Brining/Wet Curing Time For Fresh Ham

[oldsmobubble]

Hello all it's been a while since I've been on the site let alone posted anything, but, here goes. I found this recipe for brining/ wet curing a fresh ham & it said for a 15-20 lb brine for 10-15 days. I was wondering if anyone has ever brined a fresh ham then hot smoked it (not cold smoke) & if so what is the average soak time. I've heard as a general rule of thumb that 1 day per 2 lbs of meat is about right. I'm going 2 be doing this for Easter so I know I'm going to have to get started soon. The brine/wet cure consists of pink #1 curing salt, pickling spice, regular or kosher salt, some sugar, garlic, onions, celery, water, & maybe some alcohol or really whatever else u think will taste good.
Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Shagdog]

12 hrs a lb is correct, but a little longer will not hurt anything either.. A ham is a big piece of meat, so make sure you inject it.. A lot. As thick as a ham is, brine will not be able to penetrate all the way in to the middle. Especially around the bone, inject brine in there till it just won't hold any more, and then give her a good soak.

I've hot smoked them before, came out fine. At 200 it took a good 9-10 hours to get to 160. Hope this helps

[IamMadMan]

The injecting also helps to prevents bone sour....

[viking72]

Thanks for the info, planning fresh ham for Easter also!

Later,
Doug

[CharredApron]

Here is a link to one i did last year! Good Luck

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=176297&highlight=ham

[oifmarine2003]

Yep. 7 days is about how we usually do it. Shagdog is right, injecting is the key. Inject that sucker until it looks like it is about to burst, especially around the bone.

This is a link to a hog butcher that has some info on how we brine the hams.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=175655