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To Salt Hams

To Salt Hams is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic method of curing hams by salting in a mix of sea salt and common salt with treacle and saltpetre before smoking and storing. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: To Cure Hams.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

50 minutes

Additional Time:

(+7 weeks brining and smoking)

Serves:

10–12

Rating:

Tags : Pork RecipesBritish Recipes

This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.

Original Recipe

TO SALT TWO HAMS, about 12 or 15 lbs. each.

817. INGREDIENTS.—2 lbs. of treacle, 1/2 lb. of saltpetre, 1 lb. of bay-salt, 2 pounds of common salt.

Mode.—Two days before they are put into pickle, rub the hams well with salt, to draw away all slime and blood. Throw what comes from them away, and then rub them with treacle, saltpetre, and salt. Lay them in a deep pan, and let them remain one day; boil the above proportion of treacle, saltpetre, bay-salt, and common salt for 1/4 hour, and pour this pickle boiling hot over the hams: there should be sufficient of it to cover them. For a day or two rub them well with it; afterwards they will only require turning. They ought to remain in this pickle for 3 weeks or a month, and then be sent to be smoked, which will take nearly or quite a month to do. An ox-tongue pickled in this way is most excellent, to be eaten either green or smoked.

Time.—To remain in the pickle 3 weeks or a month; to be smoked about a month.

Seasonable from October to March.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

2 fresh hams, about 6.5kg each
1kg treacle
6g saltpetre (0.5g per 1kg meat)
550g sea salt
1kg rock salt

Method:

Take fresh hams, straight from the pig, rub liberally with salt, place in a large pan and set aside in a cool place for 2 days to allow all the blood to drain from them. Discard the brine then rub well with the treacle, saltpetre and salt (just enough to coat). Lay in a deep pan that's large enough to hold them and set aside in a a cool place for 24 hours.

Combine the treacle, saltpetre, sea salt and salt (as above) in a pan. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 15 minutes then pour over the hams (there should be enough to completely cover them). Set aside in a cool place and for 2 days rub the mixture well into the hams. After this time, turn the hams every day for 3 weeks.

After this time, clean off the hams then cold smoke for up to 1 month before storing.

For the an example of how you can make a home-made cold smoker with modern materials, see the article on: making a home-made cold smoker.

Find more Mrs Beeton Recipes Hereand more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here.