Blackstrap Molasses Country Ham - Smoked Virginia Country Ham

Posted by Big Dog at 4/16/2009 4:21 PM
Categories: Projects


Mmmmm....  Smoked Blackstrap Molasses Virginia Country Ham

This is a project that Qfan has been hankering to do since we first met. We had the Prosciutto on the go last year, so two hams being micromanaged was enough, so this recipe and project was backburnered for the time being. However, over Christmas of this year, we talked about going down this road, and to be honest I was very excited; there was something very tempting about a dark molasses ham fortified with dark rum, kissed with heavy hickory smoke and aged for 7+ weeks. The timing is right this time and so I'm all in. 

January always brings a great price in pork legs, so our excuses for delaying this project was over.  We decided to do two hams; one for myself and one for Qfan.  We have been trying to cut back on our pork bill lately, as it was getting out of hand.  We went to our curing bible " Charcuterie" by Ruhlman & Polcyn, as we have never been disappointed in what they have offered.  On page 198 you will find their recipe for this project, which we will post on the end of this blog.

A special trip to the Bulk Barn for blackstrap molasses is required as you will not likely get this flavour profile in your generic molasses. This sugar syrup is boiled at least three times where the majority of sucrose from the original juice has been crystallized but blackstrap molasses is still mostly sugar by calories however, unlike refined sugars, it contains significant amounts of vitamins and minerals.

The next issue is the rum...

O blessed is that wonderful beverage of antiquity, born of the sugarcane and fermented with the by-product of sugar, molasses. To speak of rum, there are several options ranging from light to dark. We have poured a few shots out to give you an idea of the range in colour and taste.


Silly of me, you can't taste it, so we are rolling up our sleeves and doing it for you.

As you would expect, the darker the rum the sweeter the flavour and accompanied by stronger molasses or caramel overtones. Of course, we had to retest our samples to validate our opinions; perhaps an Appletons Estate Reserve, coke and a twist of lime? For the recipe it was another easy choice, Goslings Black Seal Rum; sometimes I just hate this job. 

Another beverage please...!

We trimmed out the aitch bone in the legs, prepared the salt and spices and then measured out 24 ounces of Cure # 2. Yes, that is a POUND and ONE HALF of cure #2 for thirty pounds of pork.  The directions on the package says 4 ounces for 100 pounds. If my math is correct, that would mean we have enough cure for 450 pounds of pork. Qfan and I are beginning to think,  "That's got to be a typo in the book, that is just nuts!"  We redid our math and referred to the US food industry standards and eventually corrected the amount to 2.4 oz for the two hams.
   

Still feeling uncomfortable with this amount of cure #2, as it is quoted as being a dry-cured product, we contacted the authors and they responded confirming the amounts to their notes. We went out to our respective sources and tried to confirm these amounts. It's funny, there are loads of data out there but the issue comes down on how much curing agent is actually absorbed into the meat and the residual amount left after aging and hanging when some turns to nitrous oxide and evaporates into the air.  HUH!!!

We added the molasses and the rum (as noted in the large glass), and covered our hams. This turned into a very sloppy mix as you can see,  We stored this in our food bins, but in hindsight, they would have done much better in zip bags to ensure coverage. Hey!, I just found another pork leg...
 

We also decided to cure these bad boys beyond the 15 days mentioned in the recipe, and went up to 25 days so the salt would get a chance to do it's thing. We also dropped the curing temperature to protect the ham from bacterial infection, this would also slow the curing process. As we were adding a lot less cure, we would have to rely on the salt to make the magic happen. As the salt drew moisture from within the hams, this turned into almost a brine and required several reapplications to ensure appropriate coverage.


A good 8 hour soak in fresh water and over to our new oven for an 18 hour cold smoke. Traditionally it is hickory and oak smoked but we are opting for a mixture of hickory chips and black cherry chunks, to get a blend of quick burn and slow smolder.  Plus, both Qfan and I are currently enamored with the flavour and colour added by smoking cherry wood.

I was a little concerned on how our new smoker would work, 18 hours in the cooker is a lot of smoke and if you do not ensure that you have a good flow your project will end up tasting like an ash tray. The best thing to do is to smell your smoke as it leaves the cooker, it should smell clean and nice flavorful smell. If it starting to smell like an ash tray, you have a problem. Well as far as we could tell a good smoke and we will hang these puppies for 9 weeks.     

I just love the colour the cherry wood produces, it was a hard time leaving these alone for the entire drying process. We had a problem with deciding if we have to give them another soak as a traditional ham requires. I guess the best way to find out is to slice one open and give it a try. I picked the centre one as came out the best of the three. I trimmed off most of the dry meat which exposed the beautiful red coloured ham, I just can not express how impressed I am with this type of cure. I packaged up a few pieces and off they go for a quick sample for the group.



The most traditional way to eat this ham is either by the slice or as a whole ham, As these are 22 pounds a pop, I have opted for the slice. You would pan fry it and from the drippings make a red eye gravy. Simply put this southern sauce is nothing but a tablespoon of lard and deglazing the hot pan with coffee, as simple as that. Coffee pan drippings, I'm sure that this is going to fly over real good in my house, nope I'm not telling Barb, I'll just throw some cheese curds on it and say it's some new Montreal recipe.



It was time to sample the fruits of our labour, I took a very generous slice of the ham and into the cast iron frying pan it went. The smell was incredible, the taste, well we let Susie have the first crack at it, the sounds that came out of that girl was down right inexcusable; my goodness I even blushed after hearing that. I could not wait for my turn, it was like I was getting a hit of crack or something else as addicting. Here we are all cowering around a plate of fried country ham steak, moaning and groaning. It's a sick perversion of food that we have been condemned with.

OK enough digressing, the flavour was deep and complex, a little on the salty side as one would expect. I think that if you were to put the red eye gravy on this, it would balance out. As well if you were to cook this ham whole, you would poach it in fluid and that would also allow the salt to subside.

No additional soak in water is required as we debated.  I thought that this might be a bit sweeter with all of the blackstrap, the balance of the rum and spices are perfect, it truly a wonderful experience. This will become a popular fall project with 5 or 6 hams in the works.  A great success...

All I can say is yum, do we have any more of that rum left, another beverage please!



Cheers from the Big Dog




 

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  • 4/24/2009 2:04 AM Jerry wrote:
    They look great.

    I'm trying your bacon recipe. This is their first night curing. This is my second atempt. My first was edible but I overdid it on the salt. I'm using the Tender Quick this time instead of kosher salt and used your ratio. I have high hopes. If it works I'm taking a couple of pounds with me when I fly back home and will be handing them out as gifts.

    Cheers.
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  • 4/28/2009 7:17 AM Dave Witt wrote:
    Another fine project
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  • 2/23/2010 7:59 PM Frank wrote:
    I have the book out and have been making sausages and now making hams from our mule footed hogs. The amount of curing salt stopped me. Glad I found your correction in time!
    Reply to this
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