Elenski But

Elenski But (Bulgarian Cured Ham)

Elenski But is a traditional Bulgarian dry-cured ham from the Elena region, made from a deboned pork leg layered with bacon and cured in salt. Home dry curing needs weighed salt, weighed nitrite, measured humidity and a measured weight loss rather than guesswork, so this version is written for someone willing to use a scale and a hygrometer. The slow cure and drying concentrate the pork and bacon flavours into a firm, ruby-red slice with a pronounced tang.

Prep

45 min

Total

45 min

Serves

About 1.2 kg cured ham (serves 12–14 as a starter)

Difficulty

Hard

Recipe ingredients

• •1200 g (2 lb 10 oz) pork leg, deboned and butterflied (net weight), ask the butcher to remove the bone and open the meat like a book; keep skin on if possible. Fresh, not frozen-thawed, and cold at all times before curing.
• •300 g (10.5 oz) pork belly or back bacon, thinly sliced, unsmoked, unnitrited; traditional recipes use slab bacon, sliced 3 to 4 mm thick
• •150 g (5.25 oz) coarse sea salt, non-iodised; curing salt is strongly recommended, see next ingredient
• •15 g (1 tbsp) curing salt (Prague Powder #1, 6.25 percent nitrite), do not omit. The nitrite is the main protection against botulism in a meat that is never cooked. Use a shop-bought curing salt with the exact dose on the packet, and never use more than stated.
• •10 g (2 tsp) ground black pepper
• •5 g (1 tsp) sweet paprika, mild Bulgarian paprika if available
• •3 g (1/2 tsp) dried savory (chubritsa), substitute summer savory or thyme
• •2 g (1/2 tsp) dried thyme
• •2 g (1/2 tsp) ground cumin
• •2 g (2 cloves) garlic, very finely crushed
• •50 ml (3.5 tbsp) dry red wine or rakia

Steps

1. 1 Read this before you start: this is a raw, dry-cured meat that is never cooked. Dry-cured ham at home is the hardest charcuterie project in this recipe collection, and health authorities generally advise an approach built on weighed salt, weighed nitrite, measured humidity and a measured weight loss rather than on timing alone. Do it only with a digital scale accurate to 1 g, a fridge thermometer and a hygrometer. If you are not willing to buy and use all three, buy commercially cured ham instead. People with weakened immunity, pregnant women and young children should avoid homemade raw cures.
2. 2 Weigh and record the clean, deboned leg. Every later check is relative to this starting weight, so write it down.
3. 3 Combine the coarse salt, curing salt, pepper, paprika, savory, thyme, cumin, garlic and wine into a wet, sandy paste. Wear food-safe gloves. Use the full 150 g salt and 15 g curing salt: this is about 12 percent salt relative to the meat, which is the salt level that makes the cure work. Do not reduce it to taste.
4. 4 Lay the butterflied pork leg skin-side down on a tray. Rub the salt-spice paste thoroughly into every surface, pressing it into the crevices where the bone was removed.
5. 5 Arrange the bacon slices over the exposed meat surface, overlapping slightly so they cover the lean flesh completely. Press them in so they adhere to the cure paste.
6. 6 Place the ham in a deep non-reactive dish, skin-side up, and weight it with a second tray and a few heavy cans. Refrigerate at 2 to 4 C (35 to 39 F) for 18 to 21 days, turning and re-pressing once a day. Allow roughly 9 days per kg of meat, not the shorter 7 days some recipes give: the salt has to travel all the way through a thick leg, and an undercured centre is where bacteria survive. The meat should feel firm and the surface dry after this stage, and a considerable amount of liquid should have pooled in the dish.
7. 7 Remove the ham, rinse briefly under cold water and pat very dry with clean towels. Re-rub the skin and exposed bacon with a thin layer of coarse salt and pepper; this outer coat discourages mould and gives the characteristic rind.
8. 8 Hang the ham in a cool, well-ventilated space at 12 to 15 C (54 to 59 F) with 70 to 75 percent relative humidity, checked with the hygrometer. A wine fridge or cellar works; at room temperature there is a real botulism risk. Hang or place on a wire rack over a tray to catch drips.
9. 9 Dry for 6 to 10 weeks. Doneness cues: the surface should darken to a deep mahogany and feel hard, the bacon layer should be amber and slightly tacky, and the weight should drop by at least 30 percent from the starting weight. Weigh it weekly: if the weight loss flattens before 30 percent, move it to a drier, more ventilated spot. If any area turns green, slimy or ammoniac, discard the piece; do not trim and keep it.
10. 10 Before eating, check the interior at the thickest part. It must be uniform deep pink to red, firm to the touch with no soft spots, and smell clean and aromatic, never sour or putrid. Because there is no cooking step to rely on, meat that looks or smells wrong is thrown away, not salvaged. If in doubt, do not eat.
11. 11 Slice on a hand slicer or very sharp long knife, paper-thin across the grain. Serve at room temperature with cheese, peppers, warm bean stew, a shot of rakia or a glass of dry red wine. Store the whole piece wrapped in paper in a cool, dry place, or slice and keep the slices in the fridge for up to a week.