making ham & bacon

[KFhunter]

Maxing up some brine, 5 gallons at a time, I'll need 15 gallons total.  Doing two hams and a bunch of bacon.

5 gallons water
5c sugar
5c morton flake salt
5 tbsp morton quick cure
1c molasses  (kinda worried about this, last time I used about 1/2C per 5 gallons, but I wanted a bit more of that oaky flavor in it this time. 
1/2C turned out great I had some this afternoon)




I pour in hot water in the bottom, mix it up with an immersion blender to get it all fully emulsified. 




Pour in cold water once the salt and sugar are dissolved in the water, fill the bucket.



The brine only penetrates about an inch, so one must inject



especially important to get it down in next to the bone or you'll end up with brown spots in your ham when you cut it



Add a bag of air to the top



See you next month!


sent from the telephone

[KFhunter]

same deal with wet brine on the bacon, reduce cure time to 14 days max or it gets salty.

[brew]

looks good.  what cut do you use for bacon ?  i've used pork bellies but recently have been using the shoulders (butts) for bigger bacon

[KFhunter]

I'm using bellies off two hogs

[brew]

copy...i need to get back into raising my own pigs again as the bellies i buy from cash & carry aren't very big..maybe 1 1/2" tall max.  I do love making my own bacon...have never made my own hams but those look good.  thanks for sharing

[KFhunter]

I made a Christmas ham last year, burgundy glaze,  it was good. 

Everyone devoured it and left the goose and turkey untouched 

[KFhunter]

copy...i need to get back into raising my own pigs again as the bellies i buy from cash & carry aren't very big..maybe 1 1/2" tall max.  I do love making my own bacon...have never made my own hams but those look good.  thanks for sharing

Some of the belly is 3+ inches thick, I injected it.   When you cut your own hog you can do whatever you like! 

I even made bacon off a boar that would top 600 lbs, injected and brined for 14+ days.  Dang it was good, but chewy...I called it jerky bacon but you'd just chew and chew and chew and the flavor just kept coming. 

[Threewolves]

looks like it would work for bear