MMMM.. BRISKET..
The BBQ BRETHREN FORUMS.  



Our Homepage Donation to Forum Overhead Welocme Merchandise Associations Purchase Subscription Amazon Affiliate
Go Back   The BBQ BRETHREN FORUMS. > Discussion Area > Q-talk

Notices

Q-talk *ON TOPIC ONLY* QUALITY ON TOPIC discussion of Backyard BBQ, grilling, equipment and outdoor cookin' . ** Other cooking techniques are welcomed for when your cookin' in the kitchen. Post your hints, tips, tricks & techniques, success, failures, but stay on topic and watch for that hijacking.


Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 11-27-2012, 06:55 PM   #1
CYvilEng
Got Wood.
 
Join Date: 09-03-12
Location: Des Moines, IA
Default First Time Ham Questions

I have been lurking for a few years and decided to join recently I haven't had a major reason to post yet.

I have a friend that decided to buy a fresh ham for christmas dinner, although it's on the 8th. When he picked it up they asked how he was going to cook it. He was surprised to find out it doesn't go straight in the oven. What he currently has is a frozen, skin on, bone in, 15 lb ham. I got called last night to see if I would smoke it for him.

After a bit of research I am planning to make the "Black Pepper Smoked Ham" shown here: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=121301

I currently have some pink salt on order to be here thursday. I think I've seen that a rule of thumb for brining would be 1day/2lb. So I think I need to get it defrosted by this friday to get it brining for 7 days to cook it next fri night.

Do I need to remove the skin and trim the fat? I read some places that scoring the skin would work? Does the trimmed turn out better?

Should I cook it bone in? Would it work if I cut it in half and removed the bone? Would that cook it faster? What is an estimate for cooking time? I know I cook it to 155 IT but what is a ballpark time for that?

I have a brinkmann upright gasser and a mini-wsm. After seeing a giant ham of similar size at the butcher today I know it won't fit in my mini-wsm.

If you were caught by a friend looking for help in this situation what would the plan of attack be?

Thanks for you help!
-CY
CYvilEng is offline   Reply With Quote




Old 11-27-2012, 09:24 PM   #2
IamMadMan
somebody shut me the fark up.

 
IamMadMan's Avatar
 
Join Date: 07-30-11
Location: Pemberton, New Jersey
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by CYvilEng View Post
I have been lurking for a few years and decided to join recently I haven't had a major reason to post yet.

I have a friend that decided to buy a fresh ham for christmas dinner, although it's on the 8th. When he picked it up they asked how he was going to cook it. He was surprised to find out it doesn't go straight in the oven. What he currently has is a frozen, skin on, bone in, 15 lb ham. I got called last night to see if I would smoke it for him.

After a bit of research I am planning to make the "Black Pepper Smoked Ham" shown here: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=121301

I currently have some pink salt on order to be here thursday. I think I've seen that a rule of thumb for brining would be 1day/2lb. So I think I need to get it defrosted by this friday to get it brining for 7 days to cook it next fri night.
Make sure your Pink Salt is curing salt, and not Hawaiian Pink Salt, there is a difference.
I would also inject the brine into the thickest part of the meat due to the large size of the fresh ham.
You have to remember Phrasty was using "boneless shoulders" and not a fresh ham.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CYvilEng View Post
Do I need to remove the skin and trim the fat? I read some places that scoring the skin would work? Does the trimmed turn out better?
Scoring is more for the final cooking stage.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CYvilEng View Post
Should I cook it bone in? Would it work if I cut it in half and removed the bone? Would that cook it faster? What is an estimate for cooking time? I know I cook it to 155 IT but what is a ballpark time for that?
I'm old school and prefer my hams "Bone In" because that is a whole ham.

Keep in mind the initial stages of smoking a ham are done at a lower temperature and then raised for cooking.

The cooking time is dependent on your cooker and the temperature settings it is able to maintain. You can calculate a approximate time, but your thermometer will be your final point when to remove for resting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CYvilEng View Post
I have a brinkmann upright gasser and a mini-wsm. After seeing a giant ham of similar size at the butcher today I know it won't fit in my mini-wsm.

If you were caught by a friend looking for help in this situation what would the plan of attack be?

