Making Air Cured Ham Dried And Smoked Pork Recipes

GERMAN KASSELER: A CURED AND SMOKED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Stir together the ingredients for the brine and heat to a simmer to dissolve all the salt and sugar. Refrigerate until completely cold.
• Prepare the loin by removing all but a thin layer of fat. We recommend a loin , not a rib roast (back ribs attached - common in commercial "Kasseler") for home processing.
• Place the loin in the brine and weight it down with a plate or other object to keep it submerged.
• Refrigerate for 48 hours.
• Remove the loin from the brine. Discard brine.
• Wash off the pork with cold water and pat dry. You may dry it in the refrigerator for up to a day (do not cover with any wrap).
• Prepare your smoker: Start your charcoal fire in the bottom of the smoker an hour before you want to smoke the meat.
• Soak 2 cups (or so) wood chips (preferably alder for this project) in some water.
• Place your smoking tray (or aluminum foil tray) on top of the charcoal and add 1/2 cup wet wood chips. Place the grill about a foot above that.
• Place the meat on the grill, cover and smoke 2 to 3 hours, until the internal temperature is 150 F or above. Add more wet chips as needed to keep the smoke up.
• You may choose to roast the brined meat instead, or if you are having trouble with the smoker just bring it inside and finish the cooking process in the oven. Heat the oven to 450 F and cook the meat for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 250 F and roast the meat for 2 to 3 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 150 F.
• Eat warm or cut and wrap. Refrigerate to 4 days or freeze for 2 to 3 months.

HOME-CURED PORK TENDERLOIN 'HAM'

Steps:

• Put salt and sugar in a large nonreactive bowl (stainless steel or glass). Add boiling water and stir well to dissolve salt and sugar. Add peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice berries, cloves, thyme and bay leaves. Leave to cool completely.
• Add curing salt and 1 cup white wine to cooled brine. Submerge pork tenderloins in brine. Place plate directly on top of pork to keep it submerged if necessary. Cover container and refrigerate for 5 days.
• Remove pork from brine and pat dry. Discard brine. Spread onions and thyme sprigs on bottom of a large shallow baking dish. Add brined tenderloins in one layer, then add 1/2 cup wine. Heat oven to 350 degrees; as it heats, bring meat to room temperature. Cover dish and bake for 45 minutes or until pork registers 135 degrees with an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven (meat will continue to cook and reach 140 degrees as it rests). Let cool before cutting into thin slices. Serve with buttermilk biscuits. May be refrigerated, well wrapped, for up to 1 week.

HAM-CURED, SMOKED PORK WITH COGNAC-ORANGE GLAZE

Steps:

• Make the brine: Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the sugar, salt and Prague powder. Whisk until dissolved and remove from heat. Stir in 1 quart cold water. Pin the bay leaves to the orange zest strips using the cloves, and add them to the brine. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Wash the pork loin and blot dry. Place it in a baking dish just large enough to hold it.
• Measure out 1/2 cup brine into a measuring cup. Draw the brine into a marinade injector and inject it into the center of the pork loin all over, inserting the needle at 1-inch intervals and drawing it out slowly as you depress the plunger, until you've used the full 1/2 cup brine and the brine starts to squirt out of the pork.
• Transfer the pork to a large, heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Add the brine from the baking dish, plus the remaining brine and seasonings, and tightly seal, squeezing out any air. Return the bagged pork to the baking dish to corral any leaks. Brine the pork in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning several times along the way so it brines evenly.
• Remove the loin from the brine and place it in another baking dish, reserving the brine. Re-inject the pork loin with the brine in the bag, again using about 1/2 cup (or more if you can get more in), then return the pork to the brine bag and continue brining and turning for another 24 hours, for a total brining time of 48 hours. The meat should turn a shade pinker. At this point, you can dry and smoke the pork loin, but if you brine it for another 24 hours, the flavor will be even richer.
• Drain the brined pork loin in a colander, discarding the brine. Rinse the loin well with cold water, drain again and blot dry with paper towels. Place it on a wire rack over a baking dish and let it dry for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Meanwhile, set up your grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium (about 350 degrees). If using wood chips, soak about 3 cups chips in water to cover for 30 minutes, then drain. If using wood chunks, there is no need to soak them.
• Place the pork loin on the grate, fat-side up, over indirect heat, set over a drip pan. Add 1 1/2 cups wood chips or 2 wood chunks to the coals.
• Smoke the pork loin until handsomely browned and cooked through (the internal temperature will be about 155 degrees), about 1 1/2 hours. Add wood chips (about 1 1/2 cups) or chunks (1 large or 2 medium) per hour to the embers to maintain a constant flow of smoke.
• While the pork cooks, make the glaze: Place the orange juice, Cognac, brown sugar, marmalade, cinnamon and cloves in a nonreactive saucepan. Boil over high heat until syrupy and reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and Cointreau, then carefully whisk the slurry into the glaze. Boil for 1 minute. The glaze will thicken. Whisk in the butter, and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Makes about 1 1/4 cups.)
• Brush the glaze on the pork three times during the last 20 minutes of cooking. Reserve the remaining glaze.
• When the pork is done, transfer to a platter and let rest for 5 minutes. To serve, thinly slice the pork loin across the grain and serve with the remaining glaze on the side.

