Fresh ham question

Shelby

Thinking of doing a fresh ham this weekend.[p]Appreciate thoughts/suggestions on time/temp; brine or not.[p]Seems I remember reading fresh hams coming out more like pulled pork. Is this correct?[p]Thanks

Unknown

Shelby,
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 ham at 140 or so that can be sliced. 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.[p]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[p]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[p]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[p]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[p]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[p]This is a comment from another BBQ forum and I don’t even know which one, but several people shared this same sentiment.

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]

Unknown

Yo Shelby, What you may have read before about fresh hams is that unless they have been brined or cured, they will taste like roast pork. It is the cure/brine that gives ham that "hammy" taste. If you want to cure or brine the ham, most brine recipes I have seen call for a soaking period between five and seven days.[p]Although hams can be cooked to that range of temperature between 190º-205º for pulling, I think they are better served sliced. If you plan on slicing the ham, an internal temperature between 160º-175ºF will be fine. One reason I prefer slicing hams instead of pulling them like the shoulder cuts is that the back legs do not have near the fat in them that the front legs do.[p]The fresh hams I have cooked weighed around 20 pounds. I cooked them at 225º-250ºF. On the average they will take between 45-60 minutes per pound to reach slicing temperature. I hope some of this helps.[p]Lager,[p]Juggy D Beerman

Unknown

Chet,
Just to add... I recently tried the Coca Cola Ham recipe that you mentioned in your post above on a Pork Loin (was shooting for a canadian bacon type meat)... well It was good but I just didn;t like the herby flavor of the rub/glaze. I will definetly try to do another pork loin/candian bacon type ham but will do a more traditional brine and glaze next time.[p]For what its worth I Brined the loin (about 4 lbs.. it was actually half a loin) for about 20 hours then cooked @225-250 for about 3 hours (to 155 internal). The meat was cooked to perfection very tender and juicy.. It just wasn't the flavor that I am looking to get.[p]Also, if you really want the pink "ham" you do need to use the sodium nitrate "tender quick" and brine for several days.[p]Brian

Unknown

Nardi,
I'm not a big fan of the pink ham since I've been doing them on the egg. I will say however that this next ham I do will be a departure from the "pulled" ham type cook. I plan to pull it at 170 and wrap in tin foil but leave out the cooler trick. It will be injected and have a nice glaze but I haven't settled on those yet.