Ham for family reunion

Unknown

I am planning to do a ham as one of the meats for my family reunion. Problem is this is my first time doing a ham. Any help as far as what kind and grade of ham to buy and cooking temps and times would be appreciated. Andy

Smokin Joe

StuckinLodi,
Try Dr. Chicken's Double Smoked Ham. While I do not have the recipie link, I'm sure someone out there does. Someone want to jump in with the link? Thanks! Joe

WessB

StuckinLodi,
Heres the link to Dr. Chickens recipe

eggor

StuckinLodi,[p]I'll third daves double smoked ham, but might skip the injectable marinade (It's good but I didn't care for it cold in a sandwich as leftovers). And also I would not use the mesquite for smoking.[p]Also the link below is not the actual recipe, it is close but someone has modified it some.[p]http://www.biggreenegg.com/archives/2003/messages/72626.htm[p]this is the actual recipe

eggor

eggor,[p]now that i read what i wrote let me refrase.[p]the recipe that wess posted is not the original recipe.[p]the link i listed is the original

eggor

WessB,
What’s up with this? You know the forum rules.

mad max beyond eggdome

StuckinLodi,
i also endorse the dr. chicken recipe as far as the times/temps/smoke/glaze. ..i don't do the injectable marinade, mainly cause i'm lazy. . .i use fruit woods for lots of smoke (cherry/apple). . .the other thing i do differently is i slather the ham in dijon mustard and brown sugar before i put it in the egg. . .[p]also, and i don't know if anybody spelled this out specifically, but i use a pre-smoked hardwood smoked ham from the grocery (ergo the 'double smoked' moniker). . .[p]here it is almost ready to pull off the egg[p][p]and here it is sliced. ..[p][p]this is a great ham and like dr. chicken said, you take an average ham and make it really special. . .i did one for an office function recently and everybody raved about it. . .i had nothing left but a bone and some scraps. .

BlueSmoke

StuckinLodi,[p]Add me to the list of Dr. Chicken fans. I did one for a family get-together, and my share of left-overs divvy-up was one slice, the bone and a handful of shreds. And the bone and shreds went into a best-ever pot of ham and beans next day.[p]Ken

WessB

eggor,
What are you talking about???[p]Wess

mad max beyond eggdome

WessB,
i was trying to figure it out too. . .i went to the link, and gee wiz, it says primo at the top... .so what?? who cares??. . i don't think it breaks the rules. . .its not an endorsement or comparison to other products, its simply a down load of a recipe that happened to be on another site. .. .

Unknown

StuckinLodi, just don't make the same mistake I did on the first ham I did on the egg. My wife bought a "spiral-sliced" ham and I tried cooking (heating) it on the egg. It was TERRIBLE! Dry as a bone! [p]Duh....dumb me.[p]Good luck,
Van

BlueSmoke

Hugh Jass,[p]You can "kinda" get around the problem if you put that spiral sliced ham in a ham stocking (available from Allied Kenco among others). Still, it's not as good as an unsliced ham.[p]Ken[p]

eggor

WessB,
just thought you were trying to put in a plug for primo, couldn't figure it out since I know you cook on bge

Unknown

BlueSmoke, it was my first experience using the egg and I didn't know any better! I over-cooked it BIG TIME. Even the dog gave me dirty looks when I offered him the leftovers.[p]Thanks goodness, with the help of this forum, I have learned a little since then.[p]Van

BlueSmoke

Hugh Jass,[p]It was my first Dr. Chicken ham; enough mistakes for some good learning, enough good food to encourage me to keep going...[p]Ken

Unknown

StuckinLodi, hey not a way to gain popularity (disagree with bout everybody on the forum all at one time), but hey, if I'm anything it's opinionated and honest. Here goes...I didn't buy a BGE to use to cook ham's that some company has already had hold of and put food coloring, preservatives, and their own smoke flavoring in before I get it. What I do is get me a whole "fresh" ham and start from there. If you have ever done a pulled pork from a boston butt you can do a whole fresh ham that is even better. Toward the end of your cook you can decide whether to take it out at about 170 and slice or keep cooking it to 200 and pull it...pulled ham is betta that boston butt and it will not dry out...promise. You also will have the option of brining if you want to and of course inject and dust, and all that good stuff...I even did a nice little paste with basil and salt, pepper, oil, and ground pine nuts and thickened the mixture with corn starch, it really made an interest bark as you might imagine. I am not saying they recipe for a pre cooked ham wouldn't produce a great ham, but I do say mine will be better. In fact my Mom (before the Egg) use to do em all the time and they were wonderfull but the way she did em and we liked em so much was to cook in cola and cook till it fell apart and of course that was inside in a reg oven.

QBabe

Chet,[p]Not to disagree...(hey, you started it!) but, I think if someone is looking for the traditional ham flavor, a fresh ham wouldn't be the thing to serve...it tastes more like a loin roast to me ('course that's my personal opinion). The more "traditional" hams have been cured and that's what gives them that "hammy" flavor. Now don't get me wrong...I'm know that fresh hams are WONDERFUL and have great flavor. But unless a fresh ham IS the traditional ham in his family, I'd want to play it safe and cook a couple of nice ones from the grocery store. Maybe 250° - 275°, indirect until the internal hits about 140°...[p]Maybe someone can jump in and tell us how to cure a fresh ham, so we could then smoke it ourselves and wind up with the "traditional" ham that so many of us serve up for the holidays...[p]Cheers,
Tonia
:~)[p]

Unknown

Tonia, don't forget you have that option of brining...and also I think if you want to slice it, I would take it out a good bit before the 170 although that works too...but you probably hit the nail on the head when you said it's all about the flavor your looking for and I guess it is an artificial flavor that turns me away from the pre smoked ones. I have helped cure about 25 hams all at one time from start to finish. An uncle of mine had a huge walk in cooler installed in his garage when he built his house and wanted to do em in the pre 1900 original smoke house that still existed on his property and give em away to customers. So we salted & hung in cooler first I believe then smoked, then wrapped & hung in attic for the entire winter... they turned out as good as any you could find and a brand like Clify Farms comes to mind that reminds me of them...But I see no simularity between the pre smoked hams we are talking about here and if I compare the two I equate the pre cooked ones with imitation flavorings and at the same time I know they have to be filled with preservatives and coloring. So while they are good and we use to use em , since I now have me 2 of the "worlds best smoker / grills" I prefer the natural method and haven't had any family members that suggested we go back to the others.

Caney

Chet,[p]Couldn't agree more. I would never put a pre-cooked or cured ham in my BGE. I've done a couple of fresh hams. I just coat with honey and use hickory for smoke. 170 to 200 works. Just depends on your choice of texture. I like a dome temp of 225 to 250. If anyone in the Atlanta area has tried Harolds smoked hams, that is just the way I like em.[p]Caney[p]

djm5x9

Caney:[p]I know a lot of folks named Harold in Atlanta. Of whom do you speak? I would like to sample his ham . . .
[/b]

Caney

djm5x9,[p]Harold's BBQ restaurant. University Blvd. Just south of the city on the connector. If you make it there, try the brunswick stew also.[p]Caney[p]