trying to cure roe haunches

charlie 1

Well-Known Member
Guys I need some advise I am at the moment trying to cure two roe haunches and iam just looking for advice. I have salted them with a cure mix and they are in the fridge, I have done a couple of searches on the web and they all seam to go in the same direction but I prefer to hear from people that have done it not just read about it. Any help will be taken on.
What I have done so far is to hang the haunches for 3 days, and then I salted them and wrapped them in cling film. The plan then was to leave them for 15 days re-rub them and wrap again for another 15 days. After that I am at a bit of a loss, do I hot or cold smoke them if so for how long, or do I air dry them and if so what do I do?

charlie
 
I tried curing a wild boar leg using a Hugh Fernly Whitingstall salt mix and then air drying it. It was edible, but very salty and I think I put too much weight on it when it was salting. Would like to try a haunch but never got round too it. Smoking sounds like an option. I think he smoked a ham in the River Cottage Chimney once. He has a website and you can ask questions but I can only put up with small doses of tv chefs. A friend makes very good jerky/ biltong using an air dryer and flavouring mix. Good luck!



=charlie 1;309293]Guys I need some advise I am at the moment trying to cure two roe haunches and iam just looking for advice. I have salted them with a cure mix and they are in the fridge, I have done a couple of searches on the web and they all seam to go in the same direction but I prefer to hear from people that have done it not just read about it. Any help will be taken on.
What I have done so far is to hang the haunches for 3 days, and then I salted them and wrapped them in cling film. The plan then was to leave them for 15 days re-rub them and wrap again for another 15 days. After that I am at a bit of a loss, do I hot or cold smoke them if so for how long, or do I air dry them and if so what do I do?

charlie[/QUOTE]
 
That was the mistake i did, too heavy weight and too much salt made it taste horrible and tough, so i never tried again although i am sure it could be done, just not by me.
Cheers
Richard
 
What have you used to cure the haunch? If its just salt as a dry cure it will be über salty! I cure mine in a brine and inject it deep into the muscle. I use a mixture of Cure #1 or Prague powder with peppercorns bay and a couple of other bits. I make pastrami out of it and I can safely say there is NOTHING that comes close to it! Cure takes 3 days.

I will post the recepie if you like but I warn you once your family and friends try it you will be in high demand!

Here is the recipe by Len Poli - http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/Pastrami.pdf
 
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For the cure I used in almost equal amounts, salt, mesquite BBQ rub, brown sugar and a hand full of Cajun spice. It’s a rub that I have used on pork ribs before I have hot smoked them in the past, and it turned out ok. I have not tried to cure any thing before let alone venison. Here is the real kicker I am away from home just now and won’t be back until the cure time is up, so I can’t change any thing till I get back, at which time it will be to late or just right.
One of the guys I work with recommend cold smoking one for 8 hours and then air drying it for 90 days like you would a Palma ham, when I looked for ways to do a palma ham it calls to rub lard on to the meat side of the pork ham, as you know a haunch has no skin on it so would I have to cover the entire thing? I don't know any thing about the air drying, is it a simple case of hanging it in a room with good air flow with some thing to keep the fly’s off?

charlie
 
For the cure I used in almost equal amounts, salt, mesquite BBQ rub, brown sugar and a hand full of Cajun spice. It’s a rub that I have used on pork ribs before I have hot smoked them in the past, and it turned out ok. I have not tried to cure any thing before let alone venison. Here is the real kicker I am away from home just now and won’t be back until the cure time is up, so I can’t change any thing till I get back, at which time it will be to late or just right.
One of the guys I work with recommend cold smoking one for 8 hours and then air drying it for 90 days like you would a Palma ham, when I looked for ways to do a palma ham it calls to rub lard on to the meat side of the pork ham, as you know a haunch has no skin on it so would I have to cover the entire thing? I don't know any thing about the air drying, is it a simple case of hanging it in a room with good air flow with some thing to keep the fly’s off?

charlie

You could air dry it as long as the cure has been 100% effective or you could do like a boiled ham, simmer for a couple of hours then roast. The lard is to prevent rapid moisture loss but remember lard will go rancid and need to be trimmed before eating.
 
Air Drying Venison

You could try making your venison into Bressoala. This is a cured meat usually topside of beef marinated then wrapped in muslin and hung in a cold well ventilated room for several days.
It is usually sliced wafer thin with a meaux mustard and creme fresh dressing on the side.
If you Google "Bressoala marinade" there are recipes available. I used to boil the marinade then let it go cold before putting the meat in but most of the on-line recipes don't.

If you want to use the meat from the haunch then I would bone it out and use one of the larger muscles, I would avoid using bone in meat as it is not a regular shape and you will end up trimming off too much over cured meat. Ideally you want a regular shaped piece of meat that will cure evenly.

The other thing to be careful of is curing time - the recipes will state a weight for the meat if the weight is reduced then this will effect the curing time.

Experiment until you get it right and you will be pleased with the results.
 
What are you trying to achieve/ Do you want something that resembles salt beef that will need to be cooked by boiling or Parma ham to slice and eat uncooked. (Wet or Dry salting). If you want dry curing then use the Bressoala recipe. You might be better off getting the meat cured by a butcher if you want it wet curing.
 
As per the original post I have two haunches in a dry cure just now, I would really like to have them end up as a Parma ham. but I am not to sure as to the method after the cure, I think I am going to cold smoke them for 1 day as I have been told that it helps in the curing and keeps the fly’s away, and then try to air dry them.
so any tips on air drying would be fantastic.
charlie
 
If you want the Parma ham product keep them out of the fridge and don't wrap in cling film - the object is to reduce the waster content fridges are very humid environments and cling film will hold in moisture.
If you want moisture out wrap in clean musling and hang the meat in a cold well ventilated room this will absorb the liquid drawn out of the meat by the salt.
If you want to keep the flies at bay constuct a flyproof screen/box with fine mesh. You really ought to try the Bressoala recipes it's safer and less fraught with potential problems than straight salt drying and of course the flavour is magnificent. you need to turn the meat in the marinade every day until there is a definite and distinct firmness in the feel of the meat. The outside will look good. Wrap in muslin and hang for about 7-8 days by which time the outer surface will take on the colour and texture of an ageing ogre's d**k.
When I used to make this and flies unfortunate enough to land on the muslin usually died. Like all traditional craft based preservation processes you learn from trial and error and by learning to judge using sight, touch taste etc. Start off with one haunch and if you cock it up then you have another to try again with. Experimentation is the name of the game, no recipe book can transfer that wisdom/knowledge.
I used to be a Chef and ended up teaching in one of the best Colleges in the UK and this enabled me to work with and visit many hotels/restaurants to speak to and learn from some excellent craftsmen.
You will find several recipes for bressoala on the internet - give it a whirl!
 
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