Bone out and trim
Deboned leg, free of glands and thick intermuscular fat. Separate muscles if you want a clean slice.
Scalded
Cooked leg ham
Here the business is in the yield, and the yield is in the brine. The difference between a 115 % ham and a 130 % one is not magic: it is calculation, tumbling and temperature control.
Formulation per 100 L of injection brine
| Component | Amount | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Cold water (0 – 2 °C) | ~78 L | Warm brine wrecks the microbiology before you start. |
| Common salt | 9 – 12 kg | Calculated to leave 1.8 – 2.2 % salt in the finished product. |
| Phosphates | 3 – 4 kg | The engine of water retention. Always dissolved first. |
| Curing salt (6.25 % nitrite) | 1.2 – 1.6 kg | Adjust so as not to exceed the nitrite limit of the selling country. |
| Sugar or dextrose | 2 – 3 kg | Softens the salt and feeds colour development. |
| Sodium erythorbate | 0.5 kg | Accelerates the curing reaction. |
| Soy protein isolate or caseinate | 3 – 5 kg | Holds the injected water through cooking. |
| Carrageenan | 0.5 – 1 kg | Gels when hot and lifts yield. Too much gives a rubbery bite. |
Process
Step by step, with the temperatures.
Inject
20 to 30 % on meat weight, depending on target yield. Fine needle and moderate pressure: high pressure tears fibre.
Tumble
8 to 16 h in intermittent cycles (20 min working, 40 resting), always at 2 – 4 °C. Tumbling extracts protein and distributes the brine.
Rest
12 to 24 h chilled. Curing needs time, not only movement.
Mould
Pressed in a mould or stuffed in a casing. The vacuum of moulding removes voids.
Cook
Ascending steps up to water at 78 – 80 °C, targeting 70 – 72 °C in the core.
Chill
Cold shock and chiller at 0 – 2 °C before unmoulding. Unmoulding warm deforms the piece.
| Control point | Value |
|---|---|
| Usual injection | 20 – 30 % on meat weight |
| Tumbling temperature | 2 – 4 °C, no exceptions |
| Target core temperature | 70 – 72 °C |
| Commercial yield | 115 – 130 % depending on grade |
| Cooking loss | 4 – 8 % of moulded weight |
Troubleshooting
What went wrong, and why.
Half the craft is reading the defect. These are the ones that keep coming back.
| What you see | What caused it |
|---|---|
| Releases water in the pack | More was injected than the protein could hold, or tumbling was too short. |
| Voids and ragged slices | Air trapped at moulding, or not enough tumbling to bind the muscles together. |
| Grey patches in the centre | Badly distributed brine: blocked needle or uneven injection. |
| Metallic taste | Excess phosphate, or phosphate poorly dissolved and left in lumps. |
Frequently asked
What people ask before they start.
How much can I inject without it showing?
It depends on the added protein and the gelling system. Above 35 % with no functional protein the product weeps in the tray, and the buyer sees that before tasting it.
Why is tumbling intermittent?
Continuous work heats the meat by friction and denatures the very protein you are trying to extract. The rest cycles let the brine migrate and the temperature settle.
Will a mixer do instead of a vacuum tumbler?
It extracts less protein and does not remove air, so the slice shows more voids. Fine for economy grade; not for a clean-slice ham.
Contact
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