Cure a Ham - Recipe & Calculator Confusion

[crwallaceva]

Hi,
Last year I attempted to cure ham - i was unsuccessful because my bag leaked and it allowed the meat to be exposed - therefore it ruined.

I am doing this again this year, having bought two large Rubbermaid containers to fit the 7 lb fresh ham I picked up on Friday.

After reading the recipe for the Ham, I am now confused about the adjustments I need to make in the curing calculator.

My fresh ham will fit into an 8 qt container and I need just over 1 gal of liquid to cover it completely.

So the recipe calls for 3 gal water, 20 oz Kosher and 3 tblsp Prague #1.

If I scale it down by reducing liquid (-2 gal, that is minus), per the calculator it tells me to reduce 1.9 teaspoons of Prague #1. I would also take my salt down to 6.7 oz with 1 gal of water.

Does this sound right? Or am I completely off base and should just use the calculator to get my measurement of 1 gal water with 3 Teaspoons Prague #1 (essential 1 Tablespoon) which is effectively 1/3 the original recipe.

[Jerod Broussard]

What ppm are you using? I plugged in 7 pounds with 1 gallon of water and got 2.5 teaspoons of prague at 125ppm.

[crwallaceva]

150ppm; i think i figured it out. irrespective of the recipe the calculator tells you the amount of prague to use; the rest - kosher salt can be scaled up/down depending on the liquid.

I was just confusing myself and overcomplicating it.

[Jerod Broussard]

crwallaceva yes, the ingredients besides prague can just be scaled