Prosciutto crudo di Cuneo

[Daniele96]

My prosciuttos that I started last October are ready to eat (one of them as you can see is already half finished). The aging process can arrive at 15 month but I prefer a less aged one.

 

[Yooper]

Oh, wow. Just......wow. I'm so jealous of your finished product! Can you tell me more about the process you followed?

 

[Daniele96]

Oh, wow. Just......wow. I'm so jealous of your finished product! Can you tell me more about the process you followed?

When I arrive at home I send you a message.

 

[Daniele96]

There are some things to know before the process used. First of all this product is protected by Italian and EU laws on food so if you produce it outside the area of South Piedmont it is illegal call it Prosciutto Crudo di Cuneo if it finish sold. If you make it for yourself there are no problem with this regulations. Second thing which can give some problem is the meat: I use an Italian cattle that I breed on my own. This cattle is maiale Nero di Cavour (Black pig of Cavour) which is feed only with acorns, hazelnuts and chestnuts until it is 180/190 kg of weight (the age of 1 year minimum). It could be difficult find a meat like that but a common Large White cattle could be good. First of all it is necessary to isolate the thigh from the half-carcass of the pig immediately after it had been killed. The thighs go to the next stage if they are of animals slaughtered for not less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours. They are deprived of the foot and trimmed to be then refrigerated. At the time of salting, the temperature of the thigh must be between -1 and + 3 ° C. It is forbidden to freeze the thighs: the whole process would be compromised.
The salting is done dry with dry or partially humidified salt. Salt can contain small amounts of split black pepper and vinegar that can be mixed with spices or spice extracts or natural antioxidants. This phase lasts at least two weeks. Salting is a very important step: it ensures the ascent of the moisture still present in the meat of the leg at capillary level, which, at the time of maturation, will help to ensure that the ham acquires the organoleptic characteristics that distinguish it. The legs are left to stand for a period of not less than 50 days from the end of the salting, inside rooms (I use my cellar which is a 8 hundred years old cave dig into the hill where is my house). Any roughness formed as a result of drying is removed (which must occur at low temperatures) and then the legs are washed and dried.
Maturing lasts for at least 10 months from the beginning of the salting process but could arrive at 15 months. It must take place in suitable rooms, equipped with openings that guarantee a good air exchange (I use my cave).
Sauce It is done, in several stages, during the period of maturation. Apply a mixture of suet, salt and rice or wheat flour onto the muscular surface (the part without rind), to which black or white pepper can also be added to the powder. The sauce you applied to prosciutto is removed when you cut it for eating.

 

[schematix]

Amazing.

Thank you for the detailed instructions. One day I hope to try something like this (or at least buy a whole finished product).

 

[Daniele96]

Amazing.

Thank you for the detailed instructions. One day I hope to try something like this (or at least buy a whole finished product).

It is quite difficult find it for sale outside Italy

 

[Somethingnuw]

Nice to see you don5 use additional chemicals only salt....my family is from the Monte Grappa area of Italy...we still make sopressa without added chemicals but as you said above. The age of the pig and what it was feed make a big difference! Here in Canada it’s hard to find pigs older then 3 months old. My dad pays someone to raise a proper pig for us....around 16 months and we only use the shoulders for the salami...do you find it makes a difference if the pig was male or female? Thank you for sharing

 

[Daniele96]

Nice to see you don5 use additional chemicals only salt....my family is from the Monte Grappa area of Italy...we still make sopressa without added chemicals but as you said above. The age of the pig and what it was feed make a big difference! Here in Canada it’s hard to find pigs older then 3 months old. My dad pays someone to raise a proper pig for us....around 16 months and we only use the shoulders for the salami...do you find it makes a difference if the pig was male or female? Thank you for sharing

With shoulders I make a type of raw meat which is not very different with prosciutto. Shoulders have less fat parts so it is easier dry them

 

[brewbama]

I used to live in Pordenone very near San Daniele. I recall large curing barns where they hung the hams. We fell in love with prosciutto there.

 

[Daniele96]

I used to live in Pordenone very near San Daniele. I recall large curing barns where they hung the hams. We fell in love with prosciutto there.

