I'm going to try & make ham

[KatyMac]

I can't wait

out of pigs?

Yep & brine

You do realise you will have to butcher a pig don't you?

are you inspired by the pig butchery is awesome thread?

No my friend will & give me a bit (well 2 bits as I'm doing her one too)

Not especially (although that's where I got the recipe from) but I had ribs & sausages from the last one she did, so I thought ham was next & if it's a success then bacon

Nice ham?

Oh I do hope so

But we will see

Am I missing something? I just boil ours and it comes out as nice ham...where does the brine come in? (just looking for tips so I can keep my nice ham maker crown )

You buy a 'ham' (or maybe 'gammon') joint - I'm making the pork joint into a ham joint (iyswim)

Yes, I buy a gammon - from our local butcher who raises his own meat about three miles away [polishes halo a bit]- then boil it and it becomes nice ham... It is the brine that is confusing me, what do you use that for?

The gammon you buy has been smoked or salted - if it's salted it is soaked in brine (for a long time - 3 days per kilo) which is why ham is more expensive than pork

When you cut up a pig you get pork, then you 'cure' it by using brine or by smoking

oh...I am going to have to check now but I didn't think it was either as they butcher the pigs in front of you...hmm!

So you are going to soak yours before you cook it then? I am admiring the dedication there! I feel pretty smug with myself for just putting it in a pot to boil!

We often have honey roast ham for sunday lunch & we are about to buy a slicer so I can feed my babies 'very nice' ham - but due to an audit trail it won't be ham I made because of food hygiene regs

ham?

hmm, so it is possible that it is uncured..but if it was then it wouldn't be sold as gammon (in the uk anyway)? I am going to have to talk to the butcher now - not that it matters but I like to understand these things!

We have just got into making our own ham simply because we all love it and go through a lot and I suddenly realised just how easy it is to do! Loads cheaper and nicer than shop bought nice ham! It sounds like you are an old hand at it though, could you share a recipie for honey roast ham? I hadn't even thought of the options for further ham enjoyment!

Foil, Ham, Honey, fold the foil over, oven

I generally boil for about 30-45 minutes first then roast for the same amount of time

No herby bits or anything? Sounds simple enough even for me! May give it a try this weekend, thank you!

Hope your ham turns out well!

DH makes ham and bacon (and smoked bacon). I'm afraid i miss the fascination with it and am happy to just buy it

Nope - the hot (brown) honey is quite nice on cauli or stir-fried leeks (but very naughty)

Parsley sauce is a traditional accompaniment but I hate it, we have baked potatoes & butter plus peaches

Crispy, I used to be but I think I may have been bitten by the bug of good old fashioned home made food! Ham is my starting point but I am starting to have other ideas now too - which is a bit scary as I am certainly no domestic goddess!

KatyMac, thank you, it sounds great, I am certain the honey would not go to waste, my lot are far too attached to things like that (they always steal the crackling whilst it is hot too!)

Smoking your own salmon is lovely too Bella

Oh no ...how do you do that then crispy?

We have a smoker (bit like a BBQ) which DH tends to use by lighting a small fire with oak shavings and then just keeping it going with embers from the open fire. However it has to be kept cool enough so the salmon doesn't cook.

This year (apparently) he is going to try and rig up some contraption in the actual chimney, so he doesn't have to keep tripping outside with embers. As i say i am a casual observer to all these whims (albeit enjoy the eating) so don't really know the technical stuff. Actually, no, I am too busy cooking 3 times a day to have the energy to bother