A cut of pork from the hind leg, usually cured or smoked. Ham is either dry cured or wet cured. Dry curing involves rubbing the meat with salt, sugar, sodium nitrate and/or sodium nitrite and seasonings. It stands for a number of days so that the flesh cures, preventing the formation of harmful bacteria. As the ham stands, the dry mixture mixes with the juices of the meat to penetrate it all the way through. The ham is then washed to remove the salty coating before it is air-dried or smoked. In wet curing, the ham is soaked or injected with a brine of salt, sodium nitrite and/or sodium nitrate, sugar and seasonings. The brine quickly penetrates the flesh, shortening the curing time, an asset for most large-scale ham manufacturers. A wet-cured ham is usually lightly smoked, but it can be air-dried if desired.
The word comes from the Old English word hamm, meaning, "bend of the knee." Kentucky ham is a famous cooked and cured country ham, dry-salted and smoked with both hickory and apple wood, a process that imparts a subtle, distinctive flavor. See also Ardennes Ham, Bayonne ham, bradenham, city ham, country ham, culatello, dry cure, fresh ham, gammon, Irish ham, jamón ibérico, jamón Serrano, Parma ham, picnic ham, prosciutto, Seager ham, Suffolk ham, Virginia ham, Westphalian ham, wet cure, York ham, Yunnan ham.
