A recent trip to the store presented me with a beautiful selection of hams, recently brought in by a local pig farmer. As I picked out the one I wanted, the butcher said, “You realize that these hams have not been cured.” No, I did not. I asked for him to explain.
He told me that most of the hams that you buy have already been both cured and cooked—so they’re ready to eat. But he was selling leg joints—the part of the pig from where we get our hams—which had not been cured, let alone cooked. And in order for them to get that classic salty, sweet taste of ham, they would have to be cured first before baking.
My grandparents have told me stories about the hams their parents used to slow cure in the smokehouse. This ham, which after being coated in salt, sugar and black pepper, was hung and left to develop for almost a year. And the result was a delicate, supple meat similar to prosciutto. This is what’s known as country ham.
But the hams that we more often see at the grocery store have been cured in a wet brine for only a few days and then cooked, which leaves it with a more juicy yet chewy texture. This is what’s known as city ham. I don’t have a smokehouse nor do I have a cold basement to cure a country ham, so I decided to make a city ham instead. And you know what? It’s pretty darn easy!
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