Thanks for you help!
-CY
A mini wsm might be a tight fit so the brinkman vertical would work as long as you can control the temperature settings. The brinkman gassers sometimes run hot and make smoking at a lower temperature difficult (you can use ice in the water pan to help).

If a friend catches you looking for help, no worries, you explain it is like a recipe, and there are many variations in techniques. You simply want to do it right with guidance from Brethren with experience in this matter.

.
IamMadMan is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-27-2012, 09:52 PM   #3
chicagokp
Babbling Farker
 
Join Date: 02-17-11
Location: Chicago north 'burbs IL
Default

Here's what I did for a cottage ham.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=147620

Post 10 has some links to other hams that Phrasty has done. At least one of them is a full fresh ham. As IamMadMan says, you probably will want to inject. Phrasty did the same for his fresh ham and mentioned making sure you get it in the joint.

Good luck and post pron!
__________________
Shirley Fabrication 24x60 staightback cabinet + warmer
Battle Box
Midi UDS
Weber Performer
22.5 Weber OTG
WGA Charcoal
Weber Genesis
chicagokp is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-27-2012, 09:52 PM   #4
Wampus
somebody shut me the fark up.

 
Join Date: 06-05-09
Location: Mooresville, IN
Default

I've not done one of these yet, but I'm going to for Christmas this year.


Only thing I'll suggest is that defrosting that thing is gonna take some time if it's just put in the fridge. You may need to put it in the sink here and there and keep a continuous stream of COLD water going to help it along. Just put it in a pot in the sink and keep a nice continuous stream of water going into the pot to keep the water moving and cold. This is the method accepted by SafeServ for thawing food other than just by means of letting it sit in the fridge. I know a 16 lb turkey will take a week to thaw through in the fridge. I'd think a solid chunk o ham will take at least that long. Just sitting it out on the counter is NOT recommended.
__________________
[COLOR="Blue"][B]"Oh, I don’t reject Christ. I love Christ. It’s just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ."
-Mahatma Gandhi[/B][/COLOR]
Wampus is offline   Reply With Quote


Thanks from:--->
Old 11-28-2012, 01:17 PM   #5
CYvilEng
Got Wood.
 
Join Date: 09-03-12
Location: Des Moines, IA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by IamMadMan View Post
Make sure your Pink Salt is curing salt, and not Hawaiian Pink Salt, there is a difference.
I would also inject the brine into the thickest part of the meat due to the large size of the fresh ham.

Keep in mind the initial stages of smoking a ham are done at a lower temperature and then raised for cooking.

A mini wsm might be a tight fit so the brinkman vertical would work as long as you can control the temperature settings. The brinkman gassers sometimes run hot and make smoking at a lower temperature difficult (you can use ice in the water pan to help).

If a friend catches you looking for help, no worries, you explain it is like a recipe, and there are many variations in techniques. You simply want to do it right with guidance from Brethren with experience in this matter.
It is curing salt that I ordered. I wasn't sure if I could get it locally. I remember seeing pink salt at Whole Foods but it was Hawaiian stuff.

I'll make sure to inject it and brine it. You mentioned to cook it at a lower temp and then cook hotter at the end. What temps what you do? It seems like most of the stuff from Phastry has said he does that at 275.

There is no way it'll fit in the mini-wsm. Too tall, too round. No way possible. My gasser holds temps pretty good. I use my maverick and know exactly what it's running at. I have filled the water pan with sand and like it much better than messing with water.


Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagokp View Post
Here's what I did for a cottage ham.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=147620

Post 10 has some links to other hams that Phrasty has done. At least one of them is a full fresh ham. As IamMadMan says, you probably will want to inject. Phrasty did the same for his fresh ham and mentioned making sure you get it in the joint.

Good luck and post pron!
Thanks for the link! There is lots of good info there I hadn't stumbled upon!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wampus View Post
Only thing I'll suggest is that defrosting that thing is gonna take some time if it's just put in the fridge. You may need to put it in the sink here and there and keep a continuous stream of COLD water going to help it along. Just put it in a pot in the sink and keep a nice continuous stream of water going into the pot to keep the water moving and cold. This is the method accepted by SafeServ for thawing food other than just by means of letting it sit in the fridge. I know a 16 lb turkey will take a week to thaw through in the fridge. I'd think a solid chunk o ham will take at least that long. Just sitting it out on the counter is NOT recommended.
I like this idea. I think my friend thinks it's a waste of water. So he put it in a cooler full of water and put it outside Hopefully it's frozen enough to keep the water cold. The other weird part is it doesn't fit in the cooler so the lid is open I might have to go get it from him today so he doesn't make his whole family sick.

