Ham and Pickling/Brine ~Miles Jascha

This photo and recipe of our CGF ham is courtesy of Miles Jascha, co-author of Savory and Sweet.

https://www.facebook.com/SavoryAndSweetCookbook

Miles says, "This was the most delicious ham I have ever eaten, So much better than some store bought ham that came from a factory where the pigs are pumped up with antibiotics and hormones." 

Place your ham in the plastic container that you'll be using to cure it and fill it with water until the ham is covered. Remove the ham and then measure how much water is left in the container - this is how much water you'll need for your brine.

Based on how much water you have, use this ratio of salts and sugars to water. I had a 9 lb ham and had to double the recipe in order to cover the ham properly.

2 liters of water (a little more than 2 quarts)

3/4 cups of kosher salt

1 cup of turbinado sugar ( I used brown sugar which works just fine. The "raw sugar brand" uses turbinado sugar)

1/4 cup of molasses

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3 teaspoons Insta Cure No. 1

Stir into your plastic container water the salts, sugars and pink salt, and place your ham into the brine. Also use a meat injector to put a little of the cure into the center of ham near the bone. I find this helps even the thicker parts to get cured properly. If any parts of the ham bob above the surface of the brine, place a ceramic plate on top to weigh it down. I use a smaller cooler for this.

Place the container in the fridge, and keep it there for a span that equals one day per every two pounds. Halfway through the brining process, turn the ham over so all parts of it will be submerged.

After the brining is done, rinse the ham and let it soak refrigerated in clean water for 24 hours. When smoking for the last hour use a favorite glaze and glaze ham every 15 minutes.