Making Prosciutto at home with John! Part One
Vložit
- čas přidán 11. 09. 2024
- Curing meat is one of the oldest forms of food preservation in history. Prosciutto is an Italian style of dried, cured ham that is a delectable treat to be savoured and enjoyed.
Prosciutto starts out as a pork leg. Most grocery stores have them on sale once a year in the wintertime.
Have a really clean work surface to begin with. I use a large sterilized cutting board and I also prefer to use latex gloves when I’m doing this. Rinse off the pork leg in the sink and pat it dry with paper towels. When you get the pork leg from the butcher or grocery store, they will often still have a bone in the meat which needs to be removed. If you do not get the butcher to remove it, here is a way that you can do it yourself. I take a sharp knife (I use a surgical style knife) and start to slice along the meat to expose the bone. The secret is to use small cuts as you go along to remove the meat from the bone. As you expose more of the bone, which is the pelvic bone, you start to see more of the ball socket. Continue to cut the ligaments from the bone and meat until you can take out the pelvic bone. What is left is the ball joint and the rest of the leg bone which runs through the meat to the hock which is the narrowest part of the pork leg. Now you want to trim off any loose meat.
To make the curing process go more easily, I like to remove some of the skin from the inside of the pork leg. One side will have a full covering of skin on it, but not the other. This helps the drying process go smoothly by allowing for the absorption of the salt to cure the meat. I start by making a circular cut in the skin and pull the skin back. With the knife I separate the fat and skin a bit at a time for a clean removal. This is also a step that you could request a butcher to do if you feel uncertain about doing it yourself.
Salt will take care of the curing as that is what inhibits bacterial growth. I prefer to transfer my pork leg to a tub skin side down to do the salting. I use a 50-50 mix of coarse salt, also known as pickling salt, and regular table salt. I mix them together in a bowl and sprinkle a good amount on the pork leg in the tub and then work it into the meat. This is where I really appreciated wearing the latex gloves. Make sure you get a good amount into the cavity where you have cut the meat. As well, be just as particular about adding and rubbing in salt to the hock area to get in deeply to the meat. What happens in the process is that the salt draws moisture out of the meat and pulls itself into the meat which causes the curing. This step takes place over the course of 14 days.
I put a lot of salt on, but the meat will only take as much as it needs. However, you want to take your time to ensure that the pork let has a good, thorough salt rub. The moisture that is pulled out of the meat just ends up in the tub. The salt will not stick to the skin. Once you are done salting the pork leg, you’ll want to keep it in a cool area, somewhere between 2-4 degrees Celsius. Places that could work are an unheated closed garage, a shed or a spare fridge for 14 days. Slide the pork leg inside a plastic bag (a white, kitchen-sized garbage bag is a good size for this), place it back in the tub with the exposed side facing up and skin side down. Put a weight on top of the meat - something like a patio stone or a cinder block. Put this in a plastic bag as well for cleanliness and place it on top of the pork leg in the tub. This helps to extract the moisture by keeping pressure on the meat. Every second day I remove the brick, take the prosciutto out of its bag, add in more salt and rub it around the entire leg. Then I put it back in the bag, replace the weight on top and return it to its’ refrigerated area.
Not a fast recipe, but worth the effort. The first two weeks are time-intensive, but the next 50 weeks are less so! The next video will follow in a couple of weeks.
Don’t forget to squeeze out any remaining blood from the main artery near the bone. It can cause rot inside the leg. From others experience.
Just found your channel, can’t wait to watch the rest! Trying to get educated about curing meat to get myself started. Should have learned while my grandparents and great grandparents were still around.
Best of success with your meat curing!
@@inthekitchenwithjohn thank you!
Hi John, great video. Greeting from a fellow STMC Grad '85. Don't listen to your wife, your hobbies are great! I only wish I had the space to do the same things. Definitely interested in seeing more videos. Cheers.
John this is a great informational video it brings back memories of my grandfather and uncles drinking wine curing meat for the holidays I just found your channel 11/7/21
Thanks Paul, it's good to keep these traditions going. All the best!
Thanks. I look forward to more video.
Great info!! I find that allowing the hind leg to reach salt equilibrium makes for a far too salty end product. I add a percent of salt that’s perfect for my taste and go from there. A good prosciutto shouldn’t be too salty. I’ve had prosciutto from Parma - not salty, but palatable and sweet.
Never knew about the process. Love these videos!
0:55 Cantaloupe? Are you serious about that? I have some fresh hams that I want to make prosciutto with. So, I'm watching this video.
Thanks ,I've started one. Good
Superb video... thoroughly enjoyed watching it...tks....could you make some capocolla, pastrami and other cold cuts...would be wonderful watching them...tks again 🙏🏼
Great suggestion!
