Got Hamzilla's cousin

[jimmyb]

Got me a 20 lb fresh ham and am inspired by the hamzilla legend. Couple of question before I dive right in and get 'er started.

1. What are the benefits of de-boning? I have never done this and don't want to hack this thing up
2. If  I have a 20 lb ham before de-bonig, do I just reduce the cure proportionality
3. Any other tips on curing, netting, hanging, smoking this thing. I think the only part I am 100% confident with is eating it!

[Habanero Smoker]

I can easily answer #2; NO. Make the brine the same, if you don't need as much brine to completely cover the ham then scale the brine down proportionately.

Have you seen the boning instructions on the Recipe Site?
A Tenpoint5 Ham - aka Hamzilla

[drunknimortal]

I got a 20 lb er in the smoker now. Its been going for over 30 hrs and is only at 145. I dried it at 120 for 10 hrs, then smoked it for 5 hrs at 130 then bumped temp up to 175. Trying to get it to 150 but its taking forever. Going to do a boneless one next but will have my butcher debone it.

[jimmyb]

Still not sure if its worth make trying out my knife skills on this thing even with the beautiful tutorial provided. What are the disadvantages of leaving it in? When I buy a smoked ham in the store it usually has the bone in it. Also, if I leave the bone in, it will change the weight of the beast. Do I account for that when measuring the brine? As usual, I am probably overthinking this thing and should probably just get the monster in the smoker already.

[Habanero Smoker]

It good to plan ahead and think of possible problems in advance. I feel that cooking a ham with the bone gives it more flavor, but as mentioned by drunknimortal it takes longer to cook. I smoke/cook my hams a little different. The last time I did a 20 lb ham it took me about 18 hours. I use less drying and smoke time, and after the smoke is applied I use a temperature of 210 - 220°F to bring the ham up to 152°F.

Leave the brine recipe as it is. Just make sure it is enough to cover the whole ham. The ham will have a tendency to float, so place a heavy plate on top of the ham.

[viper125]

Just did on of Habs and it came out great. I had bought 2 16-17 lb hams. But i decided to make 4 out of the two.  So I deboned and divided. Wasn't hard at all for me. But I have butchered quite a few animals. I saved the bones and used them in my beans. After I smoked them of course. I din't need a ham that large if I had Id probably down both halves that's all. I used the same brine as the bigger ones and it works great. As Hab has said though you have to have enough to cover ham completely. Only problem I know of doing them whole is bone sour. If it's not injected right.