Dry-cured delicacies are loved by everyone who does not shy away from meat. And, contrary to the opinion of the literary professor Preobrazhensky, they can still be useful. However, the most delicious (and least harmful) foods like Spanish jamon are so expensive that you can only convince yourself that they are completely cholesterol. Or learn how to cook the same jamon at home. This is the probability of the successful implementation of this “hopeless enterprise” we will consider.
What it is
If we mention only the origin of the meat and the general features of the process, then this is the name of the dried pork. For the whole world, only a ham of an animal is suitable for definition, although among Spaniards jamon is made from all carcasses. The second word specifies which of its parts. Cooking jamon at home is unlikely, especially in the realities of a city apartment. The first problem is the lack of suitable raw materials. Only the meat of Iberian animals that are bred on the peninsula of the same name is suitable for jamon. Even worse: pigs must be fed a strict diet, and almost entirely consists of acorns. Not only that, acorns are required with cork oak. Of the other animals, there will be no real delicacy - not that taste of meat. On this basis, jamon at home becomes available only to the herder, who has brought the right breed of pigs, raised the “right” oaks and equipped the basement with special installations necessary for drying.
Gourmet Technology
It is noteworthy that the Spaniards do not make a secret from the cooking process of this dish. For centuries they have been making jamon at home, not considering it a national treasure. The industrial production of this delicacy has recently become. And it consists of the following steps.
- Fat and simply ugly places are cut off from the ham; the leg itself is covered with a very large amount of sea salt and left for two weeks at a temperature not lower than zero and not higher than five.
- The meat is washed, dried and hung. It is dried in different plants from six months to a year. Initial temperature +7; gradually it rises smoothly, according to a certain schedule.
- Ripening: occurs with strictly observed temperature and humidity for several months (up to one and a half years).
- Sampling. A specialist who is specially trained and versed in the shades of jamon aroma, pierces the ham with a needle and sniffs it.
As you can see, to make jamon at home, you will need not only special pigs, but also devices that can maintain the physical characteristics of indoor air at the right level.
Almost jamon
However, giving up is not worth it. If you like jamon so much, the recipe at home will help to achieve the result as close to the original as possible. However, without a basement and an empty ventilated room (pantry or shed) still can not do. Anyway, a completely authentic jamon will not work, unless you go to Iberia and buy the right pig, but only the tasting specialist will notice the taste differences. So...
A 4-pound ham from a young pig is taken, cleaned of everything superfluous, placed in a free, large container and filled up with a dozen kilograms of sea salt. At least four days (a day per kilo), the pelvis should be in the dark and cool; occasionally it should be turned over for uniform salting out. Then, the future jamon at home is cleaned of adhering salt, washed and suspended there. If possible, once a week the temperature rises. The delicacy should be at least six months old. Further on ripening, it is outweighed in a cooler place; You can try after this movement only after another three months.
Fast jamon
Its advantage will be that few townspeople begin to sluggish their whole leg, but still not cut, with bones. However, residents of megacities love jamon! The recipe at home for them will be the following: a loin is bought, rubbed with a mixture of salt and sugar (2 to 1 ratio), put in a flat container (large bowl, for example), crushed with cargo and put in the refrigerator for three days. In the morning and in the evening, the jam preparation at home is turned over, and the liquid is drained from it. The meat is dried with napkins and rubbed with spices (at least ground laurel with pepper, garlic and coriander should be included in the composition). Then the pork is wrapped in cheesecloth, tightly tugged with string and hung in the shade on the balcony. If the summer is hot, remove and hide the bottom of the refrigerator for a day, and return it in the evening. Such jamon at home becomes edible on the fourth day. However, the duration of drying has a positive effect on taste, so it is better to wait at least 2-3 weeks.
Consumption culture
In the process of cooking, pork very much loses weight and moisture, so cutting it will require some effort. In Spain, there is a position of a cortador - a cutter of delicacy (and this is always a strong man). However, the jamon at home is not so hard, so a woman will also cope with it. The main thing is to master the thinnest cutting, this delicacy is not used in slices. And in order to prevent the incised edge from weathering, it is advised to lubricate it with ghee or fat.