CC asked how me to show him how

[pitw]

I go about making hams with brine.
You start with a hog that has been deaded and split into 125lb halves.



Split the half into a ham


shoulder


loin[that I'm removing the sharp edged bone so it don't rip the paper when wrapped]


side[with ribs remove).


rib removal


Having a wife named Wilma, I can keep them in neanderthal size.


Gotta remove the bachelor buttons and square up the side for bacon makin


Chops are trimmed and the saw dust scraped off.


Now you have these tools to help get the brine into the ham[35lb each].


Find the artery going to the ham[best look for this sucker before you split it].




Force brine in to the meat[if done right this method disperses the brine through the whole ham just like it used to move blood]


Some day we'll get the top method right and won't have to this[which works very well ].
{you want to make sure you get the brine deep inside and around the bone} probably stuck these guys 40 times.


Then the ham[and bacon] is placed in a clean food grade plastic or a clean crock, add brine so all the meat is submerged.  Bacon will stay in for a week and the hams two weeks+ in order for the brine to work its way through and cure the meat.  Then it'll be smoking, cooking and eating.[Carl ask the questions you need answered and I'll do my best to answer]

For the tape I got this old dispenser that works better than any of the newer ones I've tried , there isn't another one like it in the whole world .


Last but not least because of the way Jim has been acting lately we even managed to send him something to help soothe the pain.

























.

[iahntr]

MMmmm, had some taste potential,,, til that last pic. 
     

[FinsnFur]

I think it just got worse though   

[Carolina Coyote]

Thanks Barry, You guys seem to have it down pat on what needs to be done, Professional looking job. When you say the Bacon and Hams are placed in food grade Plastic or Crock is that a container filled with Brine ( Show Picture ) I really would love to do that on a wild hog and see how they taste. cc

[bambam]

Awesome post Barry. After soaking in the brine do they have to be smoked or could they just be hung up and cured ? 

[coyotehunter_1]

Great tutorial, Barry.

I've always been told a person could use everything on a hog but it's squeal....   

[pitw]

Awesome post Barry. After soaking in the brine do they have to be smoked or could they just be hung up and cured ? 

Bam, once done in the brine they are "cured",  that being said the smoke has properties in it that stop bacteria and other nasty things from getting a foot hold.  The smoke also adds flavor that is just tooooooooooo good so I don't know why a person wouldn't smoke.  With today's refrigeration we realy don't need to cure the meat but just in case the whole electronic grid goes down I'll keep doing it.
  Carl once again my camera skills screwed up the pictures or I'd have shown you the brine with meat in pictures. .  One thing I do that I've never seen done in any other how to program is to take something[I use them little tables that they use to hold pizza box's open, asked a guy who ran a place and he gave me a box of them] to help hold the meat apart so the brine can get good access to all portions.

[FOsteology]

Cool beans Barry! I for one found it interesting and informative.

I think for your next project you need to make a video depicting from start to finish!

[pitw]

fos if I'd of had a video of the events that happened shortly after Tevis fired the gun, after all of you had quit laughing[those who survived anyway], I'm afraid I'd soon have a bunch of people here from both  the government and mental health to stop what I do. .   That and I only got the little camera I screw up all other pics with .

[BigB]

Barry, why do you inject the brine, if you are going to soak it for that long?  If you are soaking it in brine for a week or two, won't the brine penetrate the whole thing if it weren't injected?


Brian

[pitw]

Brian without injecting, the info I've learned is three-four days per pound of ham, that would mean like three months without injecting .  I leave it for that long cause I want the brine to migrate to all the meat.  It could be over kill but we found a few spots of brown meat[uncured when we tried less time] .  I know for a fact that a week works on the bacon cause I've proved it to myself.  Commercial brine pumps with like thirty needles to pump the brine can get it in the smoke house the next day but as you saw I do it one stab at a time .  I also found that my family likes our done at home stuff better than any we've had done commercially or bought from a store .

[BigB]

Good info Barry.

Those big pokers also work well for injecting turkeys with injectable marinade before you deep fry them.  mmmmm tasty!


Brian