Kitchen.HealthSufficiency

When choosing a leg of ham, buy a small leg which will provide the best quality and tasting meat. A large leg of ham comes from a mature pig and has drier, darker meat whilst boar meat will also have a very strong testosterone stench.

The method used to cure, smoke and cook the ham will also greatly impact on the flavour of the meat. Many butchers prepare their hams, sausages, bacon and corned silverside with nitrates which is a man-made chemical that preserves and enhances the colour of cured and salted meat. The “smoking” of meat is produced by using an artificial ingredient known as ‘liquid’ smoke during the cooking process which also greatly reduces cooking time.

Cancer Councils around the world are warning people against the use of cancer-forming nitrates found in some dried and cured meats, sausages, hams, bacons, and other smoke flavoured meat goods.

Traditional preparation of cured, smoked meats is an exacting, precise and relatively long process but does not use nitrates. A precise ratio of four naturally occurring elements is combined to form a brine mixture which is injected into the meat in a precise ratio to salt the meat. The meat is then smoked to produce a rich golden colour and give it a distinctive flavour depending on the blend of wood chips and saw dust burned, i.e. hickory wood, pine saw dust, plum wood, etc. The meat is then slowly steamed to retain all the moisture and flavour. The smoking and cooking stages take approximately ten hours.

Traditionally produced hams may take some time to track down and cost a little more but your health and taste buds will love you forever!