2 cups brown sugar 1 and 1/2 cups kosher salt 1/2 cup of pickling spice 8 teaspoons of pink salt (not to be confused with sodium nitrite). Pink salt is a mixture of salt and sodium nitrite. It is colored pink so it’s not confused with regular table salt. If you were to use 8 teaspoons of sodium nitrite in this recipe, the result could be harmful.
If you are using a container or cooler to brine your ham in, be sure to sterilize it beforehand with boiling water. The smallest contamination could cause off-flavors in your final dish. If you’re using a container or cooler instead of a brining bag, find something clean to weight the ham down with. You want all parts of the meat exposed to the brine.
Periodically, remove the ham from the refrigerator and inject it with the brining liquid. Use a marinade injector for this. You only have to do this once or twice, at several locations in the ham. Injecting the brine into the meat of the ham will make sure that the curing salts penetrate the deepest parts of the ham. When you’re injecting the ham with the brine, take a little bit of time to inspect it. It shouldn’t be giving off any strange odors, nor should there be any scum on the brining liquid. [1] X Research source
If you do refrigerate the ham, be careful about what else is in your refrigerator. The fat on the ham, if there is some, will absorb other odors in your refrigerator. You might not want your Christmas ham smelling like leftover risotto.
In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together: 1 cup honey 1/4 cup whole-grain mustard 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)[2] X Research source Stir until butter is melted and ingredients are completely dissolved, about 3 to 4 minutes. Your glaze is ready to apply!
