Ham for Christmas

[GusRobin]

Bought a 35 lb raw ham a few days ago.


Trimmed off the leg.


Brined it for 5 days and it is time to begin the ham. I took the 35 lb ham (now about 30ish after trimming) out of the brine.  After rinsing it off, it went into the netting.


Next I set the PID to 12 hrs at 120*; 8 hrs at 140* (with smoke); then 170* until IT reaches 142*.  Should be a total of about 36 hours. Plan to have it done on Christmas Eve and put it in the fridge until Christmas morning. Then I'll glaze and reheat it in the oven for Christmas dinner.

Hanging in the 6 rack Bradley. Glad I have the Bradley in a cabinet since we are supposed to have intermittent rain the next couple of days.



To be continued in about 36 hours ----------

[Gafala]

WoWis all I can say. :)

[dave01]

Make sure you post the end results

[GusRobin]

UPDATE:

After 12 hours at 120*, bumped the temp up to 140* and started rolling the smoke. Will smoke for 8 hours.

[RedJada]

Man, that is looking good....

[bushrat]

That will feed a lot of people at the food bank I volunteer at. Nice looking ham.

[Orion]

Thanks for posting such a great thread GR. Fine details, pictures, doesn't get any better! Watching with interest!

[Maximus1959]

Great job.

[dave01]

I'm wondering what the black box is behind the PID

[GusRobin]

I'm wondering what the black box is behind the PID

It is a box I built (with tons of patient help from Beefman)
What it does:
The Bradley cabinet you see is a damaged 6 rack unit I bought. (Had a dent on back corner.)
I run it with the OBS smoke generator that is hooked to a cold smoke box I built.
I moded the cabinet to add a second element. Instead of having both elements connected to the single plug at the back of the cabinet, I added a second plug so each element has its own plug.
So how this all works is that the power cord goes from the outlet to the black box. The PID is plugged into the box and gets its power from the box. Instead of connecting the PID to the Bradley cabinet, the PID power goes back to the box where it controls two plugs, one each connected to each of the cabinet plugs. In that circuit in the box, each element has its own on/off switch plus its own dimmer dial if you just want to decrease power to either of the elements.
The box also has a plug for the fan that is installed in the Bradley and a plug to power light in the shed. Both have their own on/off switch. The box also has a main power switch to turn everything off and a circuit breaker.
Hope that was clear - but it works great. But as I said, it would not have been possible without the help of Beefman.
Close up

Top part left to right- dimmer switch for element# 1; on/off for #1; on/off and Dimmer for # 2
Bottom L -R : switch for fan; for light; power on light; main power switch;PID on/off; circuit breaker.

[GusRobin]

UPDATE
After 35 hours, it is done.

Hanging in the Bradley before I took it out.


Netting removed and in the pan


Now I'll wrap it in saran wrap and into the fridge until tomorrow morning when I'll throw it in the oven with some glaze and have it for Christmas dinner. Of course I had to do a quality control check.



Based upon the sample, it was well worth the time and effort. It tastes fantastic.

[ragweed]

Congratulations!!  Looks fantastic!!  The pics sure show what a professional and well controlled operation you have.  Thanks for sharing and I know you and yours will have a Merry Christmas with that ham as a focal point!   Joe

[pensrock]

Thats a great looking ham you made Gus. I know the whole family will love it for Christmas.
Merry Christmas,
Pens

[barbquebec]

...looks awesome...great job GusRobin! 8)

[iceman]

Fantastic job Gus!! That has got to be a treat!