Gooders

While I’m on this subject, any pointers here would be appreciated. I have been air drying a speck (cured shoulder that I’ve then smoked). Taken it down tonight after hanging in the shed for a month and it is dark (almost black) in appearance With some mainly white spots of mould and very firm. My gut says it’s fine (smells okay, Cure was right, been wrapped in muslin to keep flies off) but someone may say otherwise! Photos added for reference. Not air dried anything other than bacon before so a bit twitchy for obvious reasons. Not yet lost 30% of its weight so shouldn’t be ready for a few months yet.

Good luck with it and I look forward to seeing the results. Thanks for coming back. Gooders

I like the sound of that.

I've had some success curing & smoking my own bacon over the last few months (both streaky & back) using a couple of different cures (one fairly plain with juniper, bay, pepper) and one sweeter with maple syrup but I'm always interested in finding new and unusual cures & smokes to use. Has anyone got anything a bit left-field that they can share that works well? I've mainly smoked in cherry and maple.

I can thoroughly recommend Blackface Meat https://www.blackface.co.uk/ if you want something a bit special (I'm currently waiting for a delivery of pork ribs on the bone for making bacon as I type this). For pre-made, the burgers and sausages are excellent (obviously the mince is the same thing if you want to make your own). The mutton is to die for and better than any lamb you've ever had. All the beef is excellent in flavour and responsibly sourced. Not the cheapest but fantastic quality and worth splashing out in my view.

Hi Wade. thank you for such a detailed response. I went ahead and cooked it yesterday and it seems fine although I felt it lacked something in terms of flavour, certainly compared to my smoked bacons. I didn’t smoke it which in hindsight was a mistake and was a little dry for my liking. It’ll make a decent pie if nothing else! I’ll take on board your comments. Thanks again. I’ve added a couple of photos of the results.

Thanks Justin. I understand white mould okay and spray/wipe with vinegar. Definitely not black mould, it’s mildew and was sitting on the brine surface. I’ve a feeling it’s okay but as it’s my first wet cure (other than chicken brined overnight) I thought it best to check with experts! Appreciate the reply

Thanks. I dry cure my bacon as well but this is a ham so have brined it

Hi all. New member from Manchester here and new to smoking & curing. Got the bug after doing a course down at River Cottage in February. Have had some success with my own smoked bacon and currently have my first air-dried ham (speck) hanging in the shed which will be ready in a few months (as long as I've got the cure right!!!). I have a question regarding a brine though and thought someone on here might be able to help. I have had a boned out leg of pork brining in cider & apple juice for the last 10 days. I have used the correct amount of salt etc and the ham appears okay (I have removed the ham this morning) but there were some small specks of mildew on the brine surface when I removed it. I am hanging it for 24 hours before smoking & cooking. Will it be okay to eat or does the mildew signify that the meat is spoiled? It was completely submerged for the whole time in a bucket in the house (too big for the fridge). Any advice appreciated.