How to Make Venison Ham

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A close up of venison ham slices
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

I present to you: mocetta. It was my first-ever dry-cured ham, and it does not come from a pig. This is venison ham.

Mocetta (MOE-chet-uh) is a Northern Italian air-dried goat ham that, I’ve discovered, works well with venison, too.

I wish I could tell you I have an old recipe handed down by the nonnas from Alto Adige, but that’d be a lie. A good lie, yes, but a lie nonetheless. Actually making mocetta became something of a detective job. I can read Italian well enough to read recipes, so I turned Google onto it and read scores of accounts about mocetta, product descriptions in Italian online catalogs, references to it in books, etc.

What I found is that mocetta always has “Alpine herbs and spices.” Um, what the hell does that mean? I decided to go with a piney, aromatic mix of juniper berries, rosemary, bay leaves, black pepper and garlic. Most of these ingredients are mentioned in someone’s mocetta description, so I figured I was close enough.

Why make mocetta? Because it’s a skinless ham. Skinless hams cure easily but are tougher to age well because they can dry out fast. But since we all skin our deer, it’s what you can do.

I do the standard two-step cure many of us use with big hunks o’meat: Rub half the cure mixture on the meat, put in the fridge for several weeks, then rinse and repeat. Yes, you will need to have a leg or two lurking in your refrigerator for the better part of a month. Get a big Tupperware or just deal with it…

Once it’s time to hang the mocetta, you will need a curing space with high humidity and pretty low temperatures. I started mine at 80 percent humidity and about 55°F. As the meat ages, the humidity needs to go down and the temperature needs to go up. At the end, my goat hams were at 60 percent humidity and 60°F.

slicing venison ham
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Mocetta is not cured for very long, relatively speaking, precisely because it is skinless.

Why? Because originally the Italo-Swiss who made it used wild ibex that lived in the Alps — not easy to haul a wild goat out of the mountains with skin on, only to scrape the fur off to preserve skin like you would a real prosciutto. I was very glad to hear that even in Italy, where some of their best products are massive pains in the asses, they took the “easy” way out on this one.

Still, mocetta needs 2 to 5 months hanging. Better than the 12 to 18 months for a real prosciutto, but long enough to begin to develop those mysterious esthers and flavors that a truly old ham gets. Funky yet aromatic.

Make no mistake: I do not think my venison ham tastes anywhere near as good as real jamon iberico. But sliced thin, it is excellent: Good color, firm but still supple, meaty, fatty and with an aroma that is just this side of goaty. I like it a lot with a husky red wine.

A note on salt. You will need to weigh your meat in grams and then weigh out 2.5 percent of that in sea salt or kosher salt, then another 0.25 percent – that’s one-quarter of one percent – in cure no. 2, which contains sodium nitrate. I use Instacure No. 2.

A close up of venison ham slices
4.91 from 10 votes

Mocetta, Italian Venison Ham

This is essentially a little prosciutto, without the skin. As such it will dry out faster and will be ready in far less time, even as little as three months. The longer you let it hang, the more humidity you will need to prevent the leg from becoming jerky. I aged mine four months and got a good balance of firmness, funkiness, color and flavor. As with any cured meat product, the meat matters: Use only hind legs from a young deer or antelope, or meat from small farmers who care about their product. And you need to use curing salt No. 2, which you can buy online. 
Course: Cured Meat
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 1 ham
Author: Hank Shaw
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 small hind leg of a deer, about 5 pounds
  • Instacure No. 2 (see above)
  • Kosher salt (see above)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 25 grams garlic powder
  • 10 grams juniper berries
  • 12 grams black pepper
  • 5 grams dried thyme
  • 12 grams fresh rosemary
  • 15 bay leaves

Instructions 

  • Grind the juniper berries, black pepper, thyme and bay leaves together until fine. Mince the rosemary. Combine all the spices with the salts and mix well. Divide this mixture in half. Put one part of the cure away in a sealed container.
  • Carefully rub half the mixture into the goat legs, making sure to get lots into the ball joint that had connected the leg to the pelvis; this is where leg cuts often spoil. Massage the spices and salts into the meat.
  • Put the legs into a large container and refrigerate for 2-3 weeks. Drain off any liquid that seeps out of the meat. You will know it’s about done when the meat has firmed up quite a bit.
  • Rinse off the cure and pat the legs dry. Repeat Step 3 with the second half of the cure.
  • Let the legs cure in the fridge for another 7-10 days. The longer you go, the saltier the meat will be — and the longer it will last without spoiling.
  • When you are ready, rinse off the cure again and soak the legs in fresh water for an hour. This relieves a little of the saltiness and results in a moister cure — you needed to cure with so much salt for so long to make sure it penetrated all the way through to the bone. The water soak removes some of that salt so it won’t be overpowering when you ultimately serve the mocetta.
  • Hang for 2-5 months. You want a temperature between 40 and 60°F (colder at the beginning, and warmer near the end), and a humidity starting at about 80 percent and slowly decreasing — say, 5 percent a week) until you are at about 60 percent humidity.
  • Once it’s ready, you can cut the meat from the bone and slice thin, or slice bone-in. Serve at room temperature with cheese and a husky red wine. Wrap closely and store in the fridge, or seal it and freeze it.