San Daniele is one of the best prosciutto in north Italy (the best is Crudo di Susa for me)

 

[Daniele96]

Nice to see you don5 use additional chemicals only salt....my family is from the Monte Grappa area of Italy...we still make sopressa without added chemicals but as you said above. The age of the pig and what it was feed make a big difference! Here in Canada it’s hard to find pigs older then 3 months old. My dad pays someone to raise a proper pig for us....around 16 months and we only use the shoulders for the salami...do you find it makes a difference if the pig was male or female? Thank you for sharing

The female pig is less big in size and weight but it has more fat than the male pig so the difference depend on what you want to prepare with the meat. I think there are not a lot of differences with the sex of the pig used. I think the way you use to breed and feed the animals make the difference: for example my prosciutto has the fat part with a flavour of hazelnut and acorns and it mean that pig has wild flavour and the animal has lived all his life in nature. In fact I breed pigs in a forest where they are free to graze and eat all what they want. Also my grandparents and their parents used this way and we have never called a veterinary (except for the checks which are imposed by the law). I think this way to breed pigs and the age you slaughtere them make the difference.

 

[ten80]

...
Sauce It is done, in several stages, during the period of maturation. Apply a mixture of suet, salt and rice or wheat flour onto the muscular surface (the part without rind), to which black or white pepper can also be added to the powder. The sauce you applied to prosciutto is removed when you cut it for eating.

I have three small wild Texas pig legs I would like to try this with, they range from 1500-1700 grams each and do not have skin. Do you think they could be salted, rinsed, and coated entirely with the paste for long-term aging? I am worried that long aging without skin will cause the meat to dry to quickly.

I think the small size of these legs means that they will be done in 3-4 months. Any ideas would be very helpful.

Thanks!
Christophe

Jambon de Bayonne is my favorite cured ham when I go to France to visit family in the Basque region. I hope to achieve a similar result.

 

[Daniele96]

I have three small wild Texas pig legs I would like to try this with, they range from 1500-1700 grams each and do not have skin. Do you think they could be salted, rinsed, and coated entirely with the paste for long-term aging? I am worried that long aging without skin will cause the meat to dry to quickly.

I think the small size of these legs means that they will be done in 3-4 months. Any ideas would be very helpful.

Thanks!
Christophe

Jambon de Bayonne is my favorite cured ham when I go to France to visit family in the Basque region. I hope to achieve a similar result.

Your pigs are not big enough. I use minimum pigs of 160/180 kg. Without skin also is not possible the process of prosciutto. You should try with a cattle like a large white or a black cattle (but killing it when it is minimum 1,5/2 years old).

 

[Daniele96]

I have three small wild Texas pig legs I would like to try this with, they range from 1500-1700 grams each and do not have skin. Do you think they could be salted, rinsed, and coated entirely with the paste for long-term aging? I am worried that long aging without skin will cause the meat to dry to quickly.

I think the small size of these legs means that they will be done in 3-4 months. Any ideas would be very helpful.

Thanks!
Christophe

Jambon de Bayonne is my favorite cured ham when I go to France to visit family in the Basque region. I hope to achieve a similar result.

The legs must be about 10/12 kg at the end if you use an adult animal

 

[ten80]

The legs must be about 10/12 kg at the end if you use an adult animal

The pigs were killed and their hind legs given to me, so I did not have a choice of size. Maybe next time I will buy a large pig leg from a local farmer. I understand that they cannot be cured exactly like prosciutto, but I hope to achieve something similar in terms of a dry cured meat that is safe to eat and keeps well.

Perhaps I will cure them in a manner more like bresaola, but allow them to dry to slightly firmer than for bresaola. I'm open to suggestions

 

[Daniele96]

The pigs were killed and their hind legs given to me, so I did not have a choice of size. Maybe next time I will buy a large pig leg from a local farmer. I understand that they cannot be cured exactly like prosciutto, but I hope to achieve something similar in terms of a dry cured meat that is safe to eat and keeps well.

Perhaps I will cure them in a manner more like bresaola, but allow them to dry to slightly firmer than for bresaola. I'm open to suggestions

You should make some salami with them and start to make cured pig meat with loin, coppa, and other parts before to try prosciutto because it is the most difficult absolutely.

 

[Daniele96]

You should make some salami with them and start to make cured pig meat with loin, coppa, and other parts before to try prosciutto because it is the most difficult absolutely.

The pig we use for prosciutto. It is slaughtered when it is adult (more than 160/180 kg)

 

[Daniele96]

Oh, wow. Just......wow. I'm so jealous of your finished product! Can you tell me more about the process you followed?

2 years aged prosciutto

 

[Daniele96]

2 years aged prosciuttoView attachment 619969

The important things to make a good prosciutto are: first of all use a high quality meat. In the second position there are the age and the weight of the pig. It is very important that leg is about 10/12 kg and it must have at least 20/25% of fat because it is very important to give flavour and make tender prosciutto during aging process. Then it is necessary to have a good place for aging period (a natural cellar like a cave is perfect). If you respect theese instruction and some other things I said in a post before you will have a prosciutto like this one in photo after 2 years of dry aging.

 

[Daniele96]

First week of aging