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BarG

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I take my aged salt / sugar cured hams and soak in water for two days , changing the water twice a day . Then I trim off the dried outter parts . I place it in a big kettle and boil for about four hours .
After cooking on the stove I put blankets in my kitchen sink then place the hot kettle on top of the blankets then cover with more blankets .We call it putting the ham to bed .Leave it overnight and it will still be good and warm the next morning .

Thats the kind of domestic hams I want to learn how to cure.

I grind my wild hogs to sausage except the back strap and an occasional smoked hind quarter. I always keep real iced down after quartering for a few days before processing.

I used to raise a few Blue butts and hampshires each year and I miss that. Those were the best ribs I ever ate.
 

Rayshields

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Thats the kind of domestic hams I want to learn how to cure.

I grind my wild hogs to sausage except the back strap and an occasional smoked hind quarter. I always keep real iced down after quartering for a few days before processing.

I used to raise a few Blue butts and hampshires each year and I miss that. Those were the best ribs I ever ate.
I know Hampshires, but never heard of Blue Butts.
 

BigBonner

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Thats the kind of domestic hams I want to learn how to cure.

I grind my wild hogs to sausage except the back strap and an occasional smoked hind quarter. I always keep real iced down after quartering for a few days before processing.

I used to raise a few Blue butts and hampshires each year and I miss that. Those were the best ribs I ever ate.

For salt curing the hog need to be scalded and hair removed . Trim up the hams , shoulders and midlans .Then rub salt and sugar cure into and all around the meat .I lay a layer of salt down on the meathouse table where they will lay for 6 weeks . I cover a layer of salt all over the tops and sides . The temperature has to stay 45 dgrees or cooler but not frozen .
After curing in salt I always hung mine with wire until the end of march or 1st of april .then coat with Borax and black pepper and wrap with newspaper . Let them age almost one year on shoulders and 1 full to 2 years on the hams in the meat house . Midlans I like 2 to three months .
 

BarG

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For how long do you have to remain a 45 degree temp. I think in the deeper south it would be a different type cure. I believe here your soaking in brine and covering in grease or fat to achieve the same thing.


Ive' heard the same thing about hanging venison and scraping the green mold off. Its supposed to mean the meats real tender.
 

Brown Thumb

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I gots lots of ground hogs, biggens ones, we fill the one end of the hole with gas and Blow them out!! Sounds like a Cannon.
Anybody have a good recipe?
 

johnlee1933

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I have been planning a smoke house for a while now. Yesterday I scored a whole lot of free 3" knotty pine boards 6' long and the project is heating up. The house will be ~ 4' square X 8' tall with a cement block base and shed roof. The house will be as air tight as I can make it. Three levels of block will be loose laid, filled with dry mortar mix, the anchor bolts set and then wet the mix to set it. The floor will be loose laid bricks or bare earth.

Now the vent is the question. I considering having the inlet low on one side and the outlet low on the other side. The warm smoke will enter on one side, rise thru the house and cool air vent on the other side. I plan to used a dead charcoal grill and some 4" stove pipe to feed the smoke to the house. To fire it up I'll just life the lid and build my fire. When it's down to coals I'll add my corn cobs and green wood and close the cover. Both inlet and outlet will be covered with 1/2" hardware cloth to keep the critters out. The door edges will have more of the same for the same reason.

An old fridge set at 48 F degrees will be my brinning cooler with a 30 gallon food grade plastic barrel to hold the brine and meat. From what I read the brinning time is ~ 4 weeks. I plan to roll the brined meat in black pepper before I smoke it.Any of you guys see any holes in my plan?

Any experience, critique, suggestions or additions will be welcome.

Thanks,

John
 

Rayshields

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John, I've never used corn cobs to smoke. We sometimes use them to start the fire, but we do that outside the smoke house...about 8x10 and 100+ years old. Once the fire is started we add green hickory and cover with ashes and put it in the smoke house. My only concern is the knotty pine. You might need to smoke this thing a few times before you put any meat in it to cover the piney aroma. The old smokehouse is not air tight and has no vent. Smoke comes out under the eaves, air leaks in around the door (near the fire)

My own smoke chamber has a remote fire box also with worn out bar b que grill for fire chamber. If you locate it down slope and about 10 feet away you will have a nice cool smoke. Good luck.
 

