Injecting brine?

[takem01]

Trying my first ham. I boned out a fresh picnic a la Hamzilla. Put the meat into the brine for 7 days. Everything I see says that the brine penetrated the meat, which, unrolled, is not more that 2 inches or so thick. But in reading up on ham curing, almost every recipe says to inject the brine into the meat. My question is this. If you inject the brine, which is a salt solution that you want to rinse off of the meat before smoking, isn't it going to make the ham overly salty?  Shouldn't you make a second brine mix with less kosher salt in the solution to inject?

[Habanero Smoker]

The way you describe the meat, and how it is cut is confusing to me. If it is a picnic cut it is not from the ham section; rear leg of the pig. That cut comes from the shoulder; front legs (also called "arms") of the pig. The reason it makes a difference, is that cut is not as thick as the shank end of a ham, so it will cure faster.

When you say "which, unrolled, is not more that 2 inches or so thick", are you brining it untied? If you are you brining it unrolled, then injecting is not necessary. If it is still tied, which will make it is a thick cut, if not injected; depending on it's thickness, seven days may not be enough time for it to be fully brine. Though most picnics I've seen, are not all that thick, once the skin and fat are removed. Also being boneless it will brine faster.

As a reference; a bone-in ham is a thick cut of meat, and to insure that it is brines properly is to inject 10% of the brine you are brining the ham in. Also by injecting the brine, you speed up the brining process to insure that it fully brines in seven days. Injecting with the same brine generally does not make the meat overly salty; but of course that depends on the level of salt in your brine. Whether the brine is injected or not, the salt solution will seek equilibrium so it will be far less salty than the brine you submerged that meat into.

To get an indication of how salty your brine was, how much salt by weight did you use per volume of liquid?

[takem01]

Thanks, Habs.
It is indeed a front shoulder picnic, which I'm brining unrolled.
Haven't tasted it, yet, but this is the solution I used.
2 1/2 qts water, 1/3 C Pickling Salt, 1/4 C Brown Sugar, 1/8 C Maple Syrup, spices, 3 Tb Instacure #1.
Ham is about 5# after losing skin & bone.

I've thought about it more since posting.  Is injection in this manner to artificially reduce the thickness of the meat?  By injecting and giving the brine to work through the meat equally, you're effectively brining from within as well as from the outside?

[beefmann]

Takem,

I personally have done the front shoulder, picnic cuts like what you  are  using many  times for making  Easter and  Christmas hams and they  do come  out  quite  good with a  good cure and glaze, i have cut  out the bone on some occasions, other times i have  left it in.

there are two rules of thumb here on curing meats,
1) injection and soak, this is where you  inject the  meat at 10 % of the  weight  of the meat and with the  rest of the  liquid cure,,  soak the  meat for  7  days,,, 1 day = 24 hours
2) inch of thickness method,,, This method is where you  have a whole shoulder. ham shank, or other  cut of meat ,, lay it on a  cutting  board and measure from the  cutting  board to the top of the meat,, if  the  measurement is lets say 9 inches then you  have  9 days of curing time ( this method in not  injected ) 

also if you   use either method i would still cure for  mim 7 days to be sure...

also habs has provided you  some good information as well...

good luck with your  efforts and enjoy

[takem01]

Sounds great, beefmann. I got called out of town, so when it comes out of the brine and I get it rolled back into shape and bagged up, it's going into the freezer. When I get back, I'll thaw it and smoke it. Put up Jalapeno/Peach jam this fall, so I'm going to use it as a base for a glaze.  I'm really looking forward to this!

[Habanero Smoker]

"By injecting and giving the brine to work through the meat equally, you're effectively brining from within as well as from the outside?"
Not as much equally, as much as brining from both inside and out, at the same time. You are giving the curing process a jump start. The other is, if you don't inject large cuts of meat, you will have to brine much longer and you increase you chances of spoilage, especially if the meat is bone in; or the meat not being fully cured in the time frame you calculate. If the meat is more than 4" thick I will always inject.

If the picnic is unrolled, and only 2" thick; seven days is more than enough. Probably 4 days will do it, as long as you don't crowd the meat into a container too small. Since this is your first time. Make sure you remove the meat once a day, stir the brine, and when you place the meat back into the brine, try to put it in a different position; if possible. After the meat has been fully brined (cured), and removed from the brining liquid, it is best to let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 12 hour; 24 hours will be better. Even though you have taken it out of the brine the curing is still going on, and this time give the salt and cure, which will be more concentrated at the surface, a chance to distribute more equally.

