Sausagemaking.org's Guide to Making Parma Ham

How to make a simple ‘Parma Ham’ at home

Genuine Parma ham is one of Italy’s most famous food products and is often imitated, this method gives a faithful reproduction and is simple to follow but both the method and ingredients must be followed closely to avoid spoilage and food poisoning!

You will need:

1 Piece of pork. Leg, loin or even belly will do!

2 Our "Parma Ham Style Cure" that has just the right amount of cure and seasonings you need! Click for product page

Method:

1 Chill the meat overnight

2 Rub the meat with half of the cure mixture, if using a boned joint ensure that the inner surface of the meat is properly coated, massage the cure into any crevices.

Wrap the meat tightly in cling film or seal in a Ziploc bag or vacuum pack and leave in the fridge for 15 days.

Unwrap the meat and repeat step 2 with the remaining cure mixture.

5 Leave the meat to cure for another 15 days.

6 Unwrap the meat and leave to soak in tepid water for half an hour.

7 hang the ham for 6 hours in a fridge or draughty cool room.

8 Hang the ham in a warm room for 3 days, (an airing cupboard is ideal).

Smear the meat side of the ham with a mixture of lard and black pepper.

10 Hang the ham for a minimum of 30 days at 15 degrees Celsius with a 70% relative humidity.

This leg was aged for 2 months as it still had the bone in, smaller joints may be cured and aged for a shorter length of time.