Recipe for sous vide smoked gammon
Perfect juicy and tender cured pork loin cooked using sous vide.
Cured pork loin is the epitome of traditional comfort food, and it is one of the most delicious dishes within pork.
Cured pork loin can be a fantastic juicy, tender, and flavorful experience if just cooked properly. It all depends on the time and temperature you give the meat.
Here I will guide you to the ultimate sous vide cured pork loin, so you always serve a cured pork loin that tastes heavenly.
What is cured pork loin?
Cured pork loin is cut from either the pork loin or back, then put into a net/plastic and salted and smoked.
Traditionally, cured pork loin is cooked in a pot of water at 80 degrees Celsius for a few hours. Here it loses some of its salt. You can see a recipe for “regular” boiled cured pork loin here.
With sous vide, we cook at much lower temperatures and for significantly longer. This results in an even juicier outcome, and you will also experience much less shrinkage.
However, this also means that the salt does not disperse into the cooking water as it would otherwise, so it is necessary to remove some of the salt from the cured pork loin in another way. We will get back to that.
Sous vide cured pork loin time and temperature
As you know, I am a big advocate of the sous vide method because it is the easiest and safest way to everyday food that always tastes like a celebration! And speaking of time, it is not something most of us have plenty of on weekdays.
When preparing cured pork loin in the traditional way, it is simmered at 80 degrees Celsius for a couple of hours. With sous vide, we lower the temperature and increase the time. Therefore, you can easily leave home and only return several hours later. It does not matter for the result if you come home 30-45 minutes later than planned.
By cooking the cured pork loin sous vide, I actually think it becomes so delicious that it can be served for both everyday and special occasions.
Sous vide cured pork loin preparation
Since the meat is quite salty and does not lose the same amount of salt as with traditional boiling, I recommend using one of the following three methods to remove some of the salt:
- Place the cured pork loin in a basin/pot of cold water and bring it to the boiling point before vacuum packing.
- Rinse the cured pork loin under cold running water for a couple of minutes before vacuum packing.
- Place the cured pork loin in a basin/pot of cold water and let it sit overnight before cooking.
Serving suggestions
Cured pork loin with creamed kale, white potatoes, and caramelized potatoes is always a sure winner, and it is a true traditional comfort food. Otherwise, new potatoes, parsley sauce, and peas and carrots are also very delicious sides.
There are often leftovers of cured pork loin from dinner, so I recommend not slicing the entire cured pork loin at once. This makes it easier to cut it into even thinner slices the next day and place it on a slice of homemade rye bread or in a sandwich for lunch/the lunchbox.
Sous vide smoked gammon
Equipment
- Sous Vide
- Chef'S Knife
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 800 g Boiled Ham
Instructions
- Start by removing the net from the raw smoked gammon.
- Use one of the aforementioned three methods to remove excess salt from the smoked gammon.
- Place the smoked gammon in the vacuum bag and vacuum seal it.
- Set your sous vide to 59 degrees Celsius (138 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Let the smoked gammon cook for 6.5 hours.
- Remove the cooked smoked gammon from the water bath and take it out of the bag.
- Cut the smoked gammon into 1-centimeter-thick slices and serve. It's advisable not to slice the entire smoked gammon right away, as it will be easier to slice for sandwiches the next day.