INGREDIENTS:
- 3 kilos (pigue or hita) pig’s leg without the bones; select one with the skin and fat intact
- 9 tbsps sugar
- 8 tbsps salt
- 1-1/2 tsps msg or vetsin
- 2 tsps prague powder (instead of saltpeter or salitre)
HOW TO COOK:
- Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Rub these seasonings well into the meat. Set aside the seasoned meat in aglass bowl. Cover and refrigerate for one day.
- Tie the ham tightly into a ball with string (I use cotton crochet string). Remove/Drain the meat juices that were left in the glass bowl and set aside for injecting.
- Using a huge syringe (you can buy the largest syringe at Mercury drugstore for less than 20 pesos), inject the flavored meat juice all around the ham in small doses.
- Set the ham aside in the glass bowl (covered) inside the refrigerator. Repeat the injecting process every day until no juices remain.
- Keep the ham inside a plastic bag in the freezer for a month or more.
To Cook the Ham:
- Add enough pineapple juice to cover the ham at about 3/4’s level (not quite to the top of the ham).
- Add the following: brown sugar ( just enough to sweeten the pineapple juice mixture), bay leaves, crushed garlic.
- Cook the mixture in a heavy, teflon-type pot over a low fire until the meat becomes tender. Watch out that the meat doesn’t get burned. You can prevent over-browning by turning the meat from time to time.
- Cool the meat and slice into pieces.
SOURCE: mixph.com
IMAGE: yummly.com
