Division 4.2.2 Boneless ‘Pražská šunka’

Boneless ‘Pražská šunka’ is produced using either whole boneless pork legs or individual sides of pork leg, prepared in accordance with point 4.1.2, and brine which, in terms of its composition and maximum permissible ratio to the meat raw material, is the same as the brine used in the production of ‘Pražská šunka’ on the bone.

The boneless pork legs or sides of pork leg are sprayed with brine of the prescribed composition and/or may be massaged with brine. Salted slices of pork fat, with or without skin, are massaged separately if used to make a decorative surface coating for the product. After the raw materials have been salted and massaged, they are placed in oval or egg-shaped moulds in such a way that the fat, with or without skin, always provides the product with a decorative surface coating. If slices of pork fat, with or without skin, are used to create a decorative surface coating for the product, the moulds are lined with massaged slices of fat and only then filled with trimmed sides of pork leg. This is followed by cooking in the moulds, which has the effect of pasteurisation. After cooking, the products are removed from the moulds, smoked to achieve the characteristic taste, aroma and colour, and then cooled and packaged.

It is also possible to complete the final production stage by baking the surface and treating the skin using various decorative techniques.

Products produced using whole boneless pork legs with fat cover with or without skin, and where appropriate trimmed sides of pork leg with fat cover with or without skin, may before cooking be formed into the prescribed shape with the aid of film which is removed from the product post-cooking. In such cases, it is not necessary to use moulds.