@nolaegghead
Is there a Costco close by in your neck of the woods? 

That's beyond "a good deal" Carey!

need to buy one of those to see how it compares to their deli one which has a longer ingredient list, i usually buy the ends at 3.99 a pound in 1 inch slabs, thats pretty close in price for an upgrade

Darby_Crenshaw said:

true prosciutto shouldn't have anything but salt in the ingredient list.  other than the leg of pork, i mean

that daniele company makes two kinds of del duca proscuitto, its the american version sold at market basket. heres a pic of some i have for this weekends abt's, doesnt look as good as nolas   you can see its not the same product, its still good in a pinch and ground or diced small in tomato sauce

nola, when you get that proscuitto, the old italian market here makes a caprese sub, crunchy roll, caprese salad, roasted red peppers, and a half pound thinly sliced proscuitto,  makes a really good sub/submarine/hogie/or whatever you call them down there

SGH said:

fishlessman said:
 makes a really good sub/submarine/hogie/or whatever you call them down there

Brother fishless, we call them a po' boy. 
If a democrat happens to be in office we call them a poor boy. Why? Can't afford to put much on them during those troubled times

up here those would only be with fried seafood in a sub unless its fried haddock, swiss, and coleslaw, thats a nantucket rueben

SGH said:

fishlessman said:

thats a nantucket 

That's a mighty long word there my friend

and when you order it you have to use your best kennedy accent

like prosciutto

hahaha

so.  here's the weird thing.  it was kinda like making beer, where you get to taste the ingredients and the results (and then see the changes that took place).  i remember with beer making the one small amount of some grain you used actually was something that you could specifically taste in the final bottle.

so when i tried the prosciutto, and it tasted like prosciutto, i didn't have much to work with, since i only added salt to the pork.

then i realized it was the aging i was tasting.  there's an impossible to describe flavor, but ever since, i have picked it up in country ham, aged beef, hams, etc to a certain degree.  any aged meat.

my prosciutto didn't dry as much as i wanted.  take a look at that fat! very thick.

my understanding was to leave the skin on, but i think those who do this regularly probably have a better feel for it and will trim it a bit if necessary so that the  flesh inside can dry as it should.  it took mine about 18 months to feel firm like prosciutto should.  and i could probably have gone longer.

did a country ham too, at the same time, which is essentially the same thing, but with a lot of sugar to counteract the salt, and not dried as much.  also smoked.

that has this aged flavor as well.

the difficult thing about this is when you do it at home without a net, you second guess everything.  just like the first time people age beef.  looking over your shoulder thinking "well, i know other people do this, but i dunno WTH i am doing...".  and then fast forward a few times and it is obvious.

but the first time through is all second guessing.

i was down in Georgia for a fest a couple years later, and grabbed a slice of country ham from the store.  ate it raw, and realized i had achieved the EXACT same thing with mine.  but having never had it before, it (meaning, mine, my own country ham) had been hard to parse at the time, flavor-wise.

i even managed to get what is a holy grail, white flecks throughout the meat.  i didn't know what that was, and everyone being panicky about badteria, etc, i flinched a bit.  i still served it (at easter), but the city ham was gnawed to the bone. country ham was left looking like a dr seuss centerpiece.  few touched it.  though those who did liked it (or so they said).

all in all, good experiments.  i do my city ham every year for easter, but the country ham and prosciutto is more of a gamble.  12 to 24 months, with a pricey ham leg (we have a semi-local slaughter house).  it's a bit of a longshot.

and then of course, what to do with 12 pounds of prosciutto when it is ready

bringing it to a party is a good idea.  up until you tell them you made it yourself and they say "how?"

no one likes the answer

Saw a promotion for 4 year aged  acorn-fed Iberico Ham for $600 at Sam's Club.

Better be damn good ham.

He's really cutting those slices thin. I've been watching that for 15 minutes and he still has a lot of ham leg left.