Bayonne Ham French Style

Name: Bayonne Schinken Französischer Stil
Total time: 7 h
Ingredients: 38 g Grobes Meersalz (Salies-de-Béarn oder ähnlich); 4 g Espelette-Pfeffer (Piment d'Espelette); 12 g Schweineschmalz; 2 g Schwarzer Pfeffer, fein gemahlen; 2 g Zucker

Curing MixPorkCold SmokingHard7–12 monthsNo core temperature (raw product)No smokingNo wood (air drying only)

Bayonne Ham from the French Basque Country is known for its delicate, mild flavors and the characteristic green-red AOP seal. It is cured exclusively with salt from Salies-de-Béarn and dried in the Pyrenean winds. A hint of Espelette pepper gives it a distinctive, slightly fruity-spicy note.

Ingredients(for 1 kg)

Coarse sea salt (Salies-de-Béarn or similar)38 g

Espelette pepper (Piment d'Espelette)4 g

Pork lard12 g

Black pepper, finely ground2 g

Sugar2 g

Instructions

Dry Curing

10 days

Mix sugar and salt and rub the entire leg evenly with the mixture. Store in a tray at 2–4 °C and turn daily. Drain expelled meat juices daily.

Equalization & Rest

60 days

Wash off salt under cold water, pat dry and store hanging at 3–5 °C and high humidity (80–85%). The salt penetrates evenly all the way to the bone.

Apply Espelette Paste

1 day

Mix Espelette pepper, black pepper and lard into a homogeneous paste. Coat the cut surface and all exposed meat areas evenly with it to prevent drying out and oxidation.

Air Drying in Séchoir

5–9 months

Hang in a well-ventilated séchoir (drying room) at 12–20 °C. Ideally, Pyrenean winds flow through open shutters. Check the Espelette paste monthly and renew if necessary. Ready at approximately 30% weight loss.

Pro Tip

Authentic Bayonne ham is only salted in winter (November–January). The seasonal cold protects against spoilage and allows for slow, even salt absorption. Observe this seasonality where possible.

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