Whole Fresh Ham

[Habanero Smoker]

I ordered a 10 - 12 pound fresh ham, butt end. I'm planning to cure it for Easter. It came in yesterday, but when I arrived at the store, they had a whole fresh ham weighing 22.5 pounds. They said they could separate the butt from the shank end, but it would be about one hour before they could get to it. At $2.00 per pound, I decided to take the whole ham.

I'm going to cure at least the butt end, but I'm now thinking of deboning it, and curing the whole ham. I use to know how to separate a whole ham, but for this one - it appears if I do separate it the two parts will be oddly shaped. There is almost no part of the hock left on the shank end. I couldn't find any videos, or written instructions on how to separate a whole fresh ham into it two parts. My goal is to separate this ham into the butt and shank ends. Cure the butt end, and use the shank for a fresh smoked ham. If anyone knows of a video or written instructions on how to separate this whole ham, I would appreciate if you could post a link.

I'll make my decision by Sunday on which way I will go with this. I'll keep everyone updated.

[TedEbear]

Will these help?

How to Debone a Ham, part 1

How to Debone a Ham, part 2

Debone and trim whole ham for salting and smoking

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks for the links.

The first link; that is how the two proportions will be like, if I separate the butt from the shank, because the hock was almost completely removed. I'll end up with a shank portion way to small. That may leave me with a butt end too large to hang in the P10. Once I take the ham out of the cryovac I'll have a better idea of what it will look like, if I separate the two parts at the joint.

If I decide to debone it, the last link you provided is very helpful. It provides much more details in trimming than other videos I've found out there. Also there are trimming tips I will be using even if I don't debone the ham.

Thanks.