Confused about Ham finish temp

Hoov · December 2013

I am about to smoke a fresh ham that has been wet curing for about a week now. I did this for thanksgiving and pulled at 155 based on a recipe, but got to thinking about the finish temp. Why is cured ham done at 160, but a pork roast is safe at 140ish?

Thanks!

500 · December 2013

Ham is already cooked. You're just heating it up. I'll heard 120* in some places and 140* in others.

Hoov · December 2013

I'm actually doing an uncooked ham, sorry for the confusion. I bought a fresh leg, cured it, and am smoking it today.

gdenby · December 2013

As far as I know, 140F for a few minutes for either fresh or wet cured are fine. Pathogens start to be destroyed around 126F. The amount of time it takes to destroy the [pathogens is dependent on time as well as temp. 140F for a few minutes does as good a job as 160 for a few moments.

There's lots of contradictory info dating back to when trichina worm infestation was a problem. And some of the safety info was stated without reference to time.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · December 2013

It's safe at 140 but the texture isn't right until it gets a little higher.

Hoov · December 2013

Thanks. There is a lot of contradictory info out there.

Hoov · December 2013

That makes sense

Confused about Ham finish temp

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