Has anyone used this for curing? MORTON® TENDER QUICK®
Morton Tenderquick is meant to be a one-stop, one-size-fits-all type of curing product, that can be used to cure a broad spectrum of products. I do NOT like it for curing hams The salt content, IMHO, is way too high, using their directions, and because of the way it's formulated, you cannot simply cut back on how much is used.
Is it a fresh ham, or is it already cured?
If it's a fresh ham, then is it a shank half or butt half?
Butt-uncured
OK, the first thing you will need to locate is a small quantity of Cure #1, AKA Prague Powder #1, Instacure #1, etc. The important thing to look for is it will contain Salt & 6.25% Sodium Nitrite (NO sodium Nitr
ate).
The easiest place to locate some locally is a local butcher who makes their own sausages, ham, bacon, etc. That's where I get mine.
The second thing you will need to deal with, since it's a Butt half, is the Aitch (hip) Bone bone. I give pictorial instructions on how to remove this in the Ham Brining 101 thread, in section 3.
Ham Brining 101I also give a brine recipe to follow that uses Cure #1. If you do a 30% injection, you still have time for it to be done in time for Christmas Dinner!
Since this is time sensitive, I will send you a PM with my phone number, should you have any questions.
Cliff