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Homemade ham - the perfect recipe!

Making homemade ham will not only increase your prestige, but the ham you make will be incomparable in taste and composition with the one you bought. Homemade ham does not have a long shelf life, because it does not contain any preservatives, but since it is excellent, it will definitely not stay in your refrigerator for a few days.


Ham hammer

Ham hammer

You have to buy a ham machine first. You will pay around CZK 2,000 for it. The hammer or butcher mold is used for the production and cooking of homemade ham and is essential for the proper implementation of your "ham event". You can buy aluminum, stainless steel and plastic hammers. We do not recommend cheap hams, which are equipped with only one weak spring. The spring pressure is too weak and the ham breaks up very often. The right hams have strong springs and are massive, so the springs have perfect pressure on the meat. The advantage of smaller hams is that due to their small height, you do not need a large pot to cook.


He also recommends buying a thermometer, because the right temperature in the pot is important for making ham. You can buy a thermometer up to CZK 500 without any problems. These investments will definitely pay off and the result of your work will bring you joy.


We bought everything prepared pot and ingredients: 1 kg of pork leg, 10 g of salt, 10 g of Praganda, 1 tablespoon of honey, 100 ml of water. If for any reason you do not like honey you can give a teaspoon of sugar instead of honey, but if you do, always only powdered sugar. However, please note that honey ham is a great treat. You can also prepare some garlic, thyme or almonds (whole) according to your taste. Who likes hot sprinkles chili. Everything appropriately, according to your taste. Of course you can spice, but you don't have to.



So cheers - let the work succeed!


Keep the meat undercooked at the beginning. We clean the pork leg from easily accessible membranes, we do not have to remove everything. Cut the meat into pieces like a goulash (edge ​​length approx. 2 cm), cut a few pieces into tiny pieces, add salt and Praganda and it is best to work through everything with your hands so that the protein begins to be excreted. Add honey and spices and continue mixing. We gradually add water. The secreted protein looks like a light pink porridge and will be the binder that will hold the ham together. Put the meat in a plastic bag and let it rest in the fridge for one day, then take it out, mix it again, put it in the mold (hammer), tighten it properly and put it in the fridge for one day again.



We will prepare a pot with heated water and place the filled hammer in it. The mold should be sunk to a height where the meat reaches, but the hot water must not flow inside. If you have a gas stove under the pot with water, put a cast iron plate on the flame. This spreads the temperature throughout the bottom of the pot. Use a thermometer to check the temperature, as the temperature must not exceed 75 ° C. 70 ° C is optimal.


Boiling ham harms! We cook our homemade ham for 1.5 hours. At this point it is necessary to remember that as mentioned at the beginning, everything is standardized and timed per 1 kg of meat.



Then let the filled ham cooler. We can exchange the hot water bath for a cold one with ice, which speeds up the process. The process of cooling in water takes 2 hours do not rush. Definitely do not remove the hot ham, there is a risk of it falling apart. Then you take the chilled ham with your ham and put it in the fridge. You could turn the ham over and consume it, but wait and let it rest.



The next morning you can convene the family or invite friends and acquaintances. You will slice your homemade ham and we can enjoy it together :-)



We consulted and supplemented the recipe with a real expert, chef and farmer Lukáš Štindl from Český Krumlov.

ham

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