What is ham made of

The term "turkey ham" is always followed by the statement "cured turkey thigh meat. Related Information Title. URL Name. Related Articles What are the cooking times for ham? How long can you keep ham in the refrigerator? What should I do about mold on a country ham? Ham thawing time How long can you keep spiral cut hams in the refrigerator? Trending Articles How long is meat or poultry safe to use after the sell-by date?

How long can you store eggs in the refrigerator? After the aging period is complete, the mold is completely scraped off, and the ham is well washed and dried before packing. Cold-smoked ham is made by smoking the ham at around 60 F 15 C , which can go on for days or even weeks. Because the temperature is so low, bacteria is controlled by chemicals in the smoke and the slow drying process. A cold-smoked ham requires salt curing typically in a brine to keep the bacteria under control throughout the curing process.

When smoking a ham, the smoke usually comes from wood or wood chips, and the type of wood used also makes a notable difference. Mesquite and hickory, for example, are commonly used woods for smoking ham, as are woods from nut trees or fruit trees.

The type of wood used contributes an additional subtle flavor component to the ham. Many hams are prepared using a combination of these processes. Cured and smoked hams are often finished by heating with a glaze or serving with a sauce, or other treatment. Salted ham that is aged for a year or more, however, is usually simply sliced thin and eaten with complementary accompaniments, such as melon, chunks of cheese, or toasted bread.

Such a ham has already lost much of its moisture in the salting and aging process, and heating it would dry it out and compromise its complex flavor. The flavor of ham varies greatly according to its preparation method. However, all hams share a few common characteristics. Coming from the large round muscles of the hind leg, all ham, whether oven roasted, smoked, or aged and sliced paper thin, has a meaty denseness and a fleshy sensation on the palate.

Whatever the preparation, ham—even salted or smoked ham—always seems to have an underlying sweetness. And it is the perfect partner for many additional flavor accents, gracefully taking on smoke, salt, spicy mustard, brown sugar, even canned pineapple and cloves, without losing its inherently rich porcine flavor.

Comparing a fresh and a prepared ham offers a brilliant snapshot of the tremendous versatility of a leg of pork. Much fattier and moister than pork loin, you can put a fresh ham sprinkled with some herbs and seasoning in a low-temperature oven and forget about it for nine or 10 hours, until the enticing aroma compels you to take a peek.

You open the oven door to find a beautiful golden brown, crisp package, which also functions as a sweatbox to insulate and moisten the meat inside, which can be peeled off with your fingers and will melt in your mouth. There are numerous varieties of ham , and many of them represent significant markers of a country's culinary identity. Here are some examples:. There is a vast array of ways to cook, finish, and serve a whole ham and ways to use ham as an ingredient in other preparations.

A basic selection of ham can be found in the deli section of most any grocery store. Optional Equipment:. Step One: Choose your cut. Ham is traditionally made from the hing leg or the shoulder of pork. The meat tastes pretty similar and the process is a bit quicker and easier first time around. How much brine you make depends on how big your piece of meat is. If using the Misty Gully Ham Cure — max approximately g of the pre-mix cure with each liter of room temperature water.

If you want to add additional pickling spices , add those as well and stir until most of the sugar appears to have dissolved. If you are making your own brine from scratch, please refer to our basic brine recipe here. Step Three: Inject your meat. This is especially important when using a cut with bones in. Inject as deep as possible ensuring cure is throughout the meat. That is, if your meat weighs 2kg, then you need to inject it with approx ml if brine.

Step Four: Cure your meat. Ensure the meat is fully submerged. Curing generally takes days. As a general rule of thumb, allow one day per g of meat.