This is an old Canadian Prairie recipe for smoking ham and bacon.
Ingredients
• 50 kg (100 lb) Ham or Bacon
• 4 kg (8 lb) Salt
• 1.5 kg (3 lb) Sugar
• 60 ml (2 oz) Saltpetre
• 16 l (4 gal) of hot water, approximately
Preparation
Make brine by mixing the salt, sugar and saltpetre in hot water until
completely dissolved. Cool the water to the temperature of your meats. Place
meat in a large barrel, skin side down on the bottom and up on the top. Pour
in the brine until meat is completely covered and add weighted cover to keep
the meat submersed. This recipe should take about 28 days to cure. After 7
days remove your meat. Scald the barrel with boiling water and reload with
the a new brine, made from 1/3 less ingredients, and the meat. Repeat this
process every 7 days for a month using 1/3 less ingredients in the brine
each time. Store at approximately 5°C (40°F). If stored at too cold a
temperature the meat will not take the cure, too warm the brine will start
to ferment causing the meat to taste sour. After the 28th day remove meat
from the brine and allow it to dry.
Smoking Method
Place meat in the Bradley Smoker and smoke with Maple flavor bisquettes. If
the temperature is 25°C to 30°C (80°F to 90°F) smoke for 3 to 4 days; 40°C
to 50°C (100°F to 120°F) smoke for 3 days. Too much heat causes the meat to
shrink. Your hams are ready to be cooked.
Note: This recipe is designed for a large smokehouse however it can be
modified for smaller portions of meat that will fit in
the Bradley Smoker/Smokehouse.
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