Just found this video and enjoyed it very much.
A Question. When I was a child in Cuba, my father and our neighbor used to make ham, something like this. I don't remember the exact steps (I doubt I ever learned them completely) but I remember that in addition to covering the leg with abundant salt, he used to inject brine inside the leg before covering it and placing it in the refrigerator. Then, I remember that they used to finish the product by smoking the leg hung inside a smoker that our neighbor had made with bricks, We used to collect guava branches with green leaves to produce the smoke. Do you do anything like this too?
Thank you for your videos. Now I'm going to watch the 2nd part.
Thanks for watching my video Francisco, I have never injected brine into the leg, but I do know some people that use this method with good results. I don't smoke my prosciutto, but there are some other hams that I cure and cold smoke with maple or cherry wood. I'm sure the ham your father and neighbor made must have tasted great.
Can you leave the pork leg in the fridge uncover/ not wrapped in plastic? Also, is there a weight or a % lost weight that you can use to tell when it ready to be washed an hung?
Hi Brad, yes you can leavit in the fridge uncovered. It will generally lose about 15% of initial weight during this initial process. Best of success!
Very nice video!
💖👍😊...great ....svaka cast
Just wondering have u ever made cured chorizo?
Not yet but it is on my list.
I like prosciuoto, even though it's cured raw pork, but I've seen other prosciuoto videos where the blood in the pork leg is massaged or pressed out gradualy over time; covered with cheese clotrh.
Very nice
Great!!
Awesome
John the question came up . Do you use a whole pig leg or half a pig leg please?
Thanks, I use the whole pork leg (cut off at the hock). Best of success with yours!
Hi John, wonderful instructive video which I have followed. But I have a question. We’re in the UK and have hung the ham in the attic over the winter months however it’s getting warmer here and the attic will rise above 13c. The only real option we have is to put in into a fridge in the garage which will be about 5c for the last six months with limited airflow. Will this is detrimental?
13 Celcius will be too warm for the ham, I've know many people who have cured their hams in a spare fridge with good success. Try to set up a way that you can continue to have air around the majority of the ham, IE: a rack to place it on. Best of success!
@@inthekitchenwithjohn thanks John. I’ve got it in the outside fridge and managed to get it to hang by pulling out all the shelves and creating a pole to hang it from. Could I ask just one more question what percentage should be finished (ready to eat) weigh be from the original. 30% less or 60% less?
@@pjmartin1046 The target weight loss should be between 35 to 45% of the original weight. Hope this helps!
Why the 50/50 salt mix sir?
2-4 degrees? Is that correct?
Yes, that is correct. Best of success with your Prosciutto!
Yup I'm one of those woundering people 😋🇺🇸
Thanks for taking the time to watch my video. Have a great day!
Great video. Is it okay to not use any nitrates?
Yes you can cure prosciutto without nitrates, just salt will work fine.
that's what i forgot to do to put a cinder block i hope it comes out good otherwise 2 prosciutto's down the drain
Hello John, How long do you recommend hanging an 8 pound pork loin prepared as proscuitto?
Hello Jeff, I have not done a pork loin in that fashion so I do not what to guess at a time frame. Perhaps you can find the answer on a google search? Best of success with it!
Hi will you sell any? I would love to buy one.
Hello John, how do you maintain moisture of the region from which you are slicing? I’m now applying a thin coating of smoked pork fat.
When the prociutto is fully cured and I'm ready to use it I will slice some for eating over the next couple of weeks, and break down the rest of the ham into smaller chunks that I vacume pack for later slicing and use.
Cool that you don’t bake it, cook it or boil it. You just put it in a cool place and let it dry
There's no fat on that ham
What happens if you don't cut the meat back to the bone? I bought a pork leg and salted. I did't cut the meat back to the bone. Is that ok?
It should still work out okay for you. You'll probably just have more trimming to do at the end once it is cured and you are cutting it up. Best of success with your prosciutto!
That's a cabin? Roughing it eh?
Oh yes, that one pelvis bone....
Does the salt make any difference? Can you use salt that has iodine or anti-caking agents?
Over the years I've used both sea salt and salt with iodine and haven't noticed a difference in the final product. Best of success in your prosciutto making!
Can you make it with bed or venison ?
I've heard of people who have made it with bear, but venison typically lacks having enough fat content. Good luck!
@@inthekitchenwithjohn gotcha
Nope. That leg needs to be completely covered and packed with salt not sprinkled on. Left under salt for 2-3 weeks and it ready for hanging. Sprinkling salt will result in a salty Prosciutto.
Just make it a lot of talking
wasting time
You’re a waste