How long does the whole process take?

Figure about 4 weeks: 1 day of dry curing (saltpeter and salt), 3 weeks in brine with daily turning, 3 days drying, then cold smoking. The boiling itself takes 5 hours.

What is the brine made of?

1 1/2 bottles of bock beer, 1/2 bottle of Bavarian beer, and 1 bottle of sweet beer boiled up together with 750 g of coarse salt, 30 g of saltpeter, and 250 g of brown sugar. The brine is poured cold over the ham in a trough or deep dish.

Why must the ham be simmered gently?

Because it becomes juicy and tender with gentle simmering. If it boils too hard (overcooks), it becomes dry and stringy. Wash and brush the ham well and place it in boiling water, letting it gently simmer for 5 hours.

How many can the ham feed, and where does the recipe come from?

The ham is 6–8 kg and figured for about 20 servings. The recipe is a Westphalian sugar-cured ham from Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), p. 647.

Sugar-cured ham (Westphalian) – 1914 recipe

Name: Sugar-cured ham (Westphalian)
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 670 h 30 min
Total time: 672 h
Yield: 20 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 7 kg ham (neatly trimmed, bone-in); 0.75 l bock beer (1 1/2 bottles); 0.25 l Bavarian beer (1/2 bottle); 0.5 l sweet beer (1 bottle); 750 g coarse salt (for the brine); 30 g saltpeter (for the brine; can be replaced with curing salt per the package instructions); 250 g sugar (brown sugar); 3 tbsp salt (for the initial rubbing); 1 tbsp saltpeter (for the initial rubbing); 200 g sugar (for glazing, optional)

About the dish

From the chapter on slaughtering in "Stor kokebok" (1914). Westphalian sugar-cured ham was one of the finer homemade cured products, in which the beer in the brine gave the ham a mild sweetness and color. Glazing with red-hot fire tongs is an old technique from the era before ovens with a broiler.

How to make it

1
Rub in the ham
Trim the ham neatly. Mix 3 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp saltpeter and rub it well into the meat. Let the ham rest in a cold place for one day.
2
Boil up the brine
Boil the beer, 750 g salt, 30 g saltpeter, and 250 g sugar together. Cool the brine completely.
3
Place in brine
Place the ham in a tub or a deep dish and pour the cold brine over it. Turn the ham in the brine every day for 3 weeks.
4
Drying and smoking
Take the ham up, wipe it off, and hang it to dry for 3 days. Then cold-smoke it.
5
Boiling
Wash and brush the ham well, place it in boiling water, and let it gently simmer for about 5 hours. It must not boil hard, or it becomes dry and stringy.
6
Rest
Take the pot off the heat and let the ham rest in the stock, covered, for half an hour.
7
Garnishing
Carefully pull off the rind, but leave about a quarter of it on at the bottom near the bone. Cut or snip the edge into pointed, slightly rounded tongues, and put a paper frill on the bone.
8
Glazing (optional)
Sprinkle about 200 g of sugar over the ham and melt/burn it quickly with an oven broiler or a kitchen torch (originally with red-hot fire tongs) to a shiny glaze.
9
Serving
Warm ham is cut into thin slices and served with various vegetables. If it is to be used cold, put it back in a little of the stock after each time, and it will stay juicy.

Changes from the original

Amounts have been converted to modern measures (a bottle of beer ≈ 0.5 l, brown sugar = sugar). Saltpeter has been kept as in the original, but noted that modern curing salt can be used. Glazing with red-hot fire tongs has been replaced by an oven broiler/kitchen torch in the step description.

Original 1914 recipe

Verbatim from the first edition of the Big Cookbook.

Facsimile of the 1914 page at the National Library of Norway — Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket

ProofreadPage 647

6—8 kg. skinke 1 1/2 fl. bokøl 1/2 fl. bayerøl 1 fl. søtt øl 750 gr. grovt salt 30 gr. salpeter 250 gr. farin. Den pent tilskaarne skinke indgnides med en blanding av 1 spiseske salpeter og 3 spiseskeer salt, ligger 1 døgn. Øl, salt, salpeter og sukker gives et opkok sammen og heldes koldt over skinken, som er lagt i et traug eller dypt fat. Skinken vendes i laken daglig i 3 uker. Efter denne tid tages den op, avtørres, hænges til tørring i 3 dage, røkes i kold røk. Naar den skal brukes, sættes den over ilden i kokende vand efter at være vasket og børstet godt. Smaakoker i 5 timer; faar den smaakoke, blir den saftig og mør, forkoker den, blir den tør og optrevlet. — Naar den er færdigkokt, løftes gryten av, og skinken blir liggende i kraften under lok 1/2 time. Svoren trækkes forsigtig av, omtrent en fjerdedel blir igjen nederst ved benet, kanten skjæres eller klippes her i spidse, litt avrundede tunger. Benet pyntes med papirmansjet. Skinken kan sukres og glasseres, idet man strør et lag sukker over den — ca. 200 gr. —, og med en glødende, absolut ren ildtang eller ildskuffe stryker man over sukkeret. Skal skinken serveres varm, skjæres den op i tynde skiver, og forskjellige grønsaker lægges ved siden; skal skinken kun benyttes til koldt, bør den for hver gang, den brukes, lægges tilbake i noget av kraften; dette gjøres, forat den skal holde sig saftig.

Revised 1949 recipe

From the revised edition of the Big Cookbook.

Facsimile of the 1949 page at the National Library of Norway — Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket

ProofreadPage 780

6—8 kg. skinke ½ fl. bokøl ¼ fl. baierøl 1 fl. landsøl 750 gr. grovt salt 30 gr. salpeter 250 gr. farin. Den pent tilskårne skinke inngnies med en blanding av 1 spiseskje salpeter og 3 spiseskjeer salt, ligger 1 døgn. Øl, salt, salpeter og sukker gis et opkok sammen og helles koldt over skinken, som er lagt i et trau eller dypt fat. Skinken vendes i laken daglig i 3 uker. Efter denne tid tas den op, avtørkes, henges til tørring i 3 dager, røkes i kold røk. — Når den skal brukes, settes den over varmen i kokende vann efter å være vasket og børstet godt. Småkoker i 4—5 timer; får den småkoke, blir den saftig og mør, fosskoker den, blir den tørr og optrevlet. — Når den er ferdigkokt, løftes gryten av, og skinken blir liggende i kraften under lokk ½ time. Svoren trekkes forsiktig av, omtrent en fjerdedel blir igjen nederst ved benet, kanten skjæres eller klippes heri spisse, litt avrundede tunger. Benet pyntes med papiermansjett. Skinken kan sukres og glaseres, idet man strør et lag sukker over den — ca. 200 gr. —, og med en glødende, absolutt ren ildtang eller ildskuffe stryker man over sukkeret.

Sugar-cured ham (Westphalian)

About the dish

How to make it

Changes from the original

Time machine – what changed?

Community interpretations

Frequently asked questions

Equipment for this dish

Related recipes

Read also

Kommentarer