Dr Chickens Ham 2nd edition

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Just to be sure we beat it to death, I found this on another forum. It's from the Doc himself. I modified it slightly so it would be forum friendly here.[p]Folks,
I am delighted and at times shocked that My "Double Smoked Ham" recipe and the "Sweet Kiss of Death" injectable marinade has gone over so well. Not just on this forum but and 3 or 4 other forums that many of you visit.
After doing this recipe exactly like it is 70 or 80 times, I've begun to "tweak" it. Not because it needed "tweaking", but because some of my original ingredients are hard to find. This past summer I took over as Division Mgr. for a company in NW Texas. Now I'm really having problems finding some of my listed ingredients. [p]With that in mind, here are some hints to some alternative ingredients in the original recipes.[p]Inregards to "The Sweet Kiss of Death" marinade:[p]Light Karo syrup......use a good store brand corn syrup. You may have to increase the amount by 1/3 cup or so, but it won't hurt the end results. Just be sure to use the light stuff, not the dark corn syrup.[p]Watkins brand Butter Pecan extract...... There is no real substitute that I've found. I've replaced it a couple of times with a syrup we can find locally.... That is "Griffin's Butter Pecan syrup"..Use 1/2 cup of this in place of the Watkin's and cut back about 1/4 cup on the Light Karo syrup. It will not be too sweet! Trust me on this one! You'll still have that buttery-pecan flavor, it just won't be as pronounced.[p]The Vanilla & the Rum extracts.... go ahead and use imitation extracts. Increase the amounts listed slightly to keep the pronounced flavors both of these give the marinade. I don't suggest using Vanilla Nut Bean extract. I've done that and so has my wife. Our results were disappointing to say the least! Too much vanilla flavor in our estimation. Every time we've tried it![p]Orange extract..... Here is one single ingredient we found that could ruin all our efforts very quickly. You wouldn't believe my original cooking trial used 2 Tbs of this stuff. WOW! It was bad, believe me!
Instead of Orange extract, use orange juice concentrate. But, go easy on this one too. Too much orange flavoring becomes overpowering. We use 2 tsp of orange juice concentrate when we substitute it for the extract.[p]You gotta remember to wrap the ham with 2 layers of plastic wrap before you start injecting the marinade. :-) Otherwise it becomes a mess and everything around you becomes a sticky mess.[p]I still like 3 ozs of marinade per pound of meat as a target for injecting, but use your own judgement there.[p]On to the "Double Smoked Ham" recipe and the glazing sauce;[p]The dark grade B maple syrup is almost impossible to find here in the mid-west. Instead, I use grade A dark. It is easy enough to find almost anywhere.[p]The instant coffee granules really do make a difference. A lot of folks have asked me if it results in a coffee taste? Not that we've ever found! But, we've left it out and have been totally disappointed with our results. My wife is very caffine sensitive. But, she does not have a problem with the instant coffee ingredient in the glazing sauce.
If you are going to change something in the recipe, please don't change the instant coffee crystals until you've tried it at least once with it as printed. You won't be sorry or disappointed that you left it in![p]After doing so many hams with both recipes, I've gotten to the point that I pull my hams off the cooker when I reach an internal temperature of 135 degrees. I wrap it in a double layer of foil andlet it sit for at least an hour and then remove it from the foil for about 20 to 30 minutes before slicing. By doing them this way, I assure myself that I've got a moist, tender and flavorful ham.
I've yet to have a single complaint too. That in itself says a lot about the recipe and technique. It works, everytime!!!!![p]With these hints in mind, I hope it helps some folks out there.[p]I apologize for such a long post, but I just felt folks would appreciate some more info concerning both recipes.[p]If anyone has any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. I'll get back with you within a day or two.[p]Cheers,[p]And Merry Christmas to all of you![p]Dave [p]