Question can you salt cure a deer ham and let it age 9 months the same way you do a pork ham?
Answer I imagine you could, but the results will not be what you expect. The fat in venison goes rancid quite quickly like a lot of other game. That is what gives it its gamey flavor, that and mis-handling in the field. I imagine you would end up with a very skunky and strong tasting piece of meat.
If you want to put it up, why not make bully-venison with it. In other words, salt venison, by boiling it similar to corned beef and then can it in jars.
The trouble with salt curing is that most people have never really had an authentic salt and sugar cured ham. That passes for them today is either pumped full of nitrites or needs refrigeration. A real salt-sugar cured ham is so salty that you need to soak it before you can cook and eat it.
My grandfather made them in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and we hung them in the workshop, unrefrigerated for months. He did them with the skin on, something you don't see today. Most of today's cured hams are soaked not dry cured as it takes too long. He would bury then in a mound of sugar and salt letting the salt diffuse into the meat the the liquid see out of the meat, Then hang them in burlap in a special room in his workshop.
To cut slices when you wanted them you either needed a band saw or alternatively, I used a carpenters wood saw. The meat was not hard mind you, but the skin was. The meat was a dense red almost purple color and very salty. We would soak the meat in water to remove the salt, then fry or boil it.
The venison would lend itself to packing like salt beef much better. Boil it in a seasoned brine, skimming off the foam. I'd cut the meat in 1/2 inch strips. Them pack them in canning jars, and poor enough of the seasoning brine over them in the jars to cover and then heat the jars in a large kettle as you would when canning and seal. The meat should keep for a long time and can be used for stews, corned venison and cabbage and other dishes. If you don't highly spice the brine, the meat will be usable in more dishes. since all it will be seasoned with is salt and maybe pepper. Cut back those seasonings in your dishes until you know how much salt the meat will contribute to the overal dish as it cooks.
