Leg, Jambon rôti, 80°

Cook Leg as “Jambon rôti” until the centre reads 80 degrees. The mark to keep is 80°. Before you pay, check once that the cut named on the package matches the cut on the slip. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. The hind leg, the largest single piece on the pig and the one the whole curing industry is built around. Fresh it is lean and mild; salted and air-dried for a year or more it becomes jamón, prosciutto or country ham, dep At the butcher, open Leg so the slip shows 80° first, 80 next, and “Jambon rôti” beside them.

This week, before you enter the butcher, write the cut, the method, and the core temperature at the top of the shopping slip, and at home keep the heat until the thermometer shows that figure. If the grain is coarse, give more time at the same temperature, and do not time a thin slice and a chunk the same way. The order is Leg, 80°, 80, then “Jambon rôti”. When the thermometer is done, look again only at 80° for Leg and leave 80 on the slip.

Do not call the meat done from color alone, and do not read the temperature as a grade score. Check that the core temperature on the slip and the thermometer match, and do not kill the heat before that mark even if the color changes first. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. Match Jambon rôti with 80 at the butcher before you close 80° for Leg. Cook Leg as “Jambon rôti” until the centre reads 80 degrees. The mark to keep is 80°.