I'm still curious about a ballpark cooking time. Is 30 min per pound a reasonable time to guess and know I might be off a couple hours?
CYvilEng is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-28-2012, 01:30 PM   #6
centexsmoker
Full Fledged Farker
 
Join Date: 09-22-12
Location: Austin, TX
Name/Nickname : John
Default

skin off/bone in
centexsmoker is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-28-2012, 02:41 PM   #7
smokiefrank
Looking for a meat flute to smoke.
 
Join Date: 06-19-12
Default

Anywhere you don't get brine the meat will be grey and not pink. Inject it all over and right down to the bone. It should blow up like a ball, and look visibly swollen. Injecting it by hand and not with a pressure pump means you should inject quite close together.
Sit something on top of the ham while its in the brine so its fully submerged.
Leave the skin on as it will stop the fat rendering out, and will protect the meat in case of any unplanned temperature spikes.
If you get the temperature right it will be done in 8-9 hours.
smokiefrank is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-28-2012, 02:54 PM   #8
CYvilEng
Got Wood.
 
Join Date: 09-03-12
Location: Des Moines, IA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by smokiefrank View Post
Anywhere you don't get brine the meat will be grey and not pink. Inject it all over and right down to the bone. It should blow up like a ball, and look visibly swollen. Injecting it by hand and not with a pressure pump means you should inject quite close together.
Sit something on top of the ham while its in the brine so its fully submerged.
Leave the skin on as it will stop the fat rendering out, and will protect the meat in case of any unplanned temperature spikes.
If you get the temperature right it will be done in 8-9 hours.
If you leave the skin on and inject it does that mean there are holes all over poked through the skin? Or do you do the injecting through the meaty side?
CYvilEng is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-28-2012, 03:09 PM   #9
smokiefrank
Looking for a meat flute to smoke.
 
Join Date: 06-19-12
Default

Piercing the skin doesn't hurt, but don't score it because when it's cooked and cooled you will take it off whole and save it to put back around the ham while it's in the fridge wrapped in a damp towel. A good use for the rind when you get down to using the last of the ham is to throw it in a pot for flavoring some ham and pea soup. It won't be good to eat though, just flavoring.
smokiefrank is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-28-2012, 03:30 PM   #10
chad
somebody shut me the fark up.
 
chad's Avatar
 
Join Date: 08-13-03
Location: Clearwater, FL
Default

If you are bound and determined to cure it (rather than just brine it and que it like a shoulder) I'd mix the brine to formula with the cure in it and then inject about 10% into the meat. You'll need a nice long canulla to reach in and along the bone.
Here's a thread from sausagemaking.org:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=4862


The Brine Cure

Our basic brine cure is:

1000gm Water
155gm Salt
120gm Sugar
33gm Cure #1

This makes 1308gm of brine cure (about 1308ml).

You also add 2 - 5gm in total of a mix of herbs and spices of your choosing per litre of water, use a mixture and, unless you particularly like the flavour of one spice, use them in fairly even amounts. Suggested ones are juniper berries, cloves, coriander seeds, bay leaf, peppercorns - white or black, thyme sprigs and parsley stalks. I like more juniper and less cloves. Weigh the spices, and write the weight down; smash them up a bit before use.

The sugar can be of any type, white, brown, Demerara, treacle or honey. A mixture of half white and half light brown, or Demerara, makes a nice mild ham.

Calculate how much of each ingredient you will need to make enough cure to cover your meat. Weigh the ingredients out.

To save having to calculate each ingredient every time you make a brine cure, a spreadsheet is available that will do the calculations for you. The calculator is in Microsoft Excel format.

Beginner's Injection Brine Calculator

Put the water, salt, sugar and spices (in fact, everything except the Cure #1) into a pan and bring to the boil. If you are making a lot of brine, just use a portion of the water. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Leave to cool.

