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Smoking a uncured Ham

Tom
Tom Posts: 189
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I want to know if anyone has any info on Smoking a uncured 23 pound Ham. How long should I smoke it and at what temp? I will be using a large BGE. Smoking it with applewood. Thanks

Comments

  • Wise One
    Wise One Posts: 2,645
    Tom , if you want to smoke it, you want to go pretty low on the temeprature scale - I'd shoot for around 240-275. At those temps and that size you are going to have quite a cook. You want to do this by internal temps rather than time so look for an internal temp of about 160. It's not going to take as much time as for pulled pork but it will take a while, Hopefully soemone who has more experience cooking something of this size will chime in.

  • JSlot
    JSlot Posts: 1,218
    Well, Tom, just remember that this piece of meat won't taste like traditional "ham" if it is uncured. The ham is the rear hip/shank of Mr. Piggy. If you cook it to 160°, you will have a huge pork roast. If you cook it to closer to 200°, you can pull it. It is much leaner than the front shoulder, so you have to watch it a little closer to keep it from drying out. Good luck![p]Jim
  • wdan
    wdan Posts: 261
    Tom ,
    In Raichlen's new, BBQ USA book, he posts a recipe for pulled pork using a fresh ham and uses the same cooking instructions he uses for pulled pork from butt...low and slow until internal temp of 195. He claims a 15 - 18 lb ham will take 7 -8 hours...He seams to use higher cooking temps and I would recommend on the egg to use a dome of 250 and let it go until internal temp hits 200...and I think that will be a whole bunch longer than 7 -8 hours for 15 - 18 lbs of meat...but hey, the destination is only part of the gig...the journey is the other part![p]I also agree with JSlot's observation that the ham is a leaner cut than the shoulder/butt cuts and you need to watch for the meat drying out. To that end, you may want to add some water to your drip pan...This is a habit from my water smoker days and some eggers may think of me as an infidel for making this suggestion, but if dryness is a concern, water does help...throw some vinegar and other stuff in it and tell people it is your secret flavoring agent.[p]Quite frankly, my family has not been satisfied yet with the baby backs I've produced on the egg because they come off too dry. I can't bring myself to use the popular X/Y/Z method where you change temps and wrap things in foil during the Z step. I'm still opting for a more purist-type approach where they go on the pit at one temp and stay there till done...the next step I take in this seemingly madcapped scheme of mine will be to incorporate a water bath in my next babyback cook. I've been using the bath all along in my butt cooks to help stabilize temperature during the long process.

  • JSlot
    JSlot Posts: 1,218
    What times and temps are you using on your baby backs, Dan? I'm a spare rib man, but I've been practicing on bb's lately and I've nailed 'em pretty good the last two times. I'm cooking them indirect at ~325° with no foil wraps. When the slabs fold over and almost touch on the ends when held in the middle with tongs, they are done perfectly.[p]Jim
  • wdan
    wdan Posts: 261
    Hi Jim,
    I've been going indirect (with plate setter) for about 5 hours at 250 dome. I'll usually wait until the meat pulls back from the bone ends by about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. That used to be perfect on my water smoker, but I suspect my temps were actually lower...it had a cheap-s--- thermometer that only indicated "low-ideal-high." It always hung around the very low end of ideal when I did bb's on it.[p]I'll have to give your "bend test" a try. How long do your bb's typically take at 325?

  • JSlot
    JSlot Posts: 1,218
    They've been running in the 3½ hour range, Dan. A little more or a little less for whatever reasons. I did spares last night at 340-350° and they were done in about 4 hours.[p]Jim
  • wdan
    wdan Posts: 261
    I was thinkimg after my last response...I did spares on the old water unit one time and they came off after 5 hours still pretty tough just loaded with fat...stuck with bb's ever since. That Brinkman must have been major bigtime low temp![p]Ironic timing...my 9-yr-old daughter just stopped in and asked what I was doing. I told her I was chatting with someone about the dry ribs we've been getting from the egg...she said, " Oh, good. And they weren't very barbequey either."[p]Oh man, dem's fightin' words!
  • JSlot
    JSlot Posts: 1,218
    OUCH!!! Out of the mouths of babes..........[p]Jim