Make your own ‘Parma’ ham (at home)
If you’d like to know how you can make a simple Parma ham in the comfort of your own home, simply follow the step by step instructions below and without too much difficulty you should achieve some fantastic results.
Parma ham is one of Italy’s most famous food products, this method gives a faithful reproduction and is simple to follow but both the method and ingredients must be followed closely to avoid spoilage and food poisoning!
Firstly let me point out that it’s important to keep the meat in an airtight container or plastic wrapped for the duration of the curing process to stop any dampness getting to the meat and making it go bad.
I would suggest that if this is your first attemt, that you try with a smaller piece of pork as the curing times will be less and if it all goes horribly wrong you won’t be too much out of pocket. For anyone that has past experience in curing meat you may want to try to cure a full leg, including the leg bone!
OK, so lets get started:
You will need:
• 1 piece of pork. Leg, loin, or even belly will do.
• Cure mixture for the Ham, this includes the right amount of salt and seasoning to ensure you have a better chance of success. You can make your own cure using the following ingredients:
250 grammes Demerara sugar
350 grammes coarse sea salt
25 grammes cure 2 (alternative name Prague powder 2)
40 grammes coarse ground black pepper
10 grammes ground juniper berries
25 grammes ground garlic powder
Total weight of cure is 700 grammes, this will cure 8 kilos of meat, i.e. use 87.5 grammes of cure per kilo of meat.
Method:
1.Chill the meat overnight
2.Rub the meat with half of the cure mixture, if using a boned joint ensure that the inner surface of the meat is properly coated, massage the cure into any crevices.
3.Wrap the meat tightly in cling film or seal in a Ziploc bag or vacuum pack and leave in the fridge for 15 days.
4.Unwrap the meat and repeat step 2 with the remaining cure mixture.
5. Leave the meat to cure for another 15 days.
6.Unwrap the meat and leave to soak in tepid water for half an hour.
7.hang the ham for 6 hours in a fridge or draughty cool room.
8.Hang the ham in a warm room for 3 days, (an airing cupboard is ideal).
9. Smear the meat side of the ham with a mixture of lard and black pepper.
10..Hang the ham for a minimum of 30 days at 15 degrees Celsius with a 70% relative humidity.