Cold smoked ham from the smoker

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 50 g curing salt
• 1 tsp, levelled sugar
• 5 juniper berries, crushed
• 2 cloves, ground
• n. B. Pfeffer
• n. B. Paprika powder, sweet
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 1 kg pork (neck, shoulder, hip, leg)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest period approx. 21 days; Total time approx. 21 days 1 hour

The quantities given for the spice mix refer to one kilogram of meat. You can, of course, use heavier cuts of meat. In our first attempt, we used 1.3 kg of pork rump. We use a UDS smoker. Curing: Mix the spices and sugar. Chop the bay leaf and rub the mixture thoroughly into the meat. Care must be taken to ensure that the curing mix also gets into the folds and crevices of the meat. The meat is then vacuum-sealed. Simply add the remaining spice mix to the bag. The meat is then refrigerated and left there for approximately one week per kilogram. Soaking: After curing, rinse the spice mix thoroughly. With this amount of salt, I recommend soaking the ham for four hours, i.e., placing it in water and changing the water every two hours. Without soaking, the ham was very salty afterward. Tip: After opening the vacuum bag, take a quick sniff to see if anything has gone wrong and the meat has gone bad. Searing: After soaking, dry the meat thoroughly (!) and then hang it up for searing. This ensures that the salt is distributed from the edges throughout the meat. As a rule of thumb, the curing time is half the curing time. This is best done in a dry, not too warm place, such as a basement or storage room. Smoking: Cold smoke with a “sparing burn” in a smoker or smoker at 15-20°C (59-68°F) until you feel the ham has received enough smoke. Tip: If necessary, drape cardboard or aluminum foil over the hanging piece(s) of meat in the smoker to prevent any condensation from dripping onto the meat.