The miso-cured ham is the item people ask about most. It is also the one we are most careful about. This is a plain account of how it is made, from the pork leg arriving at the shop to the moment it comes off the smokehouse rack.
The Pork ¶
We use pork leg from Tanaka Bokujo in Kameoka, a farm we have worked with since 2013. The pigs are a cross between a Berkshire and a local breed, raised on a mixed grain diet. The legs arrive at the shop chilled, not frozen, on Wednesday mornings. We trim them ourselves. The fat cap is left on during the cure and removed before slicing.
The Cure ¶
The cure is a paste of Kyoto white miso from Saikyoya, sake from a small brewery in Fushimi, and coarse sea salt from Ako in Hyogo. The proportions are not a secret but they are specific: the miso does most of the work, the sake keeps the paste loose enough to coat evenly, and the salt is present but not dominant. The leg is packed in the paste and left in a cold room at the back of the shop for fourteen days. We turn it on day seven.
The Smokehouse ¶
After the cure, the leg is rinsed, dried, and hung in the smokehouse for forty-eight hours. The smokehouse runs on a combination of bincho-tan charcoal and cherry wood. The temperature stays between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius throughout. Cold-smoking at this range means the meat does not cook; it takes on smoke slowly and evenly. The cherry wood gives a mild, slightly sweet smoke note that does not overpower the miso.
Why Twelve Pieces ¶
We make twelve pieces per week. That number is set by the size of the cold room, the capacity of the smokehouse, and the amount of time Edmund has to manage the process properly. We have been asked to increase the run. We have not done so. A larger run would require a larger smokehouse or a shorter cure, and neither is acceptable. When the twelve pieces are sold, the item comes off the board until the next batch is ready.
How to Eat It ¶
The ham is best at room temperature, sliced thin. It is good on its own, good with the aged Hokkaido gouda and a rye cracker, and very good with the house grain mustard. It does not need anything else. If you are taking it home, remove it from the refrigerator twenty minutes before eating. Cold, the smoke note is muted and the texture is less yielding.
If you want to order a whole piece, which runs to approximately 1.8kg, contact us at counter@thornpanelline.com at least a week ahead. We can arrange that for regular customers.