Hams and Whole Cuts
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
Curing whole cuts of meat can be both easier and more difficult than making salami. Since the interior of meat is pretty clean, you have fewer sanitation issues — but since the interior of a large cut like the back leg of a hog can be huge, controlling the temperature and humidity can be tricky if you want the cure to get to the center of the meat before it rots from within.
If you’ve never done this before, start with a duck ‘prosciutto,’ which can be done in a few weeks. For those waterfowl hunters out there, this is a great use for the breasts of Canada and snow geese.
BACON IN ALL ITS FORMS
- Basic Unsmoked Bacon, made without nitrates
- French Ventreche, a lightly cured, smoked version of pancetta
- Roman Style Guanciale, home-cured hog jowl
- Chinese Style, Sichuan Bacon
HAMS AND OTHER WHOLE CURED MEATS
- Duck or Goose ‘prosciutto’
- Duck Jerky, flavored with thyme, garlic, allspice and porcini
- Mocetta, a Northern Italian Goat Ham
- Lardo, or Italian Cured Back Fat
- Lonzino, or Air-Cured Boar or Pork Loin
- Corned Venison (Antelope, Deer, Moose, Elk, etc.)
