Going to try tenpoint 5's method for smoking fresh ham. See the link below to see what he did.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=8442.0
I figure on getting it into brine about 7 PM tonight and will leave it there until the 22nd, (only 5 days because I started late). I will start it in the smoker Monday night thinking that it may take 35 - 40 hours.
Questions:
1. Should I perhaps cut it in half and save one half or will the Bradley handle a ham that size?
2. Will reducing the curing time to just 5 days cause any problems?
3. Can the finished ham be refrigerated when finished, taken out and reheated for a mid afternoon dinner without sacrificing the freshly smoked taste?
4. Based on Tenpoint 5's time, I am thinking that the whole 22 #' should take somewhere around 35 - 40 hours to reach the desired IT. What do you think?
Any and all comments and/or suggestions greatly appreciated. I have never undertaken anything so big or that will take so long.
Thanks
Nathan
I'm not much help to you Sherlock but I am really interested in how you make out with that "bad boy"!
Pictures pleazzzz! ;)
Mike
I want to cure and smoke a fresh ham I can taste it. Keep us posted.
I have a 14 pound ham curing now, that I will be taking out of the cure on Friday evening. It was 17.5 pound prior to trimming. I like to refrigerate mine for about two days after I have finish smoking, then glaze it and reheat it in an oven, but I realize you don't have the time for that. But the answer to that question is yes, you can reheat it.
Here is a link to how I smoke my ham.
Smoke Cured Ham (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=465)
Ham trimmed and put in brine about 7:00 PM on the 17th.
Brine is 2 1/2 gal ice water
28 oz salt
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup #1 cure
Will remove Monday night and start 30 +/- hour smoke.
No Picures. Must get a digital camera. Maybe I will buy my wife one for Christmas. ;D
Quote from: sherlock on December 19, 2008, 04:24:14 AM
Ham trimmed and put in brine about 7:00 PM on the 17th.
Brine is 2 1/2 gal ice water
28 oz salt
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup #1 cure
Will remove Monday night and start 30 +/- hour smoke.
No Picures. Must get a digital camera. Maybe I will buy my wife one for Christmas. ;D
Now you're thinking Sherlock. My first Bradley was a Christmas present for the wife.....I told her if I bought one she would have to do a lot less cooking. That turned out to be a Christmas present for the whole family :o ;D She still hasn't learned that the smoke alarm isn't the timer for when things are done in the oven ;D
Quote from: sherlock on December 19, 2008, 04:24:14 AM
Ham trimmed and put in brine about 7:00 PM on the 17th.
Brine is 2 1/2 gal ice water
28 oz salt
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup #1 cure
Will remove Monday night and start 30 +/- hour smoke.
No Picures. Must get a digital camera. Maybe I will buy my wife one for Christmas. ;D
Sherlock did you inject your ham with some of the brine? Figure with a 22# ham you should need about 52oz of brine injected into the ham especially around the bone. I just started another ham myself on Wed for smoking on Tues. Good Luck on yours
Got any pics, 10.5? Pretty please??? ;D
No injection. The Ryek Koutas book seemed to say that it would not work well doing it yourself. He talked about processors using "Gaang" injectors, so Mine went straight into the brine bath. Hope it works. If not, I have an injector and will try it next time.
It still has two days to go. I am debating whether to inject it now. I think I will just let it go as it is.
TALK TO ME.....................
Quote from: Smoking Duck on December 20, 2008, 10:26:10 AM
Got any pics, 10.5? Pretty please??? ;D
Duck its just a chunk of meat sitting in a dirty brown brine solution right now. I put brown sugar instead of white in the brine and I added Maple powder this time trying for a Maple/Brown sugar Ham. But just for you I will make sure to get some FOOD PORN to keep you drooling! ;D
Sherlock if it has two more days to soak I would inject the ham. IMO that way you know the brine is working from the inside out and outside in. Pages 299 and 300 both talk about pumping the ham with 10% of its weight with brine before smoking. The figure I gave you was 15% which is what i use.
Thank you, 10.5, thank you. I live vicariously through the food of others ;D
No need for the brine.....you seen one brine, you seen em all :D
H E L P M E
Should I abort this mission and chalk it up to a bad experience or will it be safe as it is.
Nathan
Don't know the answer to that Sherlock.......wait until Habs or 10.5 or any others that have done a home cured ham before aborting.
SD
Thanks for the reply SS
Saturday, I did take a knife and poked X shaped holes in it clear to the bone thinking that maybe the brine/cure would leach up into the meat.
Now, I am thinking that it WILL NOT be cured suffuciently to allow 12 hours in the smoker at 120 deg. before raising the temp and beginning the smoking.
I am wondering if I could take it out of the brine and smoke it at 225 deg for 3 or 4 hours and then roasting inthe oven.
OR should I throw it away and chalk it up to experience???????????
Don't know what to tell you. I inject mine with 10% solution at the beginning, and never did it any other way. As far as I can tell that is also what is instructed in the "Great Sausage Recipes" by Kutas.
To be safe I would treat it as a fresh ham, and go to your plan "B" "....take it out of the brine and smoke it at 225 deg for 3 or 4 hours and then roasting in the oven."
