Last year I cured a couple/smoked a couple of pork butts to make ham. This time I figured I'd try a raw or "green" ham. I got one that was a little over 19# before I trimmed off the skin.
I cured it for 9 days (a day for each 2 #) with a recipe from the Charcuterie book by Ruhlman.
I let it sit in the fridge uncovered overnight after curing and then smoked it along with some bacon from a recipe I got from Cowgirl's awesome blog.
I smoked it starting at 150, then ramping up to 200 and took the ham to an IT of 155.
Then I let it cool, wrapped it, and stuck it in the fridge until this morning.
Today I cooked it for around 8 hours at 225-250 in the WSM to an IT of 135, letting it coast up to 145 during the rest. I made a glaze from the Dr. Chicken's double smoked ham recipe and modded that with some pineapple juice and butter. I started glazing at an IT of 120. I'm a lazy bastige, so I stuck the cloves in the middle of the diamonds rather than in all the intersections of the scores, plus that's how we did it at a place i used to work.
Right out of the cooker.
Ready to carve - we're at a friend's house.
It turned out pretty dang good.
It was a hit at the dinner - even had vegetarians eating it. I'm happy with this one for a first time out, but I would change a few things. The flavor was nice, but mild. I could also see a few places that didn't get thoroughly cured. I'll inject/pump rather than just brine next time, and I'll make the curing solution a little more interesting. What I used was basically k salt, brown sugar and instacure 1. I'll be looking around for something more next time. The Dr. Chicken Kiss of Death injection looks interesting, so I may use that the day of the serving cook. I'll also be checking out the Rytek Kutas book as well as the book "Home Production of Quality Meats" by the Marianskis. I was definitely happy with the moistness and tenderness and I'm looking forward to learning more about curing and smoking hams.
Thanks for looking and I hope y'all had a happy Thanksgiving - I sure did!
I cured it for 9 days (a day for each 2 #) with a recipe from the Charcuterie book by Ruhlman.
I let it sit in the fridge uncovered overnight after curing and then smoked it along with some bacon from a recipe I got from Cowgirl's awesome blog.
I smoked it starting at 150, then ramping up to 200 and took the ham to an IT of 155.
Then I let it cool, wrapped it, and stuck it in the fridge until this morning.
Today I cooked it for around 8 hours at 225-250 in the WSM to an IT of 135, letting it coast up to 145 during the rest. I made a glaze from the Dr. Chicken's double smoked ham recipe and modded that with some pineapple juice and butter. I started glazing at an IT of 120. I'm a lazy bastige, so I stuck the cloves in the middle of the diamonds rather than in all the intersections of the scores, plus that's how we did it at a place i used to work.
Right out of the cooker.
Ready to carve - we're at a friend's house.
It turned out pretty dang good.
It was a hit at the dinner - even had vegetarians eating it. I'm happy with this one for a first time out, but I would change a few things. The flavor was nice, but mild. I could also see a few places that didn't get thoroughly cured. I'll inject/pump rather than just brine next time, and I'll make the curing solution a little more interesting. What I used was basically k salt, brown sugar and instacure 1. I'll be looking around for something more next time. The Dr. Chicken Kiss of Death injection looks interesting, so I may use that the day of the serving cook. I'll also be checking out the Rytek Kutas book as well as the book "Home Production of Quality Meats" by the Marianskis. I was definitely happy with the moistness and tenderness and I'm looking forward to learning more about curing and smoking hams.
Thanks for looking and I hope y'all had a happy Thanksgiving - I sure did!
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