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18 ounces kosher salt
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2 cups brown sugar
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7 teaspoons pink salt #1 (curing salt)
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1 tablespoon pickling spice, or to taste
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6 quarts water, divided
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1 (7 pound) fresh, bone-in pork shoulder ("picnic") arm roast, with the skin still on
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1 cup water, or as needed
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2 whole star anise
Home-Cured Holiday Ham
Make homemade cured ham for many reasons: bragging rights that you actually did it, the ability to flavor your ham any way you want to, and control over the salt content.
Recipes · Meat and Poultry · Pork · Pork Shoulder Recipes
| Prep Time: 20 mins |
| Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins |
| Total Time: 2 days 14 hrs 50 mins |
| Additional Time: 2 days 12 hrs |
| Servings: 16 |
Ingredients
Ingredients List
Directions
Place kosher salt, brown sugar, pink salt, and pickling spice in a container large enough to hold brine and ham.
Chef's Notes:
Eighteen ounces of kosher salt equals about 2 1/2 cups Morton's kosher salt or 3 2/3 cups Diamond Crystal kosher salt, as they have different size grains.
Once ham is cured, you'll want to give it a soak to rinse off the brine; how long you do this can affect how salty your meat is. I prefer a quick dunk, but you can soak it for as long as 24 hours, producing what I call a low-sodium ham. It's still pink and flavorful but barely salty. Experimentation is the only way to figure out how long to soak it, but I wanted to give you the range.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Nutrition Facts
| 484 | Calories |
| 26g | Fat |
| 22g | Carbs |
| 39g | Protein |