Cold-smoked wild boar ham

Ingredients for 10 servings:

• 80 juniper berries
• 30 g black pepper
• 20 g sugar
• 20 g coriander
• 10 g garlic powder
• 20 g mustard seeds
• 10 g all-spice
• 1 bay leaf
• 400 g curing salt
• 10 kg wild boar leg(s)

Instructions

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

with spice mix “in stock”

Notes: – Any other suitable cut of meat can be used instead of the leg, such as neck, shoulder, or rump. – The quantities given for the spice mix are based on 10 kg of meat and can be converted to the existing meat weight. If preparing the entire amount “in advance,” use 53 g of seasoning and salt mix per kg of meat. Step 1: Seasoning and salt mix. Grind or crush the ingredients if you are not using ground ingredients, and mix everything together. Step 2: Cure the meat. Trim the meat if necessary, wash it, and dry it thoroughly, then rub the mixture all over it, vacuum seal it, and refrigerate it. The curing time in the refrigerator depends on the cut of meat. As a rule of thumb, I use 2 days per centimeter of meat thickness + 3 days. This usually gives you 2-3 weeks. Turn the piece of meat over several times during this time. Step 3: Soaking. After curing, rinse the seasoning mix thoroughly. With this amount of salt, I recommend soaking the ham in water for 4 hours, meaning soaking it in water and changing the water every 2 hours. Without soaking, the ham would be very salty afterward. Tip: After opening the vacuum bag, take a quick sniff to see if anything went wrong and the meat has gone bad. Step 4: “Searing” After soaking, the meat is thoroughly (!) dried and then hung up for the soaking process. This ensures that the salt in the meat is distributed from the edges throughout the meat. As a rule of thumb, half the curing time is used. This is best done in a dry, not too warm place, such as a cellar or storage room. Step 5: Smoking. Using a “sparing burn” in a smoker or smoker at 15-20°C, smoke repeatedly until you feel the ham has received enough smoke. Tip: If necessary, drape a piece of cardboard or aluminum foil over the hanging piece(s) of meat in the smoker to prevent any condensation from dripping onto the meat.