Published: 06-Oct-2013 (23:13); Viewed: 5229; Difficulty: 2 out of 10
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Cured pork ham, similar to uncooked bacon, but much more lean, tender and even more tasty. This ham can be used as a component of very delicious cooked cold meat platter for any occasions. In this article, I will show, how to cook cured pork ham in 24 hours. Also in this recipe, I will show two different finishing of cured pork ham, with paprika and with thyme, and it is up to you, which spice you will choose for finishing, but my personal choice is smoked paprika.
step-by-step instructions
Ingredients are given for one pork fillet, and for larger amount for meat all ingredients should be recalculated proportionally:
One pork tenderloin fillet.
Spices for curing:
300 gm of large sea salt crystals.
1 tbsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper.
2 tbsp black pepper
2-3 sprigs of fresh sage.
1 tbsp of cognac
Spices for finishing:
1 tsp of smoked paprika or
1 tsp of thyme leafs
Mix salt with crushed spices for curing, chopped herbs and cognac.
Trim off all silver skin, fat and sinew from the pork fillet.
Cover meat with the spiced salt. Make sure, that salt cover all sides of meat. Cover tray with cling film and leave it for 12 hours in the fridge. This is very important to hold 12 hours exactly.
I've cut meat into two pieces, just to show different finishing spices. Wash meat in a running cold water from any salt and spices. Dry the surface of the meat with paper towels.
Sprinkle each side of the meat with finishing spices of your choice. For example, left piece of meat was covered with smoked paprika with traces of cayenne pepper, and right piece of meat was covered with thyme leafs. Wrap meat into a paper towel or linen towel and set into a fridge for 12-24 hours for maturing.
Slice and serve! This meat can be a perfect additive to any table.
tips and tricks
This is a raw pork and meat should be used from only high class butchery with all necessary health checks.
The process of making cured pork ham is very similar to bacon curing, and also can be done with special curing salt, but if you are planning to consume this ham within few days, it is not necessary to use special curing salt.
It is possible to use any spices you like for cured ham finishing.