HOME-CURED HOLIDAY HAM

Steps:

• Place kosher salt, brown sugar, pickling spice, and pink salt in a container large enough to hold the brine and the ham.
• Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and pour over the brine ingredients; whisk to dissolve. Pour in 1 gallon fresh cold water to cool down the mixture.
• Score the skin side of the pork roast with a sharp knife. Cut into the fat beneath the skin but not into the meat. Score about 1 inch apart, then score in the opposite direction to get the classic diamond-shaped pattern.
• Lower scored roast into the cooled brine, skin side up. Use a plate to weigh down the roast so that it cures fully submerged in the liquid. Refrigerate for 1 day for every 2 pounds of pork (for a 7 pound roast, cure for at least 2 1/2 days). Turn the roast over halfway through the brining process.
• Remove roast from brining liquid. Discard the brining liquid and transfer the roast back to the brining container. Cover the roast with fresh cold water to rinse off some of the salt. Depending on how salty you want your ham, you can soak it for just a few minutes or overnight. Remove roast from the water and blot dry with paper towels.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add a cup of water to a roasting pan with 2 whole star anise. Place roast on a rack in the roasting pan.
• Roast until ham reaches an internal temperature of 130 to 135 degrees F, about 2 hours. Ham will not be fully cooked at this point. If water has nearly evaporated, add a splash more. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Continue to roast until skin is browned and crispy and ham reaches an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees F.
• To make the optional glaze, mix the mustard, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a bowl. Brush glaze on the ham at this point, not before. Return roast to oven for about 5 minutes to crisp it even further.

HONEY-CURED, HICKORY-SMOKED SHOULDER HAM

Steps:

• Make the brine: In a large pot, place 2 1/2 quarts water, the salt, honey, brown sugar and Prague powder. Bring to a boil over high, stirring until the salt, honey and sugar are dissolved.
• Make the spice bundle: Tie the cloves, allspice berries, bay leaves, lemon zest and peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth.
• Stir the spice bundle and another 2 1/2 quarts ice water into the brine, remove from heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
• While the brine cools, prepare the ham: Using paper towels, blot the pork shoulder dry on all sides. Using a sharp knife, score the ham in a crosshatch pattern, cutting through the skin but not through the meat and spacing the cuts 1 1/2 inches apart. (This is optional, as you'll remove the skin, but it facilitates injecting and gives the ham a striking appearance.)
• Measure out 2 cups brine and place in a deep measuring cup. Place the ham in a roasting pan. Draw the brine into a marinade injector and inject it deep into the ham all over, inserting the needle at 1 1/2-inch intervals and drawing it out slowly as you depress the plunger, until the brine starts to squirt out of the surface of the ham.
• Place the ham in a large pot or food-safe bucket with a lid, or 3-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the brine and flavorings (plus any brine in the roasting pan). If using a plastic bag, tightly seal, squeezing out any air, and place the bag in the roasting pan to corral any leaks. Brine the ham in the refrigerator for 3 days, turning the ham twice a day so it cures evenly.
• Pour the brine into a large pot and set aside. Remove the ham from its pot or bag and transfer it to a roasting pan. Using the marinade injector, re-inject the ham with brine (using 2 cups again, or more, if you can get more in), inserting the needle at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Return the ham and all the brine to the bag. (You can use a fresh bag, if you wish.) Continue brining the ham in the refrigerator for another 3 days, turning twice a day so it brines evenly. When ready for smoking, the meat will take on a pinkish hue.
• Drain the ham in a large colander, discarding the brine. Rinse the ham well with cold water, drain again and blot dry with paper towels. Place it on a wire rack over a roasting pan and let it dry for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.
• If using a charcoal grill, set it up for indirect grilling and heat it to 250 degrees. If using wood chips, soak them in water to cover for 30 minutes, then drain. If using wood chunks, there is no need to soak them. (With a kettle grill, use less charcoal than normal to obtain this low temperature.) If using a smoker, heat it to 250 degrees following the manufacturer's instructions.
• Place the ham on the grate, fat-side up, using indirect heat, and add 1 1/2 cups wood chips or 2 wood chunks to the coals. Smoke the ham until handsomely browned and cooked through. (The internal temperature will be about 160 degrees.) This typically takes about 7 hours, but you may need more or less time, depending on your ham, smoker and the weather. Add wood chips (about 1 1/2 cups) or chunks (1 large or 2 medium) per hour to the embers to maintain a constant flow of smoke. Rotate your ham a few times during cooking so that it browns evenly, and drape it loosely with foil if it seems to be darkening too much.
• Transfer the ham to a cutting board and let it cool for 20 minutes. Pull off the skin. (If you're feeling ambitious, you can fry the skin in 350-degree oil to make smoke-flavored cracklings.)
• Thinly slice the ham across the grain and serve. You can serve the ham hot, at room temperature, or chilled. Refrigerated, it will keep for at least a week.