The first part of the process was to 'salt' the haunch in a bowl. This was done using table salt and gently covered the joint all round.
This salting process took about three weeks, and initially the salt was replaced every couple of days until the moisture stopped leaching from the joint, which in reality was about two weeks, and then left with a covering for around another week.
Finally the joint was removed and any excess salt was brushed off, and the smoker was made ready. I decide to smoked the joint, thinking this might give it a better flavour and assist in the curing process.
For a fuel source I used Cherry chips. the intention is to cold smoke the joint as we do not wish to cook the joint, but just to add flavour.
A careful eye was kept on the temperature, and made sure that the chips did not need replenishing. I got it just about right and smoked for about three hours.Once finished smoking, the joint was wrapped in muslin and hung in a cool airy place. In this instance our pantry was used.
After three months of hanging this is the result.
The 'ham' was taken out of the muslin and as much salt crusting as possible was brushed off. The ham had become completely set and was as hard to slice as parma ham, and because of its texture was best to slice very thinly.Once sliced I trimmed off the salt crust.The flavour was very tasty and quite a lot like jerky, but I must say it was a bit too salty. I found the best way to eat it was to cut it into thin strips and have with a beer or whisky, very similar to how you would have dried squid as a snack with a drink. Even though it was a bit salty tasting it didn't last long!
What would I do next time? Well now I know that the principle works I would use a larger haunch, probably not use as much salt and possibly only carry out this process for two weeks. I might also consider hanging it for two months instead of three, but weather and temperature might play an important part in this. If I have not covered everything or you want to have a go, but are not sure about something, contact me and I'll try to help - good luck.
