26# Fresh Ham

Whoooo hoooooo!  Out of the brine, into the fridge.  T-minus 3 days to egg!

Will go on after midnight, early Sunday morning, when we get home from a holiday party.  Adds a degree of difficulty factor and some danger of not sticking the landing.  Danger is my middle name!  (But wish me luck anyway!)

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

i find they benefit from leaving a little fat on them after taking the skin off, but some come with much thicker fat than others. 

how are you planning on cooking it?

Did one last year about the same way and it was delish -- went aggressive on the fat cap before and figured I'd do it again rather than reinvent the squeal.

Gonna smoke it with hickory and pecan at 225 til IT of 150 or so.  Will glaze and add pineapple for last hour or 2.  It'll go on late-late-late Saturday night/Sunday morning -- also same as last year, but hoping to be maybe not so overserved at the party we're going to prior to the cook.  

Will post updates just cuz.

buzd504 said:

What's in the brine?

Kosher salt, dark brown sugar, curing salt, peppercorns, ginger, apple cider, juicing oranges, some other stuff that was in reach . . . water and ice to ensure it was sufficiently cooled down after heating to dissolve the granular ingredients.  Took it out last night after 12 days in the soup; worries about residue at the bottom of the bucket turned out to be unfounded.  Sucker was heavy to move, tho!

PoppasGrill said:

Is there a reason to soak it so long, or just a preference?

It's a cure, with pink salt (nitrite) -- without it, you end up with roast pork, not ham.  Guidelines for brining time vary, but at least 7 days seems to be standard.  For a 26 pound beast, I wanted to go about 1/2 day per pound.  

Amazing Ribs is a good resource if you're thinking of taking this on:

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/curing_ham.html

Turned out great. Next time I'm definitely going to inject -- some of the deep interior didn't quite "ham". But the majority was great. @NPHuskerFL you're my inspiration on this cook!  

Didn't get a pic til most of the pile was consumed. But here's a late shot -- you'll get the idea. 

JacksDad said:

This is truly a beautiful thing... Thanks for posting the whole process! 

Where did you buy the ham? Was it a special order item from the butcher? 

Thx so much. It's a real crowd pleaser, but you gotta plan ahead. Like 3 weeks. Plus a couple days (at least here) to order from the butcher.  "Natural ham -- uncured" was what the butcher called it. Tried to get a 20 pounder but 26 is what came through. It wasn't terribly expensive, either.