Quick question on a picnic

[frepar]

I did a little research and it sounds like there are some differing views on a butt vs a picnic....and i had a frozen picnic layin around so i thought i'd give it a whirl

well... i ripped the plastic off and rubbed her down with gunpowder...

my question is...

can i smoke this thing if it already smells pretty "hammy"?  i've heard people say they have more flavor, and kind of a ham like taste... but this thing really smells like ham

since it DOES smell like ham... does that mean it's cured?  should there be a different way to smoke it if it's cured?

thanks guys...

oh, i'm plannin on pullin it so i was thinkin of hittin around 190-200... and i think i wanna say i heard habs only does 160 for the IT? and chops it up instead of pullin?  pros and cons?

[3rensho]

Not sure what you mean by picnic here.  If you have a picnic "ham" then yes it is most probably cured and has had either liquid smoke injected into it or has been smoked if it is a better quality ham.  Personally I wouldn't pull it.  IMO a butt is a lot better for that.  If you have a fresh picnic (just the muscle, not cured or smoked) you could smoke it but I still wouldn't pull it.  Others will way in with their experiences.

[Kahunas]

I think 3rensho is correct and you have a picnic ham. But you know what? I say go ahead and treat it the same and pull it. Pulled ham sandwiches are fantastic and being a picnic it will have a bit more fat in it to help it from drying out. I would wrap it in foil when you get to 165 with a splash of pineapple juice and finish the cook to 200, wrap it and cooler it for a couple hours. The beautiful part is you can do anything you want and it is fine. As long as you can eat it, like it, and don't have to have the dog turn his nose up at it, you done good. Have fun with it is the main thing.

[frepar]

I'll give her a whirl!

i'll take some pics and let you know how it turns out!

thanks for the input!

[Habanero Smoker]

A picnic shoulder will smell more like a fresh ham and taste like fresh ham when cooked, not a cured ham that you are describing. So it does sound cured. If you can still get to the packaging, you may want to look at the label. 

Did it still have on the skin and fat?

[frepar]

LOL funny you should ask habs.... i attempted to dig through the garbage...however, my lovely yellow lab is, how should i say.... letting the world know shes in heat... and her diapers and rags are on the top of the garbage can...  so i'm not brave enough to dive in

so hopefully you can help me out with the fact that YES the skin/fat is still on the cut

whats that telling me?

thanks much guys!

[Habanero Smoker]

This is too funny.  ;D  ;D

Under those circumstances, I wouldn't dig through the trash either.

Having the skin and fat still on, that will generally indicate that it is not cured. The smell may be from the meat being enhanced; the manufacturer injects the pork with a brine solution. The reason manufacturers state they do this, is to keep the pork moist after cooking, but I try to avoid enhanced pork; especially enhanced ribs.

I generally remove the skin and most of the fat prior to smoking/roasting. I like to take them to 165 - 170°F and slice, but many on this forum take them to 195°F and pull them.

[frepar]

is the reason you stay away from "enhanced" meat a personal preference?  taste? health reasons?

the cut was given to me so i was just gonna smoke it up... these days i cant look at a big chunk of meat without thinkin, "how should i smoke this!?!?"

thanks again!

[KyNola]

Short answer.  Cut the skin off, cut some of the fat off, use some sort of glue, cheap yellow mustard or molasses, apply your favorite rub, smoke it in the Bradley for 4 hours at 225 and then continue to cook at 225 until the IT hits 195 or so, pull and enjoy.

[Habanero Smoker]

I do not like enhanced meats due to the taste. It gives the meat a "hammy" smell and taste, and a lot of consumers detect a metalic like taste. I detect the metalic taste, when meat is injected with sodium phosphates. When I smoke/roast enhanced ribs, they don't taste like ribs, but more like salty deli ham. Also they cook much faster, so by the time you think they are "pull off the bone tender" (when you bite into the rib, and need to tug a little to get the meat off the bone); the meat is over cooked and mushy.

[KyNola]

"I would not eat them in a boat
I would not eat them in a moat
I would not eat them here or there
I would not eat them anywhere

I do not like enhanced picnic ham
I do not like them Habs I am" ;D

Habs I hope you don't take offense as I don't intend it to be offensive.  I'm married to a retired elementary school teacher and as such when your last post started with "I do not like" and the thread was about enhanced picnic hams it just clicked with me after having heard Green Eggs and Ham about 1,000,000 times in my married life. :)

[NePaSmoKer]

Mammy

Its your little boy Sammy

Coming home from Alabammy

So fix me some eggs and hammy

Mammy

:o

[frepar]

smoked it up.... pulled it out at 180 (hadda get to work and was alright with chopping it up) and ftc'ed in the breakroom at work here till noon

definitely "enhanced"

rubbed it with gunpowder so it's got a little more heat, but it's pretty salty... hope some sauce will tone that bugger down... but the coworkers are definitely curious as to what smells so fantastic!

thanks for all the help (and poems) guys!

[Habanero Smoker]

"I would not eat them in a boat
I would not eat them in a moat
I would not eat them here or there
I would not eat them anywhere

I do not like enhanced picnic ham
I do not like them Habs I am" ;D

Habs I hope you don't take offense as I don't intend it to be offensive.  I'm married to a retired elementary school teacher and as such when your last post started with "I do not like" and the thread was about enhanced picnic hams it just clicked with me after having heard Green Eggs and Ham about 1,000,000 times in my married life. :)

No offense taken. That pretty much sums it all up for me.  ;D

... it's pretty salty...

That is another issue with enhanced pork.