We can divide the stages of ham cutting into three major steps:
It is essential to place our ham correctly and firmly, since this will condition the vibration when cutting and therefore the result in our slices.
The hoof must face upwards, exposing the joint, the Hock.
The first incision to start cleaning is made a couple of centimeters from the hock joint. To make this 45 degree cut, the lace is used. This is nailed just below the Hock joint until it touches bone and turning first to one side and then to the other we will surround the bones of the Tibia and Fibula
The second cleaning step consists of making a crown-shaped cut from the top of the first cut surrounding the hammer until reaching the same height on the opposite side. It is important not to sink the lace too deep as this could damage the meat. You also have to be careful not to clean a larger area than the one that is going to be consumed, because the fat protects the meat of our ham and keeps it in good condition.
The third step consists of gently removing the yellow fat and the skin strip by strip. To do this, we will start the cuts from the center of the piece and finish them on the cuts already made, thus being able to easily remove the pieces.
It is important to remove all yellow fat well, as it provides a bitter taste that will interfere with the flavor of the cured meat.
In this step we will take our ham knife. With it we will begin to remove slices of the first layers of white fat, which will not be thrown away since later we will use it to cover and thus preserve our piece.
Now that everything is ready we can start to lunch our ham. Making a smooth but decisive cut with oscillations of no more than two centimeters and we will have our slices ready to serve.
