8# ham shank in brine for last 3 days.

[sonofcarl31]

8# ham shank in brine for last 3 days. Injected a million times with pops brine. Tried to cut ou the bone that I could see but failed.not super confident that I got the other bone super great. I want it done for Christmas. Would it speed the curing process and ensure an even cure if I took a sterilized ice pick and poked a hundred holes in it?

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Nope. You have to let the curing brine do it's thing. The times Pop's has lined out are what's required.

With that said if you are hot smoking the Ham, and you go from an internal meat temp of 40-140 in 4 hours or less you will be fine. It may not be as hammy tasting as you are lookin for but should be fine.