I have made reference to having Hamzilla in my freezer. I figured it was time to put up since we all know I don't shut up very often. I got the old girl out of the freezer this morning. I will thaw her out over the weekend in the beer fridge and start curing on Monday. I will de-bone the ham and stuff into a net. I got this ham and its twin sister from the Amish here in Iowa. (Yes Squirt and Hal this is the twin sister pay attention to the following pictures)
First you hoist and flop it on top of the scale to see if it will fit.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004426.jpg)
Then you say to yourself "Damn how big is that thing?"
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004427.jpg)
I need to know just how heavy it REALLY is!!
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004424.jpg)
OK now that we know it is definitely HAMZILLA size get the big meat lug out
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004428.jpg)
Cover everything in plastic wrap and off to the beer fridge to thaw out over the weekend. I am thinking this might be a really really long smoke when the time comes. I will keep you up to date as this one goes along. I will weight it again after I remove the bones, to get a better idea of how much brine to inject.
Wow, that thing is going to make an awesome huge ham.
Good lord!
You gonna hang it from a tree? (with your Bradley strategically positioned underneath)
Should be able to make a ham sandwich or two with it. At least that's what I am thinking of doing with it.
Holeee Moleeeee!!!! Can you really squeeze that in the Bradley?
Quote from: Tenpoint5 on September 17, 2010, 11:38:53 AM
Should be able to make a ham sandwich or two with it. At least that's what I am thinking of doing with it.
Or 3 or 4 ;D
Looking good
Hal,
You took the words right out of my mouth. Chris, you sure you can stuff that thing in a Bradley and what the heck are you going to hang it from? You don't have any netting hoss enough to hold that brute do you?
This is gonna be fun to watch as it transpires.
Go get 'em Chris!
I will probably double net this one. Yes it is going in the Bradley!! It will be a long smoke because I have to babysit my SG it has been acting up here lately so I have to check it every 20 minutes to make sure it cycled.
I think that's the ham that ate Chicago. That thing is downright scary.
I'm sure you'll HAM it up right.
Run for your lives! It's the..
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/TJPtnh-YyVI/AAAAAAABO40/2Xf23_255PU/s576/attack-of-the-50ft-woman.jpg)
Quote from: squirtthecat on September 17, 2010, 03:38:20 PM
Run for your lives! It's the..
Stand back, boys...
(I might have to "
take one for the team!")
Now that looks like it is going to be good. It also looks like it is going totake a long time.
Holy carp that's a big boy. If you had told me sooner I could have sent you a chunk of a gill net from the fishboats. :D :D :D
Man, that's the King Kong of hams. Don't think they make pigs that size in these here parts. Can't wait for the rest of the pics.
Dang, that's a mighty large ham. Can't wait for more pics!
How big is it after you debone it?
I might have to rent some commercial refrigerator space to brine Hamzilla's sister!
Chris, I have a field dressing net for a deer if you need it.
It's big enough to "hold a large deer"
HAMZILLA Is swimming in the brine for the rest of the week. Will pull her out early Saturday morning and start the Marathon Smoke. I just wanted to give a few pictures of how she got into her Fishnet Bathing suit to go swimming. BTW when all was said and done, Bones removed and the fat trimmed to where I wanted it. HAMZILLA weighed in at 22lbs!!!
The first thing I did was remove the Aitch Bone.
(Note: This is not my first time boning a ham. I worked in a packing house for 4 years. 3 of them years I was on a ham boning line. We had 3 guys boning 318 hams an hour.)
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004429.jpg)
Then I turned the ham around and removed the Shank Bones.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004431.jpg)
I turned the ham again and trimmed a little fat off. Located the seam on the big muscle, and opened it up to expose the bone then removed it.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004434.jpg)
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004436.jpg)
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004437.jpg)
Did some final trimming of the fat to make a uniform layer all over. Then wrestled her into the swimming suit (Ham Netting) all purty like.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004440.jpg)
Then I injected the brine 2 oz at a time for 52 oz. worth of brine. Submerged the ham and put the lid on with minimal spillage. Placed the bucket in the fridge where it will remain until Saturday morning.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004442.jpg)
Aitch that hurts :D
I need to do another.....Looks good.
Nice! I like to bone them too, makes it easier to carve.
I think you need to ask Santa for a bigger injector :)
Sitting and waiting..........
You go!
That's the way to get the bone out.
Looking forward to Saturday!
...Jeez... totally inspired now....
See ya this weekend...
The Smoke has begun. Hamzilla went into the smoker at 4:45 am CST. She will hang out at 120º for the next 12 hours. I didn't have the camera when I was putting her in there but she is hanging in the 4 rack DBS. I will get a picture and post some time today. I went and took a picture, here it is.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004444.jpg)
Holy PIG!
wow that pig sure takes up some room. :o
Dang Chris, did you misplace your Bradley Stretcher. Looks like you cabinet could use a few inches here and there.
VENT. WIDE. OPEN.. !!!
Good gawd that's a lot of pig! This is going to take a while.
That picture is reminding me of the peg leg pig joke. ;D
Six hours into this smoke and the ham which started at 38º is up yo 73º. I'm almost halfway there!!
