Process
Dry curing
Salt and curing salts applied to the surface of a whole muscle, which then equalises and dries.
Published parameters
| Parameter | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ingoing sodium nitrite, dry cure | 1 oz to 100 lb of meat, which is 625 ppm | 9 CFR 424.21(c) |
| Finished product nitrite | not more than 200 ppm calculated as sodium nitrite | 9 CFR 424.21(c) |
| Internal salt, dry cured ham with nitrite | at least 4 percent | 9 CFR 319.106(b)(3) |
| Brine concentration, dry cured ham without nitrite | not less than 10 percent, or water activity not more than 0.92 | 9 CFR 319.106(b)(4) |
| Weight loss, dry cured ham | at least 18 percent below the fresh uncured weight | 9 CFR 319.106(b)(7) |
| Injection | prohibited for products named under 319.106 | 9 CFR 319.106(a) |
What the step is for
Salt lowers water activity and, given time to equalise, raises brine concentration through the whole piece. Nitrite, where used, controls Clostridium botulinum.
Dry curing is the oldest of the processes here and the one with the most law attached to it, because a dry cured ham is eaten without cooking and spends months at a temperature at which things grow.
The regulation for country ham and dry cured ham is unusually specific. It fixes what may be done - dry application of salt only, no injection, no immersion - and then fixes two outcomes: an internal salt content, and a weight loss. Both are outcomes rather than procedures, which is the pattern across the whole of US meat regulation since HACCP.
The step that matters most and gets the least attention is equalisation. FSIS identifies the resting or equalisation phase as the critical step for inhibiting Clostridium botulinum growth in dry-cured hams. Salt applied to a surface does nothing for the interior until it has moved there.
Hazards this step bears on
Arithmetic for this step
Regulatory citations are to the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9, as in force on 1 January 2026. FSIS guideline citations give the guideline identifier; the documents are listed with their URLs on methodology.