Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum but have been a newsletter subscriber for quite a while. I have done a fair amount of standard hot smoking but have just gotten into cold smoking. I've got a offset firebox from which I pipe the smoke (8 ft.distance) to my Brinkman vertical smoker. It seems to work very well. I have cold smoked fish, cheese, sausage & turkey dstix/thighs so far. The results have been good but now I want to step it up and do something really impressive for Christmas Eve dinner.
I have ordered a whole fresh ham (bone-in obviously) from a local butcher which I pick up today. It is 16lbs and I have asked to have it cut in half. I will freeze the less visually pleasing of the two halves. The good half I plan on brining for 4 days in solution of salt, water, apple juice, ginger, clove, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon & garlic (with insta-cure #1.) The basic recipe is from Michael Rhulman's (sp?) book; "Charcuterie." After the 4 day brine I will rinse and let stand overnight before starting to smoke. I plan on cold smoking the ham with apple, cherry and hickory for a total of 9-12 hours (3-4 separate smokes of 3-4 hours each.) at less than 80dF. I will wrap in plastic and let rest in the fridge overnight between smokes.
On Christmas Eve I plan on baking the ham at 350dF until the internal temp reaches 150dF. I figure 20-30 mins per pound, so 3-1/2 to 4 hours. I'll score the skin with a 1"-2" diamond pattern before starting to bake. I want to glaze with something sweet to compliment the smokey flavor.
So, here are my questions or topics for discussion: 1. Does all the above sound correct/safe/tasty? 2. What would you recommend for a glaze?
Thanks a lot.
I am new to the forum but have been a newsletter subscriber for quite a while. I have done a fair amount of standard hot smoking but have just gotten into cold smoking. I've got a offset firebox from which I pipe the smoke (8 ft.distance) to my Brinkman vertical smoker. It seems to work very well. I have cold smoked fish, cheese, sausage & turkey dstix/thighs so far. The results have been good but now I want to step it up and do something really impressive for Christmas Eve dinner.
I have ordered a whole fresh ham (bone-in obviously) from a local butcher which I pick up today. It is 16lbs and I have asked to have it cut in half. I will freeze the less visually pleasing of the two halves. The good half I plan on brining for 4 days in solution of salt, water, apple juice, ginger, clove, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon & garlic (with insta-cure #1.) The basic recipe is from Michael Rhulman's (sp?) book; "Charcuterie." After the 4 day brine I will rinse and let stand overnight before starting to smoke. I plan on cold smoking the ham with apple, cherry and hickory for a total of 9-12 hours (3-4 separate smokes of 3-4 hours each.) at less than 80dF. I will wrap in plastic and let rest in the fridge overnight between smokes.
On Christmas Eve I plan on baking the ham at 350dF until the internal temp reaches 150dF. I figure 20-30 mins per pound, so 3-1/2 to 4 hours. I'll score the skin with a 1"-2" diamond pattern before starting to bake. I want to glaze with something sweet to compliment the smokey flavor.
So, here are my questions or topics for discussion: 1. Does all the above sound correct/safe/tasty? 2. What would you recommend for a glaze?
Thanks a lot.