Home-Made Ham: Quick-Cured and Chinese Style

Ham is easy to prepare. You can even make a

Chinese style ham and the quick-cured ham
without using costly equipment. For a Chinese-
style ham, you will need 2 pieces of pork legs
weighing 5 kg each. Trim the legs but do not cut
off the feet.

Chinese Style Ham
Prepare the following pumping pickle ingredients:
boiled water 1 cup
saturated salt solution 4 cups
salitre 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon
oil of cloves 1 drop
oil of anise 1 drop
maplein 2 drops
Phos PT 2 1/2 tablespoons
Dissolve the dry ingredients in a small amount of salt solution before mixing with the rest
of the liquid. Then, stir thoroughly and strain the mixture. Now, prepare the following dry-
cure mixture ingredients.
refined salt 3 tablespoon
sugar 1 tablespoon
salitre 1/16 teaspoon
Mix the three ingredients well. Then, with the use of syringe, inject the pickle into the
lean portion, that which is closest to the joints and nearest to the bones. Use 1/2 cup of
pickle solution for every kilogram of meat. With light pressure, massage the legs to
distribute the pickle.
Apply the dry-cure mixture on the skin side and on the fleshy portions of the legs. Place
them on wooden racks. Then, keep inside the middle portion of your refrigerator. on the
15th day, rub the dry cure mixture (this time without salitre) on the pork legs. Store again
inside the refrigerator for 15 days.
After 15 days, take out from cold storage and soak in warm water, scrub to remove
excess salt. Tie the leg at the joint portion with abaca twine or lubid. Dry for seven days
in an artificial dryer maintaining the temperature at 110F until dried. An artificial dryer is
a chamber equipped with heating elements maintained at temperature of 110F to 120F
and relative humidity of 85 per cent. Products dried here give better quality meat than
those dried under the sun.
If you want to age the ham, store it in a clean and well- ventilated but screened room.
Quick-Cured Ham
To prepare this type of ham, you will need 1 to 3 kg of hindleg or shoulder meat. Prepare
the following pumping pickles ingredients.
salt-2 1/2 cups
boiled water 2 1/2 cups
salitre- 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon
Nitrate 1/2 teaspoon + 1/16 teaspoon
sugar 2 1/2 tablespoons
oil of anise 1 drop
oil of cloves 1 drop
ascorbic acid (500 mg)- 5 tablets
Maplein 2 drops
Phos PT 2 1/2 tablespoons
Smoke flavor 1 teaspoon
Mix all dry ingredients first in small amount of salt solution before mixing it with the rest
of the liquid. Stir thoroughly and strain. Prepare the following dry-cure mixture (for every
kg of meat).
Salitre- 1/16 teaspoon
ascorbic acid 1/2 tablet
phosphate 1/4 tablespoon
Mix these ingredients well. Then, for approximately 1 kg of meat, inject 1/2 cup of pickle.
Next, apply the dry-cure mixture all over the meat. For a quick ham, cure the meat in a
well-ventilated but screened room for 8 hours. If you want to cure it for one week, store
in the refrigerator for 7 days. But if you prefer to store the meat for two weeks, repeat the
application of dry mixture (2 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar) on the 7th
day before storing it again in the refrigerator.
After 15 days take it out from cold storage and wash. Drain, then roll and tie with a piece
of rope or lubid. If you will not cook it immediately, store in refrigerator.
How to Cook Ham
Wash the ham with clean water to remove excess salt. Cut off the leg of the Chinese-
style ham and par- boil (boiling for about five minutes) in water. This is done before final
cooking to further remove excess salt. Change the water for final cooking. Quick-cured
ham needs no parboiling. Prepare these spices (good for every 2 kg of meat).
white sugar 1/2
brown sugar 2 cups
beer 1 bottle
laurel leaves 2 pieces
a few leaves of oregano
Submerge ham in water and add the spices. Cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours over a low fire.
The skin separates from the fat when the ham is already cooked. Cover the fat side with
brown sugar. Remove the skin of the Chinese-style ham before rubbing the brown
sugar. Then, caramelize the sugar using a hot iron Sianse.
You can buy all the meat processing ingredients at:
Ultima Entrepinoy Forum Center
Nutrition Foundation of the Philippines Bldg.
#107 E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave., Quezon City
Tel: 411-1349; 742-0826; 742-7866
Email: lulu_sfmh@yahoo.com
Web: www.spicesandfoodmix.com