Another rare ham made by Yunnan’s Bai ethnic group is 鹤庆火腿 (hè qìng huǒ tuǐ), Heqing Ham. This has been made in the village of Heqing since the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). In the past this was made exclusively using the rear legs of a local breed, know as a Diannan small-eared miniature*. Today, some local hybrids are also used.
Diannan Pig - (image: Research Gate)
Unusually, the legs are boned before the meat is washed in Heqing barley wine and salted, then stored in vats for three weeks, before being hung for between one and two years to ferment. Because of the boning, the resulting ham can be cut into circular slices before being served, so it is sometimes described as Heqing round ham.
Round ham - (Image: inf.com)
Sadly, with the modern infrastructure giving the Bai easy access to other foods, fewer and fewer people are now making these hams but it was once a necessary way of getting through the winter. The have always been made on a small scale by subsistence farmers, mostly for their own consumption, so few reach the market today. In fact, I have been unable to find any recently although I did sample it 27 years ago in Yunnan.
Heqing Hams Curing - (Image: inf.com)
*This breed is being extensively studied as a possible source of organs for pig-human transplants.
