Fresh Ham

Unknown

Have a friend who want me to smoke a ham for holidays. I assume fresh ham, i.e. shoulder or butt?? any suggestions?? Recipes??

Sundown

Fastmanwayne,[p]Did a fresh ham a couple of weeks ago and it turned out very well however, my wife was less than happy. Even with a real good smoke period it still tasted like pork. I think that we (most of us) have become accutomed to the salty taste we get with the commercial "smoked pre-cooked hams". I must say I did not brine it but, the brine would not have imparted the strong salt taste. Unfortunately there isn't any way I can see to cold smoke (for a LONG time) with Mr. Egg. What comes off the Egg when you do a fresh ham is a wonderful rost pork with smoke added. Still not bad at all.
The one I did was 17 lb. at 20 - 25 minutes a pound at 300º dome temp. Internal temp 160º.
It was tasty but just be prepared.
Good eating.[p]Carey

djm5x9

Fastmanwayne:[p]I have done fresh hams in the past but was not real happy with the results. With regularity I get a whole smoked ham and smoke it at 250º dome to an internal of 160º. Great off the grill, great for leftovers.

JimW

Fastmanwayne,
Brining it is an option but make sure you rinse it very well before you cook it. Also make sure the ham is not injected with any water or other solution, just a plain no-water added one. One more thing about hams in general, don't get one that is spiral sliced. You have to tie those real good with string to keep the slices from separating and drying out.
JimW

RhumAndJerk

Fastmanwayne,
There is a great in-depth article on Fresh Hams in the March 2001 Issue of Cooks Illustrated. It is worth the price of admission.[p]You may get the best results by purchasing a commercial ham and then baking it in the egg. Although, I brined a boston butt once and it came out with a hammy taste. [p]Please, let us know what you end up doing,
RhumAndJerk[p]

Unknown

Fastmanwayne,[p]While I don't have an egg (I have a Klose BYC pit), turning out ham should be a no brainer.[p]The first order of business is to find a spice wholesaler in your area. Contact and ask for a "ham cure" (black forest, vienna, haney garlic - whatever you like). The cost for this will be about $5 - $10 giving you enough spice and cure mix to do 100 hams (seriously - this stuff is cheap and you don't need much)[p]Follow the directions that the spice wholesaler will give you. If they say to inject 10 - 15% green weight with cure - use a poltry needle and inject (as close to the bone as possible), then brine in solution for the recomended period.[p]Once this is done, get the smoker (or egg) up to temp with the wood or lump of choice (I use maple and oak logs im my Klose - but lump or home made charcoal should work as well) toss the ham on and smoke until an internal temp of about 160.[p]No guarentees it will work the first time (generally not fantastic - but good), but once you get the hang of it you will never buy ham or ham lunch meat again.[p]John D
Still looking at an egg to fill out the Q collection.