Make your own dry cured deer ham – tasty and tender
- Type
- Ham
- Level
- Medium
- Rating
- Rate this recipe
Today I show you how you can make a dry cured deer ham yourself. With a moderate effort you achieve a super tasty result.
Dry cured deer ham is a delicious game specialty made from deer meat and is a great alternative to classic ham. Curing and drying gives it a unique aroma.
It tastes best on freshly baked bread, but is also perfect on a snack platter.
If you are looking for more great ham recipes, I have my whisky ham, pork tenderloin or smoked ham recipe for you here.
Want to learn more about ham? No problem, I wrote down all my knowledge in my ham book. Interested? Explore my ham book.
But now enough talking…
Here you can find the complete dry cured deer ham recipe as a video or to read through.
Have fun and good luck making it!
Table of Contents
Dry cured deer ham – What do you need to make it?
Ingredients per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| venison e.g. from the leg, nut or back Important: The piece of meat must be neatly parried and have no pockets! | 1,000 g | 100 % |
Spices per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|
| salt | 27.5 g |
| Cure #1 | 2.5 g |
| sugar mixture (1 g dextrose, 1 g sugar) | 2 g |
| rosemary | 2 g |
| black pepper | 1.5 g |
| white pepper | 1.5 g |
| coriander | 1 g |
| juniper | 0.75 g |
| Bay leaves | 0.5 g |
The equipment to make dry cured deer ham
Place to dry and mature the ham
To age the ham, you need an environment where both humidity and temperature are relatively constant. There are several possibilities for this. I have already matured cured hams in the fridge or cellar without any problems.
Optional: If you want to be on the safe side, then a ripening cabinet is the best choice. My recommendation: Dry Ager DX 500
Make dry cured deer ham – Step-By-Step Instructions
Coarsely grind all the spices in a mortar. You can also use a spice grinder for this.
Pour the spice mixture over the piece of meat and distribute the spices evenly on all sides of the piece of meat.
Place the meat in a bag. Make sure that all the spices end up in the bag.
Vacuum seal the meat.
Place the bag in the refrigerator for the minimum curing time (1.5 days / cm meat thickness). Turn the bag occasionally. You can also cure your piece of meat for longer, but not shorter.
Pat the meat dry with a kitchen towel. I also remove most of the spices. This reduces the risk of your dry cured deer ham going moldy.
Then insert a hook into the cured piece of meat. This will make it easier for you to hang it up afterwards. Alternatively, you can also tie the dry cured deer ham with kitchen twine and hang it up.
Now hang the ham in the fridge/cellar/maturing cabinet to dry. It is important that the humidity is 75 % and the temperature remains below 15 °C (59.0°F). My piece lasted approx. 1.5 months.
Important: The better the humidity can be controlled, the more evenly the dry cured deer ham will dry. If it dries too quickly, this can lead to a dry edge. In this case, I recommend vacuum-sealing the piece of meat again and then leaving it in the fridge for 2 – 3 weeks.
Your dry cured deer ham is ready.😄 Enjoy it!
Frequently asked questions
What does dry cured mean?
What does dry cured mean?
It means the salt does its work without water. The salt, the Cure #1 and the coarsely ground spices are spread over every side of the piece, the meat goes into a bag and is vacuum sealed, and it stays in the fridge for the minimum curing time, which runs at about 1.5 days per centimetre of thickness. Longer is no problem; shorter is not.
The second half is drying. The cured piece is patted dry, most of the spice is taken off it, and it hangs at 75 % humidity below 15 °C (59.0°F) until enough moisture has gone. Mine took about 1.5 months. Controlling the humidity matters more than counting the weeks does: if the ham dries too quickly you get a dry edge, a hardened rim around a centre that is still soft. If that happens, vacuum seal the piece again and leave it in the fridge for 2 – 3 weeks.
Which cut of deer should you use?
Which cut of deer should you use?
Leg, nut or back all work. What matters more than the cut is the state the piece is in: it has to be neatly parried, with the sinew and silverskin taken off, and it must have no pockets. A pocket is a place the salt does not reach and the air does not dry, and it is not something you can correct once the ham is hanging.
How long is the shelf life of the dry cured deer ham?
How long is the shelf life of the dry cured deer ham?
Your dry cured deer ham will keep covered in the refrigerator for about a week. The alternative is to vacuum pack the ham in portions. When vacuumed, it should keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. You can also freeze it. This will increase the shelf life many times over.
