Smoking a Fresh Ham?

gt4889

I've got a fresh ham, straight from the 4-H club and subsequently the butcher. I want to cook it on my BGE for Easter (i.e no time for home cure). I've searched the forum - many fresh ham posts - but still have a few questions.

Should I put it in a brine? One poster said it would just become pulled pork without it. Any good recipes to recommend? (besides the cola one, I've seen that a lot)

Should I also inject it? I'm a relative newbie so this would be unchartered territory for me. When? How often? Recipe? etc.?

Glaze? The family was after a honey baked ham so I'm trying to mimic as best I can. But I realize that is probably a cured ham, not smoked, correct?

I've got the recipe for Dr Chicken's double smoked ham but that seems to be for an already cooked ham. I also understand that "low and slow" is not advised for a ham. Cooking at 350 dome until internal temp of 135 seems to be the most common advice.

Any answers or additional insight would be greatly appreciated. thx!

stike

can't help with regard to injecting, but you can brine it. same thing as curing only without the pink salt (the actual "cure"). but you'll get some salt and other flavors into it. i started my cure friday, allowing a day for every two pounds, but mine had the curie in it.

as for becming pulled pork... it won't become pulled pork unless you go low and slow and take the thing up to about 200 degrees.

it will be sliceable anything under, say, 170 or so. but you don't want to take it that high anyway. 140-145, it will continue to carry over to 150 or more.

it's not going to be a "ham" with the different texture and pink meat that the cure would give you, but it will be a pork roast.

sprinter

Several years ago our cooking "club" was in a magazine article for "Cooking Pleasures" magazine. They were looking for groups of friends that cook together on a regular basis, I contacted them, and the rest is history. Anyway, this was the recipe they developed for us and the one we cooked for the photo shoot. I cooked the ham on the egg and it came out amazing. I just cut and pasted the recipe from the magazine website:

www.cookingclub.com

Troy

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This recipe uses a fresh ham, a ham that is not smoked. For optimum taste, marinate the meat a full 24 hours in the beer mixture. The marinade is later cooked and used as the base for a flavorful barbecue sauce enriched with pure maple syrup and Dijon mustard. For a real treat, serve slices of pork and sauce on onion rolls.

1 (8-lb.) bone-in half fresh ham (not smoked)*
3/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 cup pure maple syrup, divided
3/4 cup cider vinegar
2 1/4 cups beer, preferably flat
2 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Pat meat dry using paper towels; place in 2-gallon resealable plastic freezer bag or large container. In blender, combine onion, 1/3 cup of the maple syrup and vinegar; blend until smooth. Stir in beer and pepper. Pour marinade over meat in bag. Seal bag; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight, turning at least once.

2. Place drip pan in center of grill or fold up sides of piece of foil and place in grill to catch drippings. For gas grill, turn on only one side to medium-low heat. For charcoal grill, arrange coals around outside edge of grill, leaving center clear; heat to medium-low.

3. Remove ham from marinade, reserving marinade. Place ham on unheated side of gas grill or in center of charcoal grill; cover grill. Grill 4 1/2 to 5 hours or until skin is mahogany-brown, meat is tender and internal temperature reaches 160°F. to 165°F., turning every half hour. If using charcoal grill, add about 10 coals to each side of drip pan every hour to maintain heat.

4. Meanwhile, prepare sauce. Strain beer marinade into medium saucepan; discard solids. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; skim off foam and particles as they rise to surface. Boil 5 to 10 minutes or until reduced to 2 cups. Whisk in remaining 2/3 cup maple syrup and mustard. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced to 2 1/4 cups. Stir in salt. Remove from heat; serve warm or at room temperature.

5. Place pork on cutting board; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 15 minutes. Carve into slices. (If desired, place covered pork in 200°F. oven until ready to carve.) Serve with sauce.

TIP *If you'd like to use a smaller cut of meat, ask your butcher for an arm cut. This piece of meat is located by the shoulder and is connected to the hock; it is often called the fore shank. It is 4 to 5 pounds.

12 servings

stike

sounds really good....

i've cured mine, so what do you think about making just the glaze? would it be ok with a cured ham?

sprinter

As I remember the glaze was pretty good by itself. I would think it would go pretty well with a cured ham.

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

Just wondering.... :unsure:
According to my butcher there can be two meanings for a "green" ham, that are dependent on region and or local ethnic background. One is a roast / ham that has had nothing done to it and the other has been cured but not smoked / cooked.
So Troy, I wonder which you had when doing the cook / article with your cooking club? As already mentioned a cured ham will be pinkish with a firmer texture. Do you remember if that were the case....You may have started with a cured ham.
No matter though...Your recipe and method does sound delicious !