curing ham

[Beap52 932]

I received a few fresh pork shoulders.  I am in the process of curing a small one.  Never cured any meat before so this is my first try.  I figured someone(s) have done this and if they have advice about the process, I'll certainly willing to lend a ear.)  I'm not looking for a cure for long term storage but curing a piece a meat then smoke it.  

 

I have a 3.25 pound pork shoulder. 6 days ago i purchased some Morton Quick Tender Home Meat Cure. I combined the 3 tablespoons of the meat cure (as recommended on Morton's package) with a couple cups of brown sugar and a dash of ground cloves then applied it to the ham.  I placed the ham in a baggie and returned to refrigerator.  The next morning I was amazed at the amount of liquid the came out of the meat (an ice tea glass full) which I left in the baggie and rotated the meat daily in this brine.  On the third, I injected the liquid into the meat in an effort to get the cure deep into the meat.  On the fourth day, I removed the meat from the baggie, washed it off and soaked the meat for a few in fresh water before dumping the water and returned to baggie in anticipation of smoking tomorrow.  (That is 4 days of cure and three days of resting before smoking.) 

 

I tried to search this forum for curing but I'm limited on searching for topics and found nothing.  Of course I have googled curing hams and found several videos and writings thus the process I have selected.

 

The ham has that dark red color that one would expect a cured piece of meat. The packaging suggested curing other cuts such a pork loins has anyone cured other meat and what/how are advantages?  

 

 

[Ed Kennell 39,277]

                       

[Handy Don 12,674]

1 hour ago, Beap52 said:

I am in the process of curing a small one.

Is the ham sick? Of what does it need to be cured?

[Ed Kennell 39,277]

41 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Is the ham sick? Of what does it need to be cured?

That's why I quit curing venison hams.    I successfully  cured quite a few,  then one didn't survive my cure.  It came out sick and smelling bad resulting in a loss of my MD license.

[Beap52 932]

49 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said:

That's why I quit curing venison hams.    I successfully  cured quite a few,  then one didn't survive my cure.  It came out sick and smelling bad resulting in a loss of my MD license.

The ham smells great.  It darkened after I cured it and it looks like pictures of hams that guys had written articles and videos that used the same product.  The is picture was less 24 hours after I applied the curing agent and brown sugar.  There was still a bit of frost in it when I applied the cure.  It looks and smells the same today, 6 days later.  i don't believe it is spoiled.  Thanks for the replies

[Beap52 932]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

Is the ham sick? Of what does it need to be cured?

I am preventing it from freezer burn.  The bane of meat lovers!

[JimSraj 450]

Make sure you have injected the cure near the bone. It doesn’t soak in that deep by just brining in solution. Really only matters if you are planning to keep it a long time without freezing. 

[Sodaking27 848]

I cure my hams the long and slow way. 
 

 

 

[Beap52 932]

Well, fellows, I smoked little ham today.  I put it on at 6 this morning and pulled it off 8 hours later. I read that it should be cooked to internal temperature  of between 145 and 195 .  My target was 180 degrees because some said the higher temp softens the proteins (or some such thing).   I pulled it at 173 degrees and I believe it's a touch dry.  Next time I think I'll remove it at 160 degrees.  It tastes really good.  I was concerned it might be salty but that was not an issue at all.  I didn't add any seasonings other than what I cured it with and smoked at ~225 degrees.  Me nor my neighbor, who just happened to drop by about the time to remove ham from smoker, didn't taste the cloves at all.

 

Thanks for the advice and comments.  Ham, eggs and fried potatoes for supper tonight!