Things You'll Need
1 pork leg with bone
8.5 oz. Demura sugar
12 oz. coarse sea salt
1 oz. Cure 2
Saran wrap
Tepid water
Paper towels
Meat hook
1.5 oz. coarse ground black pepper
10 oz. lard
If you love the taste of an authentic Italian Parma ham, then try making your own at home. Parma ham, otherwise referred to as prosciutto ham, ages for months and obtains a rich flavor from the seasonings used during the curing process. The salt used in the curing process helps preserve the ham. Before the invention of refrigerators, it was common for people to cure their meat. While technology has eliminated the necessity of curing foods, many continue to cure their own ham and various other meats to keep the tradition alive and enjoy the succulent taste that curing provides.
Step 1
Place the pork leg in the refrigerator overnight. Chilling the meat helps it to absorbs the cure and flavors, ensuring that it will cure properly.
Video of the Day
Step 2
Combine the sugar, sea salt and Cure two. This creates the cure mixture for the Parma ham. Cure two, referred to as Prague Powder 2, aids in the dry curing process. The mixture of salt, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite keeps the meat safe from harmful bacteria.
Step 3
Rub half of the cure mixture into the meat. Make sure that it gets into all crevices.
Step 4
Wrap the pork leg tightly in saran wrap. Place the pork in the refrigerator for 15 days. Keep the temperature between 34 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 5
Remove the saran wrap from the pork leg. Allow any excess water to drain from the ham. Rub the meat with the rest of the cure mixture.
Step 6
Rewrap the ham with saran wrap. Place it back in the refrigerator for another 15 days.
Step 7
Unwrap the ham. Soak the ham in tepid water. Make tepid water by combining 2 parts cold water with 1 part boiling water. Allow the ham to soak for 30 minutes.
Step 8
Dry the ham with paper towels. Place a meat hook through the pork's foot and hang it in the refrigerator for six hours. You may need to place a piece of wood in your refrigerator to support the weight of the hanging pork leg.
Step 9
Remove the ham from the refrigerator. Hang the Parma ham in a cool room for three days with a temperature no greater than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. You will want to keep the ham away from harmful chemicals, so try hanging it in an aired cupboard.
Step 10
Combine the coarse black pepper with lard. Rub the lard and pepper mixture over the meat side of the leg. This creates suino which protects the ham from flies and from drying out too fast (and from smelling too bad). Once you lather the meat with the lard, hang the ham for another 30 days at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 percent relative humidity. Use an air humidifier to help you achieve the appropriate level.
Step 11
Cure the leg up to two months. Remove the bone and vacuum seal the meat. Freeze the meat until you're ready to consume.
Tip
If you notice mold forming on the meat, you will need to pack additional salt into that crevice. Remove the mold and add more salt to keep any bacteria from growing.
Video of the Day