Homemade Dry-Cured Speck

Course: Appetizer, dinner, lunch

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: cold-smoked speck, dry-cured speck, speck

Prep Time: 2

Drying, Smoking and Maturing: 216

Total Time: 216 2

Servings: servings

Calories: 155kcal

Author: Victor

How to make smoked, dry-cured speck at home.

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Ingredients

1000 g pork leg ham
29.5 g kosher salt 2.95%
2.5 g Cure #2 0.25%
0.5 g bay leaf ground; 0.05%
0.5 g juniper berries 0.05%; cracked
2 g black pepper 0.2%; cracked
2 g garlic powder 0.2%
0.5 g nutmeg 0.05%; ground
2 g rosemary 0.2%; ground

Instructions

Debone and trim the ham into a uniform shape as shown in the instruction video.
Weigh the meat in grams. Divide by 1000, then multiply each ingredient by that number. For example, if your ham weighs 2650 g, you need to multiply the ingredients specified above by 2.65.
Mix all the salt and the seasonings together, and rub on the meat. Place the ham and all the extra salt and seasonings in a vacuum-sealable bag and seal. You can also use a Ziploc bag.
Place the bag in the fridge for 21 days. Flip the bag every day or so. Massage the meat 3 times over the first 7 days.
After 21 days have passed, remove the meat from the bag and blot with paper towels.
Dry in the curing chamber for 15 days at 68F (20C) and 75% RH.
Cold-smoke for 4 hours a day for 15 days. If you can afford to smoke for just a few days, do that. The smoking temperature must not exceed 68F (20C).
Mature in the curing chamber at 50F - 59F (10C - 15C) and 60% - 90% for 6-12 months.
When the meat is ready, remove the skin, slice as thinly as possible and enjoy.

Notes

Initially, I liked the strong aromatics in this recipe but later came to the conclusion that I'd like to tone them down and have the porky flavor dominate. I adjusted the recipe to cut juniper 4 times and bay leaf and nutmeg by half. I think juniper is what adds the strongest aromatics and it can be quite overpowering if you add a bit too much of it.

Nutrition