Blending and applying the curing mix:

Weigh the pork. If you are going to use more than one curing, calculate separately the total weight of the meat that you will placed in each container.

Refrigerate the meat while preparing the cure mix. (Any plastic food container with a tight-fitting lid - or a strong plastic bag - can work as a curing container.)

Prepare, calculate, and measure the required amount of curing mixture for each container. Mix this curing blend until it is uniform.

Place the meat in the curing container(s). Rub the cure mix on all surfaces evenly, cover, and refrigerate. Set the refrigerator temperature between 34°F and 40°F (2.2°C to 4.4°C).

Overhaul the pieces of meat after about 12 hours of curing. (Overhaul means to rub the surfaces of the meat to redistribute the cure.) Be sure to wet the meat with any liquid that may have accumulated in the bottom of the curing container.

Overhaul the meat about every other day until the required curing time has elapsed. (Cure one week per inch: If the thickest piece is 1 inch, cure 1 week; if the thickest piece is two inches, cure the whole batch 2 weeks.)

Assuming the maximum thickness of the pork is 2 inches (5 cm), the pork will be fully cured at the end of two weeks. When the curing is over, rinse each piece of pork very well in lukewarm water. Drain in a colander, and blot with a paper towel.

Wrap each piece of pork in a paper towel, and then wrap again with newspaper.

Refrigerate overnight.

Smoking the ham:

The next morning, remove the paper and dry the surface of the meat in front of an electric fan, or inside of a smoker heated to about 140°F (60°C). If using a smoker, make sure that the damper is fully open. Do not use smoke. Drying the surface will require one or two hours.

When the surface is dry, cold smoke the pork for 3 hours. If your smoke chamber temperature is higher than 85°F (about 30°C), the smoking time might have to shorten to prevent excessive drying.

Raise the smoke chamber temperature to about 150°F (65°C). Smoke about 2 or 3 hours more until the surface of the ham takes on an attractive reddish-brown color. Remove the meat from the smoke chamber.

Cooking the ham:

After removing the ham from the smoker, you may cook it using one of several methods, or you may refrigerate or freeze and cook it later. If it is to be refrigerated or frozen, cool it at room temperature for an hour or so. and refrigerate it – uncovered – overnight; the next morning it may be wrapped and, if you desire, frozen.

Below are some suggestions for cooking the ham. (Ham is fully cooked when the internal temperature is at least 160°F (71.1°C).

Leave the meat in the smoker and hot-smoke it until it is done. The disadvantage with this method is that the ham may become too dry.

Wrap each piece of ham in plastic food wrap and cook in a steamer. This is an excellent method to cook the ham because the juices are retained by the plastic wrap. (You can improvise a steamer by using a large pan with an elevated rack inside. Cover with a lid.)

Bake it in an oven.

Slice it and fry it.

Note: If the salt taste is too mild, add about 1 tsp of salt to the ingredients list the next time you make this product. If the salt taste is too strong, reduce the amount of Bradley Cure by about 1 tsp.