This monster may be the coolest thing I have ever seen...
Update after the 12 hour drying period. The IT of the ham is up to 89º (started at 38º) The temp has been bumped up to 140º and the smoke has started to roll. I will apply 8 hours of Hickory Smoke this is the flavoring period. This is like a hockey game 3 periods. The Drying, The Flavoring, and the Cooking/Finishing. I will post a picture again after the smoke is done rolling, which should be about 1am.
You should not have any problem at all getting concentrated smoke it that Bradely. Don't look like you have much air displacement left over after hanging that beast of a ham. :o ;D
Sounds like all is well in hamville, can't wait to see the pics.
Up Till 1 rollin smoke. I have done that! ;D
You might have to rename the Hamzilla to ...
Hamilla cause you might not get any zzzzzzzzzz.
Quote from: classicrockgriller on September 25, 2010, 04:13:59 PM
Up Till 1 rollin smoke. I have done that! ;D
You might have to rename the Hamzilla to ...
Hamilla cause you might not get any zzzzzzzzzz.
Wanna Bet!! I planned this so I would be able to kill the smoke and take a nap from 1-7 am while the PID is in autopilot. I even snuck in a 2 hour nap this afternoon until some hungover strung out Monkey called and woke me up!! ;D :D
Quote from: Tenpoint5 on September 25, 2010, 05:51:25 PM
Quote from: classicrockgriller on September 25, 2010, 04:13:59 PM
Up Till 1 rollin smoke. I have done that! ;D
You might have to rename the Hamzilla to ...
Hamilla cause you might not get any zzzzzzzzzz.
Wanna Bet!! I planned this so I would be able to kill the smoke and take a nap from 1-7 am while the PID is in autopilot. I even snuck in a 2 hour nap this afternoon until some hungover strung out Monkey called and woke me up!! ;D :D
Least it twert me this time :D :D
I came Home SOBER!
I had to drive 1 1/2 hrs back Home.
Well it is just about 1am I went out and caught the last minute of this 8 hour Smoke. I even caught it on camera when I opened the door.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004445.jpg)
Now Hamzilla has definitely taken on some great color. She is only at 109º after 20 hours in the smoker. Now I will bump up the temp to 170º change out the water, which also catches any drippings, and it is time for me to take a nap until morning and wait for the internal temp to reach 152º. Just to be mean I took a second pic a little closer to really show off the great color.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004446.jpg)
OMG how will you sleep with that thing around
You might have out done yourself!
You should do a video for the rest of us idiots.
Would you look at the color on that Ham!
I would.
Wow Chris, that is very nice!
looking very impresive!
That is just so far over the top. Incredible!
That is a work of culinary art.
Now that I have taken a 7 hour nap. it is 8am and the Internal temp is at 137º only 15º more to go.If I am lucky Hamzilla has done the stall thing and it wont be very long.
Quote from: Tenpoint5 on September 26, 2010, 06:24:53 AM
If I am lucky Hamzilla has done the stall thing and it wont be very long.
Famous last words. ;D
I would expect that going to 152 °F you won't see much of a stall. There is probably a fair amount of collagen in that beast, but up to 152 I doubt you get much into gelatinization.
I am very impressed with this process. The ham looks fantastic......Whoot
Quote from: BuyLowSellHigh on September 26, 2010, 06:31:58 AM
Quote from: Tenpoint5 on September 26, 2010, 06:24:53 AM
If I am lucky Hamzilla has done the stall thing and it wont be very long.
Famous last words. ;D
I would expect that going to 152 °F you won't see much of a stall. There is probably a fair amount of collagen in that beast, but up to 152 I doubt you get much into gelatinization.
True but experience and proper note taking/a Smoke Log. Tells me it WILL go through a stall between 130-136º. I have miss judged my starting times on previous hams and HAVE lost a lot of sleep waiting for them hams to go through a stall period. ;D ;D
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm Hammmmmmmmmm
That monster looks mighty tasty :P
Well it is 11am and 30 hours into this and Hamzilla is at 143º looking like 1-2 pm it might be done.
OMG the Hamzilla looks awesome!
Dang Chris, while Pat, Hal and I were out terrorizing the smokers, you were working! Looks very impressive! Looks like you're almost there.
Are you there yet?
do you have pics?
a sandwich?
I'm waiting here..... ;D
BREAKING NEWS !!!
Hamzilla broke out of the Bradley and is terrorizing Iowa.
Quote from: classicrockgriller on September 26, 2010, 03:01:59 PM
BREAKING NEWS !!!
Hamzilla broke out of the Bradley and is terrorizing Iowa.
;D :D :D ;D
Or as the say
HAMZI-WA
Oh no there goes Des Moinezzzz
Hamzilla's late cousin.
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o290/stlthy1/Smoked%20Ham/P3310319.jpg)
I think we need a sister cook of ... King Butt. Then we would have the makings for a classic two-way sequel King Butt vs. Hamzilla.