[takem01]

I got called out of town to go shoot feral swine. Hopefully this is a dress rehearsal for a rear leg ham. Appreciate all the pointers when I try playing "in the bigs".

If a ham has to dry for 7-8 hours before another 8 of smoke, is that what's driving the need for injection and proper brining?  I'm assuming yes.

[Habanero Smoker]

The air drying is mainly to improve the color of the finished ham, to give it that mahogany color, and improve smoke flavor. Sometimes; after air drying, the surface may get too dry, and I will spritz it with water a few times during the smoking period. For the size of cut you are air drying, you may want to only air dry for about 4 hours. You may want to start off with 3 or 4 hours of smoke, especially for a small piece like that, also that is all the smoke I use for my large hams. I generally will use pecan for pork, but have used hickory. You can skip the air drying, but the color will be much lighter, or may possibly turn out more on the grayish side.

"If a ham has to dry for 7-8 hours before another 8 of smoke, is that what's driving the need for injection and proper brining?  I'm assuming yes.
Yes! The need for injection, and proper brining is to ensure that the meat is properly cured, so that you can safely cook for long periods of time within the danger zone, which are temperatures between 40°F - 140°. 

Once you do it you will realize how easy it is. The below link, give directions on how I mainly cure and smoke a ham. I've changed a few minor steps, but they are not that important.
Smoked Cured Ham

[takem01]

Smoked yesterday. Last smoke for the BPS (6 rack arrived while I was smoking). Had a heck of a time maintaining low temps. Since the ham was only about 6#, I modified the temps/times somewhat. Only 2 hours drying in the smoker after overnight in the fridge. Then 4 hours of smoke at 150, then 200 until IT was 150. Man, now I understand why somebody said said "The hardest thing about ham is letting it chill overnight.".

I'll try to post pics, but I'm afraid that there won't be any left. The kitchen looks something like the catfish pond in an amusement park when someone lobs a handful of chow into the pond. Feeding frenzy

Habs, I pretty much followed your Hamzilla recipe. Thanks for sharing it.

Oh!  I forgot. Put some of my peach/jalapeño jam on the plate. Goes real well along side the ham. Is there a place to post recipes for such things?

[Habanero Smoker]

Glad to see everything turned out alright.

If it is ham recipe with peach/jalapeno jelly, you can post your recipe in the "Curing" section. If it is just the jelly recipe, that can be posted in the "Recipes In Development".

The jam on the side sounds good. This summer I purchased some Pineapple Mango Habanero jam. I may try that as a glaze the next time I cure a ham.

[takem01]

Ok, now I have another question. Can I reuse a brine for ham?  I'm currently doing a butt half, & still have a shank. Does the balance of all of the ingredients stay the same after a ham's been properly brined such that I could just inject and brine a second ham?

[beefmann]

Ok, now I have another question. Can I reuse a brine for ham?  I'm currently doing a butt half, & still have a shank. Does the balance of all of the ingredients stay the same after a ham's been properly brined such that I could just inject and brine a second ham?

I never do,,, if i remember right,, the curing agents  has been depleted during the  curing  process,, so anything that is left over  in a  wet cure  should be tossed 

[Habanero Smoker]

Never reuse a brine. It is not safe to do so. As you have noted, both the cure and salt have been diluted. You probably would not be able to properly cure any additional meat; since you no longer know the proportions of cure and salt remaining in the mixture. Also, that brine is not only weakened, but is now at least seven days old. Certain harmful bacteria can begin to grow in that solution.

I know this information is a little late for this time, but if you are brining a ham, this time around; or any other meat, you probably could have brined both the butt and shank at the same time, in a 5 gallon bucket, then separated it after it was cured. I've been able to brine a whole 22lb bone-in ham in a 5 gallon bucket. By removing the hock, I was able to fit the whole ham in the bucket.

To save on materials, you basically only have to make enough brine to cover the meat you are brining. If a recipe is calling for 2 gallons of brine mix, and you only need 1 gallon to cover the meat, just make half the recipe.

The below link contains some information as to how much brine mixture you need to cure a certain number of pounds. Of course, the amount of brine you use also depends on how large, and shape of the container is.

Smoked Cured Ham