Nuss Ham – Cold Smoked
Nuss ham is made from the pork knuckle (top round) and is known for its tender texture and mild smoky flavor. The piece is dry-cured and then cold-smoked multiple times. The repeated smoking process creates a beautiful mahogany color and a balanced smoky aroma.
Ingredients(for 1 kg)
Instructions
Dry Curing
8-10 daysTrim the pork knuckle, mix all ingredients into a curing mixture and rub the meat vigorously. Vacuum seal and store at 4-6 °C. Turn daily and distribute the own brine well. Calculate 1 day of curing time per cm of meat thickness.
Soaking and Equalizing
1-2 daysSoak the meat in cold water for 2-4 hours. Then dry and hang for 24-48 hours at 10-14 °C to equalize, allowing the salt to distribute evenly and the surface to dry completely.
Cold Smoking
3-4 smoking sessions of 8-10 hours eachCold smoke the meat at max. 20 °C with beech and alder. Allow 12-24 hours break between each smoking session and let the piece dry completely. Perform a total of 3-4 smoking sessions until the desired mahogany color is achieved.
Post-Aging
5-8 daysAfter the last smoking session, let the nuss ham age at 12-15 °C and 70-75% humidity for at least 5-8 days. The smoke flavor distributes evenly through the meat and the texture firms up.
Pro Tip
Between smoking sessions, always let the meat dry completely and rest at room temperature for 2-3 hours – the characteristic glossy smoke skin only develops on a completely dry surface.
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