Help in smoking Ham

[ghosttown]

I will be smoking Ham for the very first time this Christmas for about 9 people. I was hoping to get some recommendations in what kind of Ham to get? How long to brine for? How long to smoke and cook for? What kind of rub? Last thing how big?

Thanks

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[beefmann]

if you are talking a ham that already has been  cured then no rub.... as for  9 people,,, most  have bones in,,,, so id say  12 to 15  lbs min, and do a  glaze

my glaze is

1 cup apple juice
1 cup brown  sugar
8 ounce can of pineapple ran through a  food processor
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp ground cloves

put into a small crock pot on high heat for an hour or  so or small pot on low heat  till it is  heated through and liquid through out...

put your ham in the  smoker,, apply  apple or maple smoke for an  hour,,,smoke at 225 to  250 F... at 100 F  meat temp... start applying the glaze above,, ,every  5 to  10 F apply another  coat,,,also cook till an  it  of 145 F internal

[Habanero Smoker]

The below link is to the technique I use for fresh ham from curing to serving. I haven't used a rub on my hams, but if you do add a rub, I would use a rub that has similar ingredients as your choice in glaze.
Smoked Cured Ham

As for which cut to get it depends. Most articles I've read state that the shank is the best cut, because it is easier to carve. I don't find that to be true, though often I will have to settle for the shank, because that is mainly what stores in my area will carry. I prefer the butt end (aka rump or sirloin end) with part of the leg bone in it. I always remove the aitch bone prior to curing. It makes it much easier to carve at the table. Either cut will be more than enough for nine people.

If you can only get a whole ham; which happened to me this weekend, you can separate the two main cuts easily; though you may end up with the shank being much larger than the butt. You can search YouTube for instructions on how to do that. Or you can bone the ham prior to curing. This will make it more compact. Though I feel you loose flavor and some moisture.

The below link has good instructions on how to bone a ham.
Hamzilla

[ghosttown]

if you are talking a ham that already has been  cured then no rub.... as for  9 people,,, most  have bones in,,,, so id say  12 to 15  lbs min, and do a  glaze

my glaze is

1 cup apple juice
1 cup brown  sugar
8 ounce can of pineapple ran through a  food processor
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp ground cloves

put into a small crock pot on high heat for an hour or  so or small pot on low heat  till it is  heated through and liquid through out...

put your ham in the  smoker,, apply  apple or maple smoke for an  hour,,,smoke at 225 to  250 F... at 100 F  meat temp... start applying the glaze above,, ,every  5 to  10 F apply another  coat,,,also cook till an  it  of 145 F internal

Sounds pretty straight forward, how long would it take to cook

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[ghosttown]

The below link is to the technique I use for fresh ham from curing to serving. I haven't used a rub on my hams, but if you do add a rub, I would use a rub that has similar ingredients as your choice in glaze.
Smoked Cured Ham

As for which cut to get it depends. Most articles I've read state that the shank is the best cut, because it is easier to carve. I don't find that to be true, though often I will have to settle for the shank, because that is mainly what stores in my area will carry. I prefer the butt end (aka rump or sirloin end) with part of the leg bone in it. I always remove the aitch bone prior to curing. It makes it much easier to carve at the table. Either cut will be more than enough for nine people.

If you can only get a whole ham; which happened to me this weekend, you can separate the two main cuts easily; though you may end up with the shank being much larger than the butt. You can search YouTube for instructions on how to do that. Or you can bone the ham prior to curing. This will make it more compact. Though I feel you loose flavor and some moisture.

The below link has good instructions on how to bone a ham.
Hamzilla

I assume fresh Ham tales longer to cook

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[beefmann]

if you are talking a ham that already has been  cured then no rub.... as for  9 people,,, most  have bones in,,,, so id say  12 to 15  lbs min, and do a  glaze

my glaze is

1 cup apple juice
1 cup brown  sugar
8 ounce can of pineapple ran through a  food processor
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp ground cloves

put into a small crock pot on high heat for an hour or  so or small pot on low heat  till it is  heated through and liquid through out...

put your ham in the  smoker,, apply  apple or maple smoke for an  hour,,,smoke at 225 to  250 F... at 100 F  meat temp... start applying the glaze above,, ,every  5 to  10 F apply another  coat,,,also cook till an  it  of 145 F internal

Sounds pretty straight forward, how long would it take to cook

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if at 225 F you would be looking at 4 to 6 hours,,, depending on how much moisture is in the  meat,, outside conditions,,, wind etc,,, however ,,, do not go by  time,,, go by meat  temp,,,,

[ghosttown]

Perfect, what kind of Ham do you normally get? Not sure about the cut and what is the difference between Ham that are in the big cooler at the grocery store which looks like each one of them are huge vs on the shelf in smaller packages?

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[beefmann]

years ago when i did buy a ham... it was a honey baked ham....now  a days i cure my  own... can not  really  speak for any store bought hams,.... though i would lean towards farmer  john,,,there bacon is good along  with there pork products,,, give it a  try

[ghosttown]

Okay will have a look what they have at my local place. Do I need to hang the ham or can I just put it on the tray?

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[beefmann]

i usually lay it on the tray,,, with the fat side up... and on one of the  middle two racks... this way you can glaze it  a bit easier,,,, also some where in the  middle of the  glazing  process ... turn over the ham... fat  side down and glaze the part that you  have not... along with  every  place you  can reach

[ghosttown]

One more question, I assume I can get a ham that is cured already but not cooked? I will be  cooking the ham few days before.

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[beefmann]

if you get an uncooked ham.. that is fine,,, every thing above remains the same,,,, cook / smoke to 145 F at  225 F box temp... if you  want to  cook it a day or two ahead that is  fine,,, just let it cool to room temp or close to it ,,, then into  fridge,,, when  ready to  reheat,,, pull an  hour or  so .. let  come to  room temp and into oven ...reheat to some where between 145 and  165f ,,,  oven temp 350 F or  so and you should be good to  go

[ghosttown]

if you are talking a ham that already has been  cured then no rub.... as for  9 people,,, most  have bones in,,,, so id say  12 to 15  lbs min, and do a  glaze

my glaze is

1 cup apple juice
1 cup brown  sugar
8 ounce can of pineapple ran through a  food processor
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp ground cloves

put into a small crock pot on high heat for an hour or  so or small pot on low heat  till it is  heated through and liquid through out...

put your ham in the  smoker,, apply  apple or maple smoke for an  hour,,,smoke at 225 to  250 F... at 100 F  meat temp... start applying the glaze above,, ,every  5 to  10 F apply another  coat,,,also cook till an  it  of 145 F internal

I may be getting a pre-cooked and pre-cured ham for the first one, may be a stupid question but getting a pre-cooked ham isn't the temperature already at 140?

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[beefmann]

ikt has been cooked to the 140 - 145 range,,, and mostly just needed to be reheated