use either you get some cure mix into the tissues around the brown or white sugar, depending on hock. This is very important. If you do not put cure what flavor you would like in your mix around the hock it could cause bone souring. finished country ham. When Curing the Ham – Once you have rubbed cure preparing a cure mix with sugar, use approximately mix onto all the surfaces of the ham, then you will 2.5 pounds of sugar for every 100 pounds of ham wrap the ham in brown paper and that you will cure. place the ham, hock down, in a Nitrate or Nitrite – These are also optional ham sock. The ham is then ready ingredients. Nitrate, nitrite, or a combination of the to be cured. It must be put in a two can add flavor to your ham, fix the color of the place with adequate air ham, and slow down the time that it takes for your movement. This is important finished product to go bad. If you use nitrate or because the ham is losing a lot of nitrite only use it in very small amounts! Use only water by evaporation. If the 1-2 ounces for every hundred pounds of ham that extra water cannot leave the ham you will cure. More than that can be poisonous! then the ham will rot. This is also the reason you Because nitrate and nitrite are so poisonous it can be should never wrap hams in plastic. Always use difficult to find them at stores. Another name these paper! The best place to hang hams is an aging ingredients are sometimes sold under is “Prague room or smokehouse where the temperature and Powder.” If you wish to use nitrate or nitrite in your humidity are controlled. cure mix but can’t find anywhere to buy it, you may Preparing the Ham for Aging – After 35-60 want to consider using a pre-mixed cure. Many of days of curing, the hams are ready to these ready-to-use cure mixes already contain the be removed from the brown paper. proper amount of nitrate and nitrite. Take the ham out of the sock, and Spices – Also optional, spices can add unique unwrap it from the paper. Brush off flavors and coloration to you country ham. The all the extra salt that is stuck to the most common spices to use ham. Then place the ham in a new are red and black pepper. sock. At this point the ham can They can be added to a cure either be aged, or smoked and then aged. mix in small amounts to suit Your Ham (Optional) – Though your tastes. smoking your ham in not necessary, some people like to smoke their country hams. Smoking a ham gives it extra flavor, and smoking dries the surface

2 of the ham to better important difference to note is that when curing prepare it to be aged. hams in a box it is ideal to apply the cure in three If you choose to smoke separate applications, 5 days apart. Also, the extra your ham it should be cure that is not stuck directly to the surface of the done after the ham is hams should be stacked on top of the hams. cured but before it is Curing the Ham – The hams should then be aged. You should use placed in a well-drained box to cure. Hams should hardwood to smoke your ham. Some good choices be left in the cure box two days for every pound it are hickory, oak, maple or any fruit woods. weighs. A twenty pound ham should cure for 40 Smoking your ham should be done for 1-2 days at a days. It is best to cure hams low temperature. Do not let the temperature of your during the winter months of ham get over 100°F! If the temperature gets this January and February because Put high the important enzymes within your ham that are there are fewer temperature responsible for giving your ham its flavor will be Ham changes during these times Here! killed. and the humidity is low. Aging Your Ham – Hams should be aged for Curing is a box can be another six months after curing to give your country successful in November and ham flavor. The longer you age your ham, the more December if the humidity is very low despite higher flavor it will have. than ideal temperatures. Keep in mind that if a ham freezes, it will absorb the cure mixture more slowly,

as the salt cannot be absorbed into frozen tissues. How to Cure a Country Ham After the Ham is Cured – After the ham is cured in a Box or Bin it can be either aged or smoked and aged using the Mixing the Cure – The same ratio of ingredients same methods described in the instructions as how is used in curing hams in a box as in when hams are to cure a ham in a bag. cured in a bag. For every 100 pounds of ham that you cure you should use 7.5-8 pounds of salt. If you choose to use sugar, you will need 2.5 pounds. If Giving the Speech you decide to use nitrate, nitrite or a combination of Giving your speech the two you will use only 1-2 ounces of these in about curing country hams total. Finally, you can use small amounts of spices. is almost as important as For every 100 pounds of ham you cure you should curing the ham itself! use 10 pounds of cure mix when curing hams in a Below is the actual score box. For example, if you are curing 5 hams, weigh sheet that will be used in each ham. If the hams weigh a total of 125 pounds the contest as well as some then use 12.5 pounds of cure mix on these 5 hams. italicized questions to Rubbing the Cure into the Ham – As with think about as you prepare curing hams in a bag, the cure mix must come in your speech. contact with all the surfaces of the ham. The

3 COUNTRY HAM PROJECT PRESENTATION

Name______County______Jr Sr

Points Category Possible Score

Professionalism 10 _____ Appearance, poise and posture, attitude/confidence, demeanor • Are you dressed nicely, or are you wearing old torn blue jeans and tennis shoes? • Are you standing up straight or all slouched over? • Do you show the judges you know what you’re talking about or do you act unsure? • Do you act like you want to be in this contest or do you act like you’re bored or angry?

Knowledge of Subject 25 _____ • Have you completed all the steps of the project for yourself? • Did you understand each step of the curing, aging and/or smoking process? • Did you ask questions to those who taught you how to cure hams? • Could you give someone instructions on how to repeat the process? • Do you know other ways of curing hams other than the process you used? • Do you know some history about curing hams?

Power of Expression 15 _____ Directness, sincerity, emphasis • Do you speak directly to the judges or act as if you are speaking to an invisible wall? • Do you seem to care about the information you are giving? • Do you put extra emphasis on the important points?

Verbal skills 20 _____ Grammar, voice (quality, pitch, articulation, pronunciation, force) • Do you speak loud enough to be heard without screaming? • Do you use correct grammar and pronounce your words well? • Do you speak very monotone, or do you use expression in your voice? • Do you say “um” or “ah”?

Questions and Answers 15 _____ Ability to answer questions on the presentation (which are asked by judges), indicating originality, familiarity with subject and ability to think quickly. • Do you know enough about the subject to answer some basic questions? • If you don’t know the answer to a specific question to you relay the knowledge you do have? • Have you thought about possible questions the judges might ask and how you might answer those questions? • Do you take a second to think about how you’re going to answer questions, do you jump into answers before you’ve thought about what you’re going to say, or do you think for ten minutes about you’re answer before you start it?

Creativity and innovation 15 _____ Examples that document the materials used to develop the project Is your introduction original and attention getting? • How do you catch the audience’s interest? Do you tell a short story relating to the topic? Do you pose a question? Do you creatively list the main points of your speech? • What point of view do you tell your speech from? The curer’s? The ham’s? The salt? • Did you come up with at least one idea or fact that you don’t think anyone else will put in their speech?

TOTAL 100 _____

Comments: • Did you practice you speech? • Have you made sure your speech is within the set time limits? • Have you asked someone else to listen to your speech and give you feedback on both the content and your presentation?