A smaller scale homecured alternative to traditional British ham.

Not so long ago, at least in historical terms, David Tanis posted a recipe for home cured ‘ham’ (the single quotation marks are his; Tanis attempts no grandiose deception) at The New York Times. It is satisfying to cure anything at home but while admirably accessible his recipe is oddly inert, perhaps because he specifies lean tenderloin, chooses not to cook his exemplary selection of dried spice and thyme with the boiled brine and then cures his meat for but five days.

Help is to hand from Theodora FitzGibbon, provided a longer time to cure the ham is not unacceptable to readers in this age of truncated attention spans. Mrs FitzGibbon follows the lead of Christian Isobel Johnstone and other chroniclers of traditional British foodways in using the far more flavorful black treacle instead of Tanis’ white sugar and robust ‘beer,’ that is, traditional British ale instead of water and (a small proportion of) white wine.

The FitzGibbon formula, from Wiltshire, is equally suitable for bacon and because, as she notes, “Wiltshire ham and bacon is mild-cured,” it is spiced only with peppercorns and juniper. While “delicious” as she accurately adds, it is even more appealing combined with the Tanis battery of spice, if however added in greater proportion to the treacle and beer before the boil.

It also helps to choose a fattier cut than the convenient tenderloin; get or take a four pound chunk off the shoulder instead.

• 1 cup (about 250g) coarse salt, like Maldon
• 1 cup (about 300g) black treacle (see the Notes)
• 1 quart (a little less than a liter) pale or bitter ale (see the Notes)
• heaped teaspoon allspice berries
• some bay leaves
• 4-6 cloves
• heaped teaspoon juniper berries
• heaped teaspoon mustard seed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon pink curing salt (see the Notes)
• about 4 lb pork shoulder (preferred), loin or tenderloin

1. Bring the salt, treacle and ale to a boil with the spices, stirring to dissolve the salt and treacle into the beer.
2. Let the brine cool to room temperature, nothing higher, and stir in the curing salt.
3. Pour the brine over the pork in a plastic bag or container just big enough to hold the meat and liquid. If using a bag squeeze out as much air as possible and seal it; if using a container cover the pork with a weight or plate as necessary to keep it submerged.
4. Let the curing pork stand in the refrigerator for a little as ten days or as much as two weeks.
5. Throw away the brine, rinse the ham and pat it dry before boiling or baking it as you wish.

Notes:

-Good American substitutes for black treacle are molasses or, for a southern twist, sorghum.

-An IPA would be too assertively hoppy. Choose Fuller’s London Pride or another pale ale, or a god English bitter ale like young’s Special. A lot of good pale ales are widely available from craft brewers in the United States. Rise from Whaler’s in Wakefield, Rhode island, is among the best.