FmGrowit

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If you're smoking for flavor, you should "hot smoke" your food. If you're smoking to preserve the meat, you should go with a cold smoker. Cold smoking is the most traditional way of smoking and takes days to weeks to complete...it's more of a dehydration method, but it does impart flavor to anything you put in.

I had a 10' x 12' building that I put 4 hogs in at one time. The hams take a month to cure before they even go in the smoker. Bacon only takes a few days to cure. I started with an old wood stove on the outside of the building and ended up with a fire on the floor right in the middle of the building.

I wouldn't consider this cold smoking, but damn was it good. Just put everything in the freezer when you're done. Dehydrated (cold smoked) ham isn't nearly as good in my opinio
 

BarG

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My climate doesn't permit hanging meat for any length of time even in winter generaly, It's to unpredictable for the low temps required. In my opinion though I don't believe a smoke house needs to be air tight. Just let the smoke filter out without saturating and drying out to fast. Your design is totaly different than the quick smoke method I use for not preserving on hams and sausauge but flavor. I do use for jerky also. One of my favorite woods has been pecan. I can give about 3/8-1/2" depth smoke in a matter of hours on a hind quarter and hang in the kithen for a few hours to cool down before freezing and the whole house will smell like maple syrup.
 

johnlee1933

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John, my computer has been down for a good while. Sorry for taking so long to respond. I have dry packed bacon, pea meal bacon. Brined beef tongue and corned beef tongue. Smoked the bacon and brined beef tongue as well as sausage in casings.

Thanks Ray, Since the post post I scored some concrete blocks and the smokehouse is started. The ground is leveled and the first of the blocks have been set. I just got back from picking up the rest of the blocks and should get them set tomorrow. I'm taking pics as I go along and when it is finished I'll post a few. I can get fresh boneless pork shoulder for under $2/lb. I think I'll make up a couple of Canadian bacon's and brine them along with the pork bellies and see if I like the result. I'm going to use Hickory and apple wood for my smoke. That'll be the first batch to see if I have wasted my time or have something I enjoy.

There are a zillion brine recipes. Water, salt, brown sugar and cure are the basics. Do you add spices and if so what?

John
 

johnlee1933

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OK guys, the smoke house is finished. It's been a fun project that cost very little except time.


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Progressive pics from flat ground covered with link chain fencing (critter proofing) to dry laid concrete blocks (8" 10" 12 " whatever I had around ). I stuffed the holes with link chain wire and 2" X 3,s" and then poured them full of dry concrete mix. I then wet the whole works and let it sit over night. The plate is held down with 4" screws thru the plate into the 2" X 3",s. Then rough frame, knotty pine siding and roof. Add shingles on the roof, a door, hinges and a hasp & padlock and it's done. Like Ray the burner is a converted dead gas grill from the dump and some 4" smoke pipe. The little smoke stack you see is so I can vent starting smoke and heat. Once the fire is coals I'll add hickory and damp hickory sawdust, close the top and regulate the draft with the damper. It got tired out this afternoon so tomorrow will be first burn testing. If all goes as planned I'll screw all the piping together and aside from inside racks I'm finished.

I have a good brine recipe but could always use another. I have an estimate of 5 days for brining sow belly before smoking. If anybody knows for sure of how long I should do it I would appreciate being told. The brining will be done at 40 deg. F. I got an old fridge free and added extra insulation to make it more efficient. I have 3 gallon food grade buckets and a 20 gallon food grade drum I cut the head off. I'm not real sure which I will use. Guess it depends on how much I want to cure.

John
 

Steve2md

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Man I wish you were closer. I'm getting ready for an all you can shoot feral hog hunt next month (AZ don't like hogs running around) and would love to have a bunch of bacon done. Try throwing a little pecan in that smoker as well...you won't regret it. Stay away from mesquite though, unless you only use it at the very end. Mesquite smoke can be very astringent tasting on long smokes
 
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