I just got out of bed worked all night. Sherlock I'm not sure what to tell you either. I was kinda hoping you would have injected the ham two days ago. But I'm thinking along the same lines as Habs go with your plan "B". I would hate for you to throw a 22lb ham out. I knough I couldnt afford to do it. Who knows everything might just turn out perfect.
Thanks to you all..............
Plan "B" is now in action.
Removed from brine this morning and placed on a rack over a sheet pan to dry.
Tonight, into the smoker at 225 deg. for 4 to 8 hours using oak biscuits.
Take out, let it cool. shrink wrap and back into the refrigerator.
Tomorrow AM, into the kitchen oven at 325 deg until it reaches IT of 160 deg. After resting, a taste test will determine its future fate. If it passes, it will return to the fridge until Thursday AM when it will be reheated.
Got question here. Should I take it out of the oven at a lower temp since it will be reheated the next day?
In case of extreme failure, a turkey is going into the fryer as either Plan "C" or as a second entree.
Valuable lesson learned here thanks again.
If we don't meet again before Christmas, I wish you all A Merry Christmas.
Sherlock
Sherlock I would pull at 152* IT if your gonna do a taste test. 152* is a fully cooked ham. The book says you can pull at 142* IT for a ham that is smoked but still needs to be cooked before eating. Page 301 under Smoking.
By the way my ham went in at 9 am CST should have pics about 3pm tommorrow.
Thanks 10.5
Will pull at 152 deg
My ham went in today, and I just started applying the smoke about an hour ago. I thought it was a 14 pound ham, but after looking at my notes it was a 20.5 pound ham, and after trimming it weighed 17 pounds.
Sherlock,
If you are planning to fully cook the ham tomorrow, to be on the safe side make sure your ham is at an internal temperature of at least 137°F, before you take it out of the smoker.
Applied just salt & pepper, wrapped in cheesecloth, and hung in the smoker with eight hours of oak at 225 deg. last night. Removed this morning at 144 deg, took it inside, unwrapped the cheesecloth and wife is putting it inthe oven at 325 deg to bring it to 155 deg. Just licking my fingers from taking off the wrap was awesome. Can't wait for the taste test when I get home this afternoon. In the morning, it will go back in the oven just to heat to 160 deg. it up for our feast.
;D
Sherlock I would only go to 140 on the reheat so you don't dry it out. Dried out ham really sucks.
Thanks
140 it is
Merry Christmas
Hab, I read your recipe via the link below. I've got a couple of questions...Where do you find the juniper berries and what is "bruised"? Also, where do you find the coriander seeds? Do you buy them toasted? If not, how do you toast them?
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on December 17, 2008, 02:13:59 PM
I have a 14 pound ham curing now, that I will be taking out of the cure on Friday evening. It was 17.5 pound prior to trimming. I like to refrigerate mine for about two days after I have finish smoking, then glaze it and reheat it in an oven, but I realize you don't have the time for that. But the answer to that question is yes, you can reheat it.
Here is a link to how I smoke my ham.
Smoke Cured Ham (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=465)
Thanks for this post. This reminds me that I have to purchase a fresh ham soon.
The coriander seed and the juniper berries were purchased online. I buy most of my spices from Penzey's Spices (http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html), or use your favorite online store. Coriander seed can also be purchased in most grocery stores, look for it in the McCormick Spice display. Juniper berries you may be able to find in health food stores, or stores that specialize in canning supplies, and seasoning.
To toast coriander seed or any whole spice place them in a small heavy, dry skillet over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and a shade or two darker; then remove them from the pan immediately. If you are not use to toasting whole spices toast them until they are fragrant, then remove from the pan immediately. If you have to use a thin skillet be careful. Thin skillets heat unevenly and will burn your spices before you realize it. You don't have to toast the coriander, but doing so releases their essential oils and adds more flavor.
Bruise juniper berries simply means to break them open. You can do this by placing them in a plastic bag and using a rolling pin to lightly mash them down, or place them on a cutting board or counter, and use the bottom of a skillet and press down on them until they break open. Doing this releases more of their flavor, but this step can be skipped also.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on March 14, 2009, 02:37:40 AM
Thanks for this post. This reminds me that I have to purchase a fresh ham soon.
Ditto
Have anyone been in a Penzy's brick&Mortar store. I had a chance to go in one in Bethesda MD. It was quite a sight and smell. Truely a treat. Look for the closest and plan an outing. We came back with a bunch of stuff that I have not yet opened. And we went last Fall.
Hab, I recently tried your technique for a fresh ham. That was the best ham I've ever had. The final glaze was the best. I'll definitely make this again.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on December 17, 2008, 02:13:59 PM
I have a 14 pound ham curing now, that I will be taking out of the cure on Friday evening. It was 17.5 pound prior to trimming. I like to refrigerate mine for about two days after I have finish smoking, then glaze it and reheat it in an oven, but I realize you don't have the time for that. But the answer to that question is yes, you can reheat it.
Here is a link to how I smoke my ham.
Smoke Cured Ham (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=465)
rcger;
I agree the glaze is real good. I wish I could take full credit for the glaze, but I got that from Cook's Illustrated and tweak it a little (very little). :)