Dry cured ham

curryman86 · Post by **curryman86** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 12:32

Hello, newbie here

This is a ham I made using an old traditional method, salt, sugar and spices, NO nitrates
I have made this many times and I am very happy with the end product

EAnna · Post by **EAnna** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 12:58

curryman86 wrote: salt, sugar and spices, NO nitrates

What kind of salt have you used?

curryman86 · Post by **curryman86** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 20:08

Hi EAnna

I use large crystal sea salt same as I use when making bacon

EAnna · Post by **EAnna** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 20:21

curryman86 wrote:I use large crystal sea salt

Sea salt and rock salt include nitrates, nitrites and metal oxides.
Evaporated salt is clean.

curryman86 · Post by **curryman86** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 21:00

EAnna wrote

Sea salt and rock salt include nitrates, nitrites and metal oxides.

It seems that nitrate (or nitrite) concentrations in seawater are more or less negligible; in the range of 10-80 ppb (parts per billion = .001 ppm). Multiplying by 30 to get the amount in sea salt puts it roughly at 1-2 ppm, whereas commercial curing salt contains 6000 ppm (sodium) nitrite.

So really nothing to worrying about EAnna your tap water could also contain nitrates ...

Ground water supplies naturally contain a variety of chemical compounds, including nitrate. Most commonly nitrates may be found where the region local to the groundwater has had significant plant decay underground. Nitrates are created as a part of the decaying process, and are able to move relatively quickly and easily through soil, owing to how soluble they are.

Kind regards
Stephen x

Kijek · Post by **Kijek** » Wed Mar 21, 2018 01:08

Oh boy this is getting to be a special subject for me.... LOL

Anyway, what do you all feel about the store bought ham & bacon cures like from sausagemaker?

Or should you just stick to a recipe that works.....(using Nitrates)

What I'm getting at, is are those ham & bacon cures a great way to cut corners and save time, and you then can ajust seasonings and spices to fit your liking?

Post by **Butterbean** » Wed Mar 21, 2018 14:49

I think you will learn a lot more by making your own or following someone else's recipe and process and adjusting to your taste. Tiny changes can make a big difference and using packaged stuff would limit you I think.

Kijek · Post by **Kijek** » Wed Mar 21, 2018 20:05

I understand, that's normally what i do, follow a recipe and do my own thing.

Dry cured ham

My ham