Gooders Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 Hi Gooders, I dry cure for bacon, but not wet cure, this is one for @Wade he's the boy....👍 Ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooders Posted May 6, 2020 Author Share Posted May 6, 2020 Thanks. I dry cure my bacon as well but this is a ham so have brined it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 Second @Wade 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 36 minutes ago, Gooders said: Thanks. I dry cure my bacon as well but this is a ham so have brined it At the moment I don't know if I want to get into wet curing yet??? maybe give it a go later?? but @Wade will set you ok. Ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 (edited) I spray with cider vinegar when that happens on dry curing meat. Sorts it out. If nay mildew white mold appears on your ham then do that. If it is black mold then that is a problem. @Wade is the man to expand on this. Edited May 6, 2020 by Justin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 See Wades comment on this thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooders Posted May 6, 2020 Author Share Posted May 6, 2020 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted May 6, 2020 Share Posted May 6, 2020 I am no expert, Wade is the man, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 On 5/6/2020 at 10:15 AM, Gooders said: 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. Hi Gooders Just be careful of some of the celebrity curing books. Most will not use Nitrite in curing for risk of litigation and offset this by increasing the amount of salt. Sometimes this works but other times it doesn't. Small amounts of "mould" on the surface will not normally be a problem. Sometimes you get a cloudiness in the brine which can result in "strings" forming. This is not ideal but when this happens it is time to wash off your meat. A few specs of mould on the surface will not usually be a problem - scoop them out if you see them appear. Also check the brine by giving it the "sniff test". Your nose is very sensitive to microbiological decay smells. If is smells bad/off then discard it. If it has no smell or smells just a little musty then it should be fine. When brining you do need to keep it cool though. If the bucket will not fit in your fridge then place the pork and brine into a large plastic bag, squeeze to remove the air then seal the top. It can then sit in bowl and it takes up much less space. Another alternative is ask someone if they have a spare fridge you could borrow. As you had boned your pork leg the brine will have had a larger surface area through which it can penetrate so you will probably find that the 10 days is sufficient. From what you describe, providing the brine does not smell "off" then you should be fine if the brine was strong enough. An alternative method is to make up your cure as if you were dry curing and dissolve it in water that weighs 1/10th of the weight of the meat. Inject this into the pork and place the pork into a plastic bag. Any brine that does not stay in the meat, add to the bag before sealing it. The pork will cure within a few days and this is a great method for pork on the bone. This method shows how this is done - you don't need to flavour the brine though. Let us know how you get on Wade 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooders Posted May 8, 2020 Author Share Posted May 8, 2020 10 hours ago, Wade said: Hi Gooders Just be careful of some of the celebrity curing books. Most will not use Nitrite in curing for risk of litigation and offset this by increasing the amount of salt. Sometimes this works but other times it doesn't. Small amounts of "mould" on the surface will not normally be a problem. Sometimes you get a cloudiness in the brine which can result in "strings" forming. This is not ideal but when this happens it is time to wash off your meat. A few specs of mould on the surface will not usually be a problem - scoop them out if you see them appear. Also check the brine by giving it the "sniff test". Your nose is very sensitive to microbiological decay smells. If is smells bad/off then discard it. If it has no smell or smells just a little musty then it should be fine. When brining you do need to keep it cool though. If the bucket will not fit in your fridge then place the pork and brine into a large plastic bag, squeeze to remove the air then seal the top. It can then sit in bowl and it takes up much less space. Another alternative is ask someone if they have a spare fridge you could borrow. As you had boned your pork leg the brine will have had a larger surface area through which it can penetrate so you will probably find that the 10 days is sufficient. From what you describe, providing the brine does not smell "off" then you should be fine if the brine was strong enough. An alternative method is to make up your cure as if you were dry curing and dissolve it in water that weighs 1/10th of the weight of the meat. Inject this into the pork and place the pork into a plastic bag. Any brine that does not stay in the meat, add to the bag before sealing it. The pork will cure within a few days and this is a great method for pork on the bone. This method shows how this is done - you don't need to flavour the brine though. Let us know how you get on Wade 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. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 That looks lovely. If you want to more flavour then you will need to add some nitrite (Cure#1) in your next cure. The Nitrite isn't there only as a microbiological control, it is what gives ham its traditional pink colour and the ham/bacon flavour. Without the Nitrite then you effectively have salt pork. To add even more flavour then follow the Christmas Gammon recipe for creating a flavoured brine for the cure. At Christmas I sell as much of this as I can realistically make. You can vary the flavouring you use but this recipe gives a nice subtle balanced flavour. I only call it my Christmas Gammon because I mostly only make it at Christmas (not because it tastes of turkey and mince pies !!) - it is good to have at any time of the year. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 @Wade'sChristmas Gammon recipe is delicious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.