Notes

Note that prep time does not include curing or drying time. 

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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114 Comments

  1. This sounds delicious. You’re lucky I’m on the East Coast (or on a different continent, for the time being), because I would turn up on your doorstep to find out what goat ham tastes like. 🙂

  2. Matt: I am not really in the catering biz — I did this gig as a favor for a friend.

    Scott: Pass on those speck recipes! I want to make some when the weather cools.

    Josh: Nice Dorian Grey reference…

    Rob: Definitely let me know — and wasn’t there a zucchini recipe you were going to get me?

    Brady: Leave the fat on the alfalfa doe. No interior marbling on a deer, but that sweet alfalfa fat will carry things a long way.

  3. Hank,
    I am just thinking about the just barley “sans spots” whitetail I plan on taking this fall to use for this but have one question. What about the fat? I notice that your goat has some nice marbleing, I won’t have that on my venison, any problems?

    Brady

  4. My wife’s grandma is from Bedonia in Northern Italy. I will have to ask her when I see her next weekend if she knows of this ham.

    Sounds really awesome. Do want.

  5. Hank, you don’t know how old I am… I’ve got a portrait in my attic that is all wrinkly…

    The old fridge sounds like a neat set-up, something I don’t have the ability to do right now (unless, God willing, I actually shoot something one of these days).

  6. Super impressive, Hank. I’ve recently become obsessed with this region and it’s salumi recently. I’m trying to track down authentic Kamminwurz and speck recipes as we speak. Looks great, BTW.

  7. Hank,
    When did you get into the catering biz? Is this going to become a more common occurence?

    DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE? I’ve got a large capacity vehicle and a love for meat.

    Matt

  8. I am very jealous. One thing which we regularly have sent over from India, and which Blondie might try in “the Desert of So Cal” is known simply as kabab: You take 6-8 in. long by 1 in. wide and 1 in. thick “ropes” of goat meat, treat extremely liberally with salt, red chili powder, turmeric, and garlic-ginger paste. Hang it in very bright sun for about a week. Fry and eat alone or with rice and whatever as needed.

      1. Lorena: I do not wrap them when hanging. Just make sure that the leg hangs in a fairly humid place, like around 75% humidity, for the first few weeks before letting the humidity drop a bit. You always want it at least 50% humidity though.

  9. Kindred Spirit: You bet it’d work with a small venison ham. I’d recommend using a doe.

    Josh: You’re too young to be able to know that jingle. And I use an old fridge with a temp. regulator and a small humidifier.

    Albert: I need to start digging a cave…

    Matt: When you come over, bring some of Armandino’s lamb ham.

    Scampwalker: I can cut thinner slices by hand than any electric knife I have yet seen or used. God bless Japanese knives!

  10. Garret I second that, I dream of doing things so awesome, but then come back to reality and realize one: who would really appreciate the time and effort that goes into something so fabulous, and two: where in the hell does one find the time to create so many mouthwatering culinary delights.
    Hank, I hope your friends realize how lucky they really are to be able enjoy your beautiful work.

  11. Okay Hank, I’ve been lurking for sometime, but this post made me come out and comment! I don’t even eat goat and I am ready to make the 8ish hour drive from the Desert of So Cal. Just for a slice and perhaps to forage with you and Holly.
    I have been wanting to get into charcuterie and I am curious where you cured your ham? (what “cave”) as this has been my biggest obstacle with attempting aged cheeses and cured meat.
    Would have loved, loved to be a guest at that event – and can not wait to try… Salmon Cheeks! Who knew?
    Gotta go, my mouth is watering so much I am choking a little.
    ~Blondie

  12. Hank, I know it’s probably considered cheating, but I have great luck with using an electric handheld knife for slicing thin stuff (bacon, ham, jerky, etc). If needed, I firm the meat up in the freezer and go to town. I covet a slicer as well, but budgetary and space concerns keep me from making the plunge… this works well.
    Plus, you can fillet a POTLOAD of fish with it!
    Keep up the good work.

  13. Great post, and a fantastic ham! Looks really, really good. Bravo, Hank! I liked it and I didn’t even get a chance to taste it. Thanks.

  14. Hank, be careful about inviting people over to your house. You might have some unexpected visitors soon! Sacramento is not that far from San Francisco, and I would easily make that drive for charcuterie. Now, how to figure out where you live…

  15. I’m at your door right now.

    Kidding. But, yeah, that looks really, really good.

    As for the humidifying, was that in a fancy meat box?

    And as for the jingle, all I have to say is: little amzee dizeys. A skiddle-ee-dizey doo!

  16. I am getting in my car, and driving over right this second. This looks fantastic mate, love the color.

    What a great story about the catering job too. I cannot believe you did anything but completely rocked it.

    The lamb ham from Salumi is amazing. I just love the stuff. I haven’t had it in a while, which is a shame though.

  17. Damn, that might be the first f-bomb I’ve ever seen here at HAGC – and I like it.
    It seems like one might be able to get away with a small venison ham with this. Yes?