Ham, Bacon & Gammon

Ham is the most distinctive of all cured products, universally popular and may be eaten raw or braised or boiled or roasted.

The term used describes specifically the hind leg of a pig above the hock joint cut from the carcass and cured. GAMMON is also from the leg but is cured while still attached to the side of the carcass.

•  Ham in its more general meaning of the hind leg is applied to cured meat made from other animal, including wild boar mutton, goat venison and even badger
• The process of curing all hams being with salting. This may be done with dry salt or brine, or a combination of the two. Wet cures penetrate the meat more quickly.
• The flavour of Ham depends on many factors breed and age of pigs, its diet, kind of wood burned for smoking the meat, and the length of the time it is aged.
• The interplay of these factors give Ham a diversity almost as rich as that of wine or cheese.
• A good ham should be plumb with an ample, though not too thick layer of fat under the rind.
• The method of curing hams was also done by the Chinese, where the province of Yunnan is known for fine quality hams.

There are two main types of cured Hams :-

1.                    Those eaten raw and

2.                    Those eaten cooked

Hams eaten raw

When eaten raw they are usually served finely sliced. They are cured, matured and dried, they may be smoked. Although they are suitable for serving raw, they may be used in cooked dishes. These hams are normally dry cured. The most important aspect of the curing process is the MATURING PERIOD.

The maturing period consist of the drying process which may take several months to a year. Only “Certified” pork may be used so as to eliminate the possibility of TRICHINEA bacteria growing. This is done by freezing the pork according to a specific schedule.

 VARIETIES OF RAW HAMS

Jambon d “Ardennes- The best known Belgian ham smoked to dark brown.

Jambon de Byaonne

             French smoked Ham with a smoky flavour and brown exterior made around Orthez and Peyrechorade east of the ancient port city of Bayonne. The red seal guarantees that the ham comes from good quality Carcasses that has been rubbed with a mixture of salt from Salies-de-Béarn, saltpetre, sugar, pepper and aromatic herbs and has been dried fro 130-180 days.

eg. Jamón ibérico, Spanish from the native Iberain pig, which is reared in the woodlands of south and Western. Spain, also known as PATA NEGRA (black trotters).

Jamón Serrano –Mountain Ham- produced from white pigs especially large, white, landrace, Belgian white species,

 Knochenschinken „ham on the bone‟- a hard heavily smoked, German ham.

 Landrauch „country smoked‟ a heavily smoked and dry German ham.

 Prosciutto di Parma This ham is the most famous of raw hams because of its delicate taste. These hams are dry cured and matured without smoking for at least eight months and sometimes two years. Connoisseurs are very fond of the ham from San Daniele and Langhirano near PARMA. also known as prosciutto crudo de Parma

 Westfalishe schinken Westphalian ham- is protected by a trade mark- it is dry salted, then        brined, scrubbed with cold water to reduce its saltiness and cold smoked

                   over strongly resinous wood, like beech and juniper wood and juniper berries, then dried,                      it is dense textured and brown in colour.

      Mainz Ham is brined, desalted, soaked in brandy or wine lees and cold smoked for a long period.

COOKED HAMS

Hams to be served cooked are cured by traditional methods usually having a high salt content and have to be soaked several hours before cooking.

The best hams are salted by injecting the brine into the veins before the joint is boned. It is then put in brine for four days. The drained ham should be brought to the boil in fresh water. Jest as the water boils it should be drained away and fresh water added. When the water boils and the scum has been skimmed off, flavouring agents such as onions, vegetables, a bouquet garni, peppercorns, are added.

The ham is then simmered gently, alternatively it may be baked a combination of boiling for half the time and then baking gives excellent results.

v  As a guide cooking times are calculated at 40 minutes. per kg, plus an extra 40 minutes.

v  Cooking hams are also produced commercially by pressing into a mould before steaming e.g. block shaped PARIS Ham.

