Dry cured ham
 

anyone try it? I know the process of curing then smoking but havent given it a go myself yet and was wondering if anyone here has . . . may start one this week but kinda 2nd guessing potentially wasting a whole green ham for an experiment.

Do you means serrano ham type or prosciutto?

I mean like Virgina style or country ham but yeah basically the same thing. Take a whole rear leg of a pig and cure/smoke that sucker.

I'm not sure a country ham is smoked, although don't see why it couldn't be.

The ones I saw on a trip down South were more or less packed in salt then wrapped good in muslin or whatever, then hung up in the rafters of the tin shed to cure for a year or two.

I can tell you about spanish serrano ham (that I know): Well I haven´t done this by myself but I´ve seen my father in law do it a few times and help him in a few things of the proccess... and I´a curious guy always asking around (and annoying the old man). First get a nice clean whole pig leg of no less than 10 kilos (sorry I´m metric), once cured it will loose about a third of it´s weigth. The piece haves to be well cleaned and excess fat. Then you got to bleed the leg, this is the most important part, first take special care of the veins that are near the bone, using a cotton tablecoth press with your fingers over the grease near the end of the bone, clean the blood with a clean cloth or paper towels, after this rub some salt over the bone and in any place you can see meat,. After this initial step you have to take all the blood out, put the ham over a hard clean surface with the skin facing up, over it a wood board and about 25 kilos on it, cover it with a clean cloth, after 3 days (temp should be around 14 C) take the ham press again with your fingers to see if you can get some more blood out (if you done it rigth the first couple of times you´ll get little blood out) clean and dry the ham and cover it whit salt (the whole piece this time). Now if the temp. it´s around 14C you got to leave it like that for two weeks, if the temp is less than 14C leave it for three weeks. After three weeks shake and hit (gently) the ham to realese exccess salt. Brush it to take the rest off. Hang it for about 6 months, best conditions to cure it are in a place with a 75% humidity and air current.. Making a great ham requieres a lot of skill I can´t do it by myself but hey! that´s me!
Hope at least this helps you a bit

country arent but Virgina are was just using it as a further example . . .
I think I have the concept and process down "in theroy" it's just I dont live in Theroy . . . let me see if I can find one of the links I've been looking at . . .

**EDIT**
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/458/458-223/458-223.html

My wife's grandmother lives in Franklin, NC, when we visited last year she served a ham that blew my mind! I asked where she got it and she said it came from the farmer "across the way". It was like rustic prosciutto.

Killed hogs this week and trying it for the first time. Fingers crossed.

picking my green ham up Tuesday after work . . . Porky is still walking around (until Monday)

Just finished chopping up ham that was dry cured for 2 weeks and smoked on applewood. It was about 10 pounds. It is tasting amazing.