Using water, make the weight back up to the original amount - that is the original weight of the water, salt, sugar and spices, added together. That's the total weight of everything except the Cure #1. The downloadable brine calculator does this for you.

Mix the Cure #1 into the cooled brine mixture stirring to ensure that it is dissolved.

Injecting the Brine Cure

Injecting the brine cure into the meat is also called 'pumping'.

Calculate 10% of the meat weight - you wrote the weight of the meat down earlier! This is the amount of brine cure that you will inject into the meat. So if your meat weighed 1760gm, you would inject 1760gm x 10% = 176gm of brine cure into it. The calculator also does this calculation for you.

Inject the cure into the meat ensuring you get cure into all parts of it by injecting from all sides. I do the injecting in a separate bowl and re-inject any cure that leaks out.

Cure the Meat in the Brine Cure

Now place the meat into the remaining brine and put it into the fridge to finish curing. For pieces up to 2 or 3 kilograms 5 - 7 days is fine. Leave larger pieces for around 10 days. Turn the meat over in the brine cure occasionally.

Don't worry too much about the time in the brine cure - as long as the meat's in the cure for a reasonable length of time it will give the correct levels of salt, sugar and Cure #1, even if cured for a few days longer.

Rinsing and Cooking

Rinse the meat in cold water. There is no need to soak the meat in water. Just rinse it under the tap.

The meat can be cooked in a number of ways, most forum members 'boil' their ham, but the term 'boil' is probably a bad description. The meat and its cooking liquid never gets anywhere near boiling point.

The meat is put into a pan with any flavourings, maybe onion, carrot, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf - that sort of thing. It's covered with water, or other liquid - maybe cider or even coca cola - and then heated until the liquid is around 70 - 75C. The liquid is tasted after about 15 minutes cooking and if salty replaced with fresh water. It is left to cook until the middle of the meat is 72C - use a meat thermometer to test it.

When cooked, leave it to cool in the fridge then remove the skin, slice, and enjoy.

Of course, you can use any method of cooking you prefer or serve it hot, cold, glazed, oven baked, honey roasted, or any other method you choose.
__________________
Dave
Southern Brethren BBQ Competition Team

"It's all about getting paid!" - Myron Mixon
"I love being hated in my hometown!" - David Hair

KingFisher Gator Rotisserie cooker (RIP), WSM (RIP), Stainless 5 burner with IR gas grill (RIP), Turkey Fryer, Weber JD Commemorative grill (RIP), Masterbuilt 40" insulated ELECTRIC smoker (new heating element),
Pit Boss Tailgater pellet pooper.
chad is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-28-2012, 04:13 PM   #11
boogiesnap
Babbling Farker
 
Join Date: 04-22-10
Location: NEW ENGLAND
Default

follow these simple instructions.
http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/recipesHam.html

THEN, on your second round, because the first is soooo good, tweak with phrasty's stuff.

i've got 2 or 3 threads of hams i've done on here somewhere....

here they are.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=130234

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=123036
__________________
[SIZE="3"][B][COLOR="Blue"][I][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][/FONT]"YAWN"[/I][/COLOR][/B][/SIZE]-[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="2"]In memory of a friend.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

avatar by grillman. patent pending. :mad2::becky:
boogiesnap is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 11-29-2012, 08:57 PM   #12
CYvilEng
Got Wood.
 
Join Date: 09-03-12
Location: Des Moines, IA
Default

I got the ham tonight. It was very defrosted. It actually came with the skin off and fat trimmed. We decided to do the dizzy pig recipe. Lots of injecting. I was very surprised how much it plumped up!

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I forgot to take pics. I got a food bucket from the grocery store to brine it in. I could take a pic of the bucket in the fridge but that's not much fun.

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk 2
CYvilEng is offline   Reply With Quote


Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


Forum Custom Search: Enter your Search text below. GOOGLE will search ONLY the BBQ Brethren Forum.
Custom search MAY not work(no display box) in some configurations of Internet Explorer. Please use compliant version of Firefox or Chrome.







All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:46 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
2003 -2012 © BBQ-Brethren Inc. All rights reserved. All Content and Flaming Pig Logo are registered and protected under U.S and International Copyright and Trademarks. Content Within this Website Is Property of BBQ Brethren Inc. Reproduction or alteration is strictly prohibited.
no new posts