Kassler
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2-3 hour
Servings: 2
1 - 150 gram
Even though it may not seem like it at first, Kassler is actually a type of ham. Most of the time, Kassler is eaten warm with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut, but it also makes a great cold cut.
Directions
1. Put the salt, the cure and all the spices in the mortar and grind them coarsely.
2. Put the spices in a container with boiling water.
3. Leave the brine to infuse and cool for 30-60 minutes. Stir the brine well several times.
4. Filter the brine through a sieve.
5. Inject the brine into the meat (about 15-20% of the meat weight). You can stop as soon as you notice that the brine is running out more and more.
6. Put the meat with the remaining brine (approx. 20 % of the meat weight) into a resealable bag.
7. Now squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag. Try not to press the ham too much. Then you can close the bag.
8. The meat must now be cured for about 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
9. After the curing time, wash off the spices and dry the meat with kitchen paper.
10. Hang your Kassler in the smoker and let it heat up to about 167 F°. For the first 30 minutes, I let the meat dry on without smoke.
11. After the 30 minutes, smoke the meat at about 176 -194 °F.
12. Smoke the piece of meat to a core temperature of 152.6 °F. The smoking process will take between 2.5 and 3 hours depending on the size.
13. If you still haven’t reached the core temperature after the given time, I recommend you to vacuum seal the meat and finish cooking it at 152.6 °F in the sous vide.
14. Your Kassler is ready 🙂 You can either eat it directly hot or let it sit in the refrigerator for another night.