Home cured ham: how to brine a ham

One of the great things about raising your own pigs is having a full freezer after hog butchering is done. And while we all love homemade bacon, ham is a favorite as well. So let me share with you how we brine a ham (and then smoke it!) here at our farm. While most people think of ham as a giant cut from the back end of a pig, you can actually make ham from any pork roast that you cut. At butcher time, we always cut several smaller pork roasts instead of two giant hams from each pig. We do this because packaging is easier, and it also allows us more flexibility in what we do with the pork roasts. After choosing a pork roast (or several!) to make into ham, the first thing you need to do is brine the ham. Some people call this "curing" a ham -- brining is a type of curing. To brine a ham is basically to wet cure a ham. Brining takes several days, and it's essential to the process of making a good ham. Please realize that making a ham from the pigs you have raised is not going to be an immediate thing -- it's definitely a process. Good things come to those who wait. How to brine a ham NOTE: This is how we brine ham at our farm, it has worked for us for many years. There are also other theories and ways to do it. Do your own research and then go make some ham. :) Here's the method we use to brine a ham. For 7 pounds of pork, we did: 2 1/4 cups kosher salt 2 cups brown sugar 1.5 tsp pink curing salt