Examples

v  York Ham. One of the best known cooked hams. Traditionally. it is dry salted, smoked over oak and matured for 3 to 4 months. It is cooked on the bone either in stock or steamed. It can be served hot or cold, accompanied by Madeira or port sauce and spinach.

  v  VIRGINIA HAMS is a general term for a ham made from the meat of hogs fed on acorns, peanuts and peaches. Dry cured in barrels for several weeks, they are then coated with molasses, pepper and brown sugar. They are cured for a further two weeks and then hung to dry slowly for 10-12 months. Some varieties are also smoked over very aromatic woods such as hickory and matured for up to a year. This involved process gives the ham a distinct flavour and deep reddish brown colour.

v  SMITHFIELD HAM is a trade name for a variety of Virginia Ham, available only from Smithfield Virginia. They are dry cured for several months resulting in a dense, dark, red meat. They are not smoked.

   v  Williamsburg ham is a milder version of Smithfield Ham.

      v  Pennsylvania ham is brine cured. It is pickled in vinegar & sugar, then smoked over apple or             hickory wood resulting in a fully cooked ham. Prosciutto (PARMA) COTTO, a cooked                       version of prosciutto Crudo, which takes less time to produce and less expensive.

CANNED HAMS are available for Holland, Denmark and Poland they may or not be smoked. No refrigeration is required if they are sterilized.

PRAGUE HAM is the most celebrated European Ham from Czechoslovakia. It is sweet cured and smoked over beech. If raw it must be cooked before service it is also available cooked.

Nutritionally ham has a fat content of 2 to 5% and has 300 kcal/100 gms when  cooked and 380 kcal/100 gms when raw.

GAMMON

Gammon is also from the hind leg of pork but is separated from the carcass after salting. It may be smoked or left un smoked.

BACON

The side of a pig cured with salt in a single piece. Bacon is peculiarly a product of the British Isles, or is produced abroad especially in Denmark. Bacon held a place of primary importance in the British diet in past centuries. Large scale bacon curing business was set up in the 1770‟s by John Harris in Wiltshire, still a bacon centre. The standard commercial method of curing bacon is known as the Wiltshire cure. This was originally a dry cure.

The prepared sides of the pig, legs still on, were strewn with salt and stacked skin side down. After two weeks the salt was brushed aside and the sides matured for a week before packing.

In modern times the sides are both injected and immersed in brine in place of dry salt and smoked. A Wiltshire side is a large piece of meat and is divided up for various purposes. The shoulder yields the cheapest bacon, the most valued is back and streaky bacon from the loin and belly respectively. The leg yields Gammon and the other parts of the side may be used as “boiling bacon”. The breeds of pig used for bacon are hybrids of Yorkshire large and Landrace. The French use the term lard to mean any kind of bacon. Streaky bacon is termed

„Lard de poitrine (fumé is added if it is smoked). The German word for bacon is speck LACHSSCHINKEN  speck  for  back  bacon.  The  Italian  use  streaky  bacon  and  call  it

PANCETTA. The Spanish call streaky bacon TOCINO. American bacon is cured meat from the belly of hog, which has particularly soft fat which allows the bacon to become crisp on heating.

The word derives from the old French BAKKO which means a piece of salted pork. Bacon remains a gourmet product in the English breakfast. They are sold as thin slices

„Rashers‟ in Britain which are eaten fried, grilled or broiled, especially with eggs. Bacon is a useful flavouring in many dishes such as casseroles, stews, salads, charcuterie, Choucroute, etc.

They are also used for barding, larding etc.

Green Bacon are sides of Pork only cured. Bacon is high on calories.

CURING

There are four methods of curing Hams.

i)                    Brine pumping

ii)                  Spray pumping

iii)                Brining

iv)                Dry curing

Brine Pumping

An apparatus similar to a large syringe is filled with the prepared brine. The meat is injected with brine at several points, insuring even distribution. The ham is then immersed in the same brine for three to four days to insure the exterior portions are fully cured.

Spray pumping:

This is done by commercial processors with special pumps. It is also known as stich pumping. The pump has multiple needles and can deliver brine to every part of the Ham‟s interior in one step. Both types of pumping are considered the best method for curing ham and is combined with immersion to produce the best results.

 Brining:

By immersion only is done for small pieces of Ham. It is not a method which can be used for large joints of ham, because the interior may spoil before the cure has a chance to reach it.

Dry Curing: is done by rubbing the cure mixture thoroughly into the ham. Several hams are cured by stacking them in a barrel the dry cure mix is the same as brine minus liquid