HAMZILLA IS DONE!!!! It only took 38 1/2 hours in the smoker. It probably would have been done in 36 but there was a little operator error involved. Some Bonehead didn't put enough time on the PID to complete the ham. So it shut off. This was not a bad thing since I was checking temps every hour so I caught it after about 15 minutes. I reset the timer and the temp and went back into the house for another hour. When I came back out to check the temps the PID was still beeping at me saying it had ended. My IT had dropped from 145 to 142º. Needless to say I had forgot to shut it off and restart the program. While talking with Nepas on the phone he mentioned that he had heard some cussing this afternoon all the way over in PA. I apologized. Once everything got reset and fired back up it took forever to get to 152º. Once it did this is what I found and brought into the house at 7:30pm.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004452.jpg)
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004448.jpg)
I was being hounded on by 3 boys that they was hungry. So I busted out the Pirate Knife and sliced off the bottom butt end and cut it up for them to eat. I am overly critical of my hams and I can taste the sharp bitter creosote taste on the outer rind of the ham. So I will not brag that this is the best tasting thing I have ever tasted yet. Hamzilla is wrapped in plastic wrap and resting overnight in the fridge. I will slice it tomorrow morning after I take the kids to school. This resting period will allow the creosote flavor to diminish if not completely disappear. The part that I was tasting was directly over the smoke generator. Here is what it looked like with about 3/4 of an inch of the butt end sliced off.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004454.jpg)
thank you chris you did good job ................
great looking ham :o :o :o
seemore
well it looks good -- 38 hrs whew
Wow that is beautiful, that was one marathon cook!
Thought I heard you down here in Texas too.
Nice smoke and a beautiful Hamzilla.
Very nice Chris!
THIRTY EIGHT HOURS! Wow..
That ham looks awesome. If it's anything like my javelina, that taste will definately diminish and come out mouth watering.
Quote from: KevinG on September 27, 2010, 05:08:02 AM
That ham looks awesome. If it's anything like my javelina, that taste will definately diminish and come out mouth watering.
I didn't load Hamzilla with Gun Powder and Nuclear residue like you did the Javalina!!! ;D ;D ;D I am not worried it was only a very slight taste because I was being overly critical. I didn't even notice it on the small pieces left over from feeding the yardapes that I stuck in the fridge.
AWESOME!!
Chris that is a work of art...
Beautiful!!
AWSOME! :D
I'm almost home dad, Dont eat HAMZILLA without me ;D
Looks great Chris
Wow Chris - that ham looks awesome.
Way to go Chris. Looks great.
10.5, that thing looks awesome! Looks like you'll be needing some friends to help you devour it (wouldn't want it to go to waste ;D ). Time for a ham-eatin' party ?
Hamzilla has been torn down. Made a couple of ham steaks, cubed some for tater soup and other dishes. Then I sliced the rest of it. Here's a couple of pictures.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004460.jpg)
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/tenpoint5/S8004463.jpg)
Looks mighty nice Chris.
Looks fantastic!
(38 hrs.... I think see some re-fueling in my future)
Everything is all vac sealed and put in the freezer.except for the package that will go to work with me tonight and some for the yardapes to have for dinner tonight. Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches.
Now, that is a "proper" sized ham steak.
Have not done a ham from scratch yet, but your adventure may just put me up to it. Now only to find a fresh ham!
Quote from: Caneyscud on September 27, 2010, 11:20:24 AM
Now, that is a "proper" sized ham steak.
Have not done a ham from scratch yet, but your adventure may just put me up to it. Now only to find a fresh ham!
The ham steak is only about 3/4 in thick. Yes it is laying on a Corelle serving platter. Should be a good snack on a cold day!!
Holy %$#@, can anyone say get me a PLATE, not no wimpy 8,10,or even 12" job, you need a PLATE!
That's just simply HAMAZING Chris. Nice work.
Heck man that turned out looking awesome!
That is amazing looking. It has also inspired me to try one...but maybe not a full blown "hamzilla" for the first try ;)
Quote from: Northern_Smoke on October 14, 2010, 07:27:09 PM
That is amazing looking. It has also inspired me to try one...but maybe not a full blown "hamzilla" for the first try ;)
I would highly suggest staying in the 10-12 lb range for a first try. Not that it is any easier or that much shorter of a cook. Just that this is a pile of meat!!
In the 10-12 pound range what cut, specifically should I request from my butcher? Boned?
Quote from: Rich_91360 on October 21, 2010, 11:04:17 AM
In the 10-12 pound range what cut, specifically should I request from my butcher? Boned?
You want a fresh ham.
Quote from: FLBentRider on October 21, 2010, 11:36:09 AM
Quote from: Rich_91360 on October 21, 2010, 11:04:17 AM
In the 10-12 pound range what cut, specifically should I request from my butcher? Boned?
You want a fresh ham.
FLB has you covered. You want a Fresh Ham/ or a it is sometimes called a Green Ham. Boned or not is up to you. You will probably pay more for a boneless. Bone in is good because then you have a Ham bone to make some beans or ham and bean soup. If possible I would suggest getting a skinless ham, saves you the hassle of taking that off. Unless your wanting to hit it with a little smoke slice and deep fry for cracklins