Cured Venison Ham Food

MOCETTA, ITALIAN VENISON HAM

Steps:

• Grind the juniper berries, black pepper, thyme and bay leaves together until fine. Mince the rosemary. Combine all the spices with the salts and mix well. Divide this mixture in half. Put one part of the cure away in a sealed container.
• Carefully rub half the mixture into the goat legs, making sure to get lots into the ball joint that had connected the leg to the pelvis; this is where leg cuts often spoil. Massage the spices and salts into the meat.
• Put the legs into a large container and refrigerate for 2-3 weeks. Drain off any liquid that seeps out of the meat. You will know it's about done when the meat has firmed up quite a bit.
• Rinse off the cure and pat the legs dry. Repeat Step 3 with the second half of the cure.
• Let the legs cure in the fridge for another 7-10 days. The longer you go, the saltier the meat will be - and the longer it will last without spoiling.
• When you are ready, rinse off the cure again and soak the legs in fresh water for an hour. This relieves a little of the saltiness and results in a moister cure - you needed to cure with so much salt for so long to make sure it penetrated all the way through to the bone. The water soak removes some of that salt so it won't be overpowering when you ultimately serve the mocetta.
• Hang for 2-5 months. You want a temperature between 40 and 60°F (colder at the beginning, and warmer near the end), and a humidity starting at about 80 percent and slowly decreasing - say, 5 percent a week) until you are at about 60 percent humidity.
• Once it's ready, you can cut the meat from the bone and slice thin, or slice bone-in. Serve at room temperature with cheese and a husky red wine. Wrap closely and store in the fridge, or seal it and freeze it.

CORNED VENISON

Steps:

• Mix all dry ingredients and rub on roast.
• Place roast in ziplock bag and refrigerate.
• Allow to cure 5 days per 2 inches of meat, turning bag once a day.
• Cure at least 5-7 days.
• Place roast in kettle and boil 3-4 hours or until tender.

SMOKED DEER HAM

Steps:

• Mix together all ingredients, except venison.
• Place venison in a large container with a tight fitting lid (or use self-stick cling film).
• Poke holes with a narrow bladed knife throughout the meat and cover with the mixture of remaining ingredients.
• Cover well, refrigerate, and marinate at least 10 hours.
• Put on smoker and allow to smoke for 6 hours.
• Turn over and smoke for at least another 4 hours and up to 6 hours.

HOME-CURED HOLIDAY HAM

Steps:

• Place kosher salt, brown sugar, pickling spice, and pink salt in a container large enough to hold the brine and the ham.
• Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and pour over the brine ingredients; whisk to dissolve. Pour in 1 gallon fresh cold water to cool down the mixture.
• Score the skin side of the pork roast with a sharp knife. Cut into the fat beneath the skin but not into the meat. Score about 1 inch apart, then score in the opposite direction to get the classic diamond-shaped pattern.
• Lower scored roast into the cooled brine, skin side up. Use a plate to weigh down the roast so that it cures fully submerged in the liquid. Refrigerate for 1 day for every 2 pounds of pork (for a 7 pound roast, cure for at least 2 1/2 days). Turn the roast over halfway through the brining process.
• Remove roast from brining liquid. Discard the brining liquid and transfer the roast back to the brining container. Cover the roast with fresh cold water to rinse off some of the salt. Depending on how salty you want your ham, you can soak it for just a few minutes or overnight. Remove roast from the water and blot dry with paper towels.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add a cup of water to a roasting pan with 2 whole star anise. Place roast on a rack in the roasting pan.
• Roast until ham reaches an internal temperature of 130 to 135 degrees F, about 2 hours. Ham will not be fully cooked at this point. If water has nearly evaporated, add a splash more. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Continue to roast until skin is browned and crispy and ham reaches an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees F.
• To make the optional glaze, mix the mustard, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a bowl. Brush glaze on the ham at this point, not before. Return roast to oven for about 5 minutes to crisp it even further.