How to smoke a ham?

Unknown

I would like the full details to smoking a ham. What cut of meat to get, wood to use for smoke, seasoning, time and temps...and anything else you can include.[p]Thanks and God bless.

sprinter

Chas Davis,[p]Need a bit more information or I'm confused. Are you trying to MAKE a ham or are your trying to smoke an already brined/cooked ham. A ham is made by brining a "fresh ham" in a salt solution. Never done it but would love to try. Anyway, once you actually have a "ham" then how you smoke it is a good question. Again, never done it.[p]OR, are you trying to cook/warm a store bought ham, one thats already been cooked? I can help on the second one and have COOKED a fresh ham, not ever SMOKED one. The COOKED ham being indirect about 325 until its 135-140 internal. Smoked would, to me, mean lower and slower.[p]Sorry, I may be confused here but I'm not sure what you're asking.[p]Troy

Unknown

sprinter,
For what it's worth a ham refers to the rear leg of a pig basically from the knee up. It does not refer to the way it is cured, cooked or smoked - simply to the cut of meat. But you do need more info to answer sprinter's question. Is it a fresh ham - raw straight from wilbur. When fresh ham is cooked the meat looks like what you get on a pork chop/loin. Or is it a cured ham - commonly called a country ham, this is the one that is cured and is very salty. People sometime soak these in water overnight to get some of the salt out; others simply slice it thin and pan-fry it. The last type of ham is the pre-cooked variety from the supermarket. These are usually pink and look like a big old hunk of lunchmeat.

sprinter

zjdeere,[p]Thank you, you put into words what I had floating around in my head. Couple of questions though, isn't a common store bought ham also essentially a CURED ham? I always thought that it was soaked (cured) in a salt/sugar/spice brine and then cooked and packaged. I know that a country ham takes literally 4-6 weeks of "cure" time, much of it dry curing as opposed to the brine which is essentially just a salt water bath. I may be having trouble with the symantics of the whole thing as well.[p]Have you ever tried to cure a fresh ham, either into a normal store bought type or a country ham? If so, care to share any techniques?[p]Troy

JSlot

sprinter,[p]Here you go................[p]Jim
[ul][li]Dry Curing a Virginia Ham[/ul]

sprinter

JSlot,[p]Thanks for the link. Sounds like a lot of work with some seemingly precise temp. and humidity requirements. I'd question whether its even safe to try this in a home environment without the proper refrigeration setup and himidity controls.[p]Troy

Unknown

Troy,
Yes the store bought pink hams are cured, although I'm not exactly sure what they do to them. I've never tried to cure a ham. Some things are best left to the professionals...[p]I do like to smoke a fresh ham. It takes a while, but it is certainly worth the effort. I live in Georgia and a smoked fresh ham is common here. However, my wife's relatives are from St. Louis and had never had a smoked fresh ham. They now love smoked fresh ham.[p]

sprinter

zjdeere,[p]I'm about an hour East of St. Louis. Small world.[p]I've never slow smoked a fresh ham. I've grilled one (it was 22 pounds) for about 5 hours indirect at 325 or so and it was great. I've had a hankerin' for a LONG time to try a country cured ham but just haven't for whatever reason. I guess I'm afraid that after all that time and work it will stink and then I'd be disappointed. I'll give it a shot here someday.[p]Troy

Unknown

Troy,[p]Actually, I don't really care for the country hams. I live in a rual area and they are still popular (primarily with the older folks). They sort of remind me of a grocery store variety "red" ham, only much tougher and much much saltier. My grandmother, an excellent cook, used to cook it quite often. She would soak it over night and then slice it thin and pan fry it. Again, some people love them but I don't care for them.

JSlot

It can be done safely at home with the right setup. There a lot of folks over on the BBQ Forum that do it. I think one of the authorities over there on curing is Shake, if I remember correctly. He could surely point you in the right direction.[p]Jim
[ul][li]The KC BBQ Forum[/ul]