QA

Question: How To Cure A Wild Hog Ham

Preparation Scald and scrape the ham. Weigh ham in grams. Rinse ham in bourbon and baste with bourbon several times. Pack the cure into every crevice, using every bit of cure. Store in refrigerator skin side down 2 days for every pound. After cure process, rinse cure off ham with running water.

How do you cure wild hog meat?

The meat is cured so smoking at low temperatures is a safe process. I set my smoker at 140 degrees and let it smoke about 10 hours and then crank the heat up to 165 until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. The entire process takes about 14 hours.

Should I soak wild hog meat?

Soaking butchered hog parts in an ice water bath for a day or two will mellow out the flavor and give the meat a lighter color. Wild hogs have much less fat than domestic pigs. Less fat means they are also less forgiving when cooked.

How long should you brine wild hog?

A large cooler works perfectly – I use a 120 qt cooler and have found it fits wild boar up to 50 lbs easily. Brine for at least 24 hours but 36 hours is preferable. For a basic brine combine ¾ cup table salt per gallon of water or ½ cup pickling salt (dissolves easier) per gallon of water.

Can you get ham from a wild boar?

The flavor of a wild pig ham would be instantly recognizable to the early settlers on Plymouth Rock. Although hams can be dry cured, the process takes many months. At about a week, wet cures are a much faster way to get a wild pig ham ready to bake. Wet cures rely on Instacure #1 to preserve the meat.

How do you salt cure a ham?

Mix salt, red pepper, black pepper and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside, this is your curing mix. With a ham that’s between 36 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, rinse in cold water and pat dry. Put a layer of curing mix ¼” – ½” deep on a tray to act as a bed for the ham. Place the ham on top of the layer of curing mix.

How do you tenderize a wild boar?

Slowly thaw meat the day before and marinate overnight for best results. Pineapple juice or wine is a particularly good choice for marinade because it contains an enzyme that actively breaks down muscle fiber. Therefore it is highly effective as a meat tenderizer. The wild boar’s light fat layer can be easily trimmed.

Should wild boar be marinated?

The meat of a large wild boar must be marinated so that after being cooked it is tender. The marinade from red wine is a basic first ingredient for a delicious sauce that best complements the heavy texture and taste of a game meat such as boar.

How do you make wild boar tender?

Cooking wild boar Long, slow cooking will give you the best results for roasting joints and diced meat, and marinating in an oil-based marinade prior to cooking will help to produce tasty, tender meat.

What is the ratio of salt to water in a brine?

Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water you used and mix until the salt is completely dissolved. For example, if you are using 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, add 16 tablespoons (1 cup) of salt. Place the meat in the brine and put the whole container in the refrigerator.

How do you prepare a wild boar to smoke?

The key to smoking any meat is low and slow. For your wild swine, set your smoker to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not exceed 200 degrees Fahrenheit or you risk drying out your cuts. Then allow your pork to quietly cook for at least 14 hours, but no longer than 36 hours.

How do you make brine for meat?

For a traditional brine, all you need is water, salt and a little time—that’s it; you barely even need a recipe. I like using 1 tablespoon of kosher salt for every cup of water. For smaller cuts, like chicken breasts or pork chops, 4 cups of water will be sufficient to cover the meat completely.

How do you country cure a ham?

Hang the ham shank down in a well-ventilated area. We do not recommend moist areas such as basements and cellars. Allow the hams to cure 2-1/2 days per pound of ham. If the hams freeze during curing, allow one additional day for each day they are frozen.

How long does it take to smoke a wild hog ham?

Smoke until an instant-read thermometer reads 160° all over. It’s very important that you test in different spots to be sure it’s safe to eat – see the note on Trichinosis in wild hog and bear meat. The overall time will be about 3-5 hours, but it’s not done until it reaches the temperature.

What kind of salt is best for curing meat?

Pink salt, also known as curing salt No. 1, is a nitrate, a combination of sodium chloride — table salt — and nitrite, a preserving agent used to deter the growth of bacteria in cured meats.

What kind of salt do you use for curing meat?

1 pink salt is used to cure all meats that require cooking, brining, smoking, or canning. This includes poultry, fish, ham, bacon, luncheon meats, corned beef, pates, and other products. It is 93.75 percent table salt and 6.25 percent sodium nitrite.

Where do I find curing salt?

Where to find curing salt in the grocery store Want to know where to buy curing salt? It’s stored in the Spice or seasoning aisle. Still can’t find it there? They’ll direct you to the right section. Curing salt is a versatile ingredient in cooking.