Smoking a Fresh Ham

mike · April 2005

I want to smoke a fresh ham. Any sugestions on cooking times as well as how to properly brine or wet cure the ham so that it has that red color and true "ham" flavor.

Greendriver · April 2005

MIke, hope all the link work, last time I checked they did.[p]
This is a copy of a previous post and will produce a ham that is so close to pulled pork from boston butt that you won't be able to tell the difference, which is the way I like a fresh ham most of the time. IMHO, ham is the most forgiving meat you can do in your BGE. Cooking to a high internal like 195 like I like to do seems to scare others off, due to fears of dry meat, but it is only because they have not done it or they just prefer a fully cooked ham they can heat to 140 or so that can be sliced, or they want a smoked, ready to cook ham that has already been brined and needs to be cooked to 160 or 170, both of which provides the traditional ham look and flavor. So you can take from this a lot of info about what to do to get a traditional ham out of a fresh ham or do one the way I do which simply put, gives you a big ole ham falling apart tender. What I do in a nutshell is: buy a 20lb fresh ham and have it de-boned and put in a sack of butchers twine (the bone can be used to cook grn beans, pintos, etc), but if you want to leave the bone in that would be just fine. I like em boned cause they are much easier to handle when brining and cooking. Next I use a plastic oval file container from Wal Mart that is the perfect size for the ham and I make my brine far enough in advance so that it has time to cool before putting the ham in it (refer to resources given for a brine you like, I had cloves, garlic, bay leaves, and crushed blk pepper along w/ the salt for flavorings). I brine for a day and a half. I rinse and dry the ham, and then put my glaze (be creative and refer to info below) on it. Cook at 225 about 18 hrs to and internal of 195 then wrap in foil tightly and cover with towels and put into a Styrofoam cooler for an hour or two. Below you will find all the resources I have used in the past. You are welcome to email me with any questions you may have. Bottom line is if you keep your egg at 225 and cook to 195 internal, your ham will be good.
I find this definition is very close to the way I look at these pre-cooked hams.
http://www.hormel.com/kitchen/glossary.asp?id=33078
This looks to be some very good and interesting ideas on brine and glaze ingredients and instructions.
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/ham-recipes/coca.htm
And here is one of our famous Eggheads and Entrepreneurs with his instructions on how to cure and cook a whole ham, which you could use with good results by just removing the curing agent ?quicktender? or whatever because you are not planning on leaving it but 1 day or so.
http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/recipesHam.html
The is a complete discussion on the ?About? site on hams and I only include it so you can check out the remark (3rd paragraph from bottom) on fresh hams.
http://bbq.about.com/cs/pork/a/aa112898.htm
I have never seen so much detail about brining included here, although it is poultry the facts will prove very helpful with other meats as well.
http://cookshack.com/barbeque_guide/101/Brining101.htm#_Toc528293321
This is a comment from another BBQ forum and I don?t even know which one, but several people shared this same sentiment.[p]I've also been doing whole hams for a while, and people have been asking to buy them as well. I use a brine similar to Smokin Okies, but with sage and a bit of vinegar added. I usually have to do it in a cooler with ice since I don't have a container big enough for a 25lb. ham. I wash for about 5 minutes under running water and I usually smoke for about 16 or 18 hours to an internal temp of around 175 or so with apple and hickory wood. I've got nothing but rave reviews yet. I'll post the brine recipe when I can remember to bring it in. I am interested in trying dry curing as well if you have a recipe.
JayB[p]

Smoking a Fresh Ham

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