I really don't like going into the gory details as I don't actually do any of this now. I don't want to kill pigs or anything else for that matter so please don't be offended if I write about this, its for those who are still interested in old methods.
I think I mentioned acorns, beetroot, potatoes, in the post Pig in the garden.
First rule to get a good ham - feed the pig very good food.
Any woman with her period was not allowed to get involved with any of the meat preparations - everyone assured me the pork would not keep if this rule was broken. Who am I to say if it's true or not. I didn't take any risks with my pig.
Only slaughter pig when its cold, never in the summer. February is a good month. Its a big job and requires almost a week's work. and you will be up to your neck in grease too. Pigs in France a much fatter than in the UK as they make pate and stuff so you need a fatty pig. Our pig weighed in at 120K it would have been better if she had 20K of fat.
Starve pig for a couple of days before slaughter.
Don't give pigs injections or antibiotics, they muck up the meat.
Get a butcher to slaughter the pig so that it bleeds - cutting the throat is best - don't forget to collect the blood stirring all the time then add a little vinegar to stop it from clotting..
If you stun pig before cutting throat the pig will probably be dead already so you may not get all the blood out of the body. In the old days they cut its throat and let it squeal until it died. rather unpleasant to say the least. However I have to admit that pork meat is better without the blood..
Leave cuts of meat to be cured in a cool place to settle - don't try to cure for three days at least.
Hams, wash the meat with calvados - apple brandy is good. Only use grey unrefined sea salt from the Atlantic coast of France. We used to buy it in 50K sacs. Take a large old sheet, place a thick layer of salt on the sheet and place the ham skin down on it, cover in salt and with the help of someone else fold the sheet round it so that it is entirely covered in a thick layer of salt and tie it up like a mummy. Do both hams in this way. This is quite tricky and requires a certain amount of know how. If you've not seen it done you may not get it right. THe essential is to ensure that the ham is completely surrounded by a 10cm layer of salt.
Place them in a cool larder one on top of the other and mark them so you know which is which. Pour one cup of water on each bundle and leave for 1 day for each pound of pork. So you need to weigh your hams first.
Every day change the top one to the bottom. After the allotted time remove the salt and wipe clean the cut surface removing any salt residue with a damp cloth and brush the skin.
Mix in a bowl a lot of ground cloves ground black pepper, red pepper some nutmeg and mix to a paste with some calvados. Cover the exposed flesh (ie where there is no skin) with this paste and cover the top of the ham bone where it is exposed. Leave this to dry for a few days then place the ham in a large callico bag so that it hangs freely within it. Tie the top up with string and form a loop to hang it up. Hang the hams in a warm airy place such as a kitchen where there is a wood burner or aga, but not over the source of heat. The hams need to dry gently for at least six months.
This is the method that was used in the west of France in the Deux-Sevres in a place called La Foret Sur Sevre. We killed the pig with the help of local friends who all knew how to do it and had done it many times themselves..
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