Ham Chronicles: The Hammening

[brandon91]

Don't have either in Canada but I did find a bbq place in Canada that will ship. I gotta have one of those!!! I have two hams curing now!

Nice, two hams! I have the igrill2, capable of accepting 4 probes. You can monitor smoker temp and 3 hunks of meat, pretty neat ha!

 

[brandon91]

Very nice thread Brandon, real nice ! Great lookin smoke on that ham !

:points1:

:kewl:

Thanks Waterin! :biggrin:

 

[pops6927]

Great job on your curing project!

Technically, it is called a front cured and smoked arm shoulder ham or picnic, differentiating from a hind cured and smoked ham.

To what internal temperature did you bring it to in the smoker before pulling it?   And what internal temperature did you bring it to when reheating it for dinner (if in fact you did so).

Weighing down the meat in the brine can be accomplished easily by half full ziploc bags of water on top, works fine, cheap, and throw them away, either quart or gallon bags.

Glad to see you venturing into curing, it is amazing how you can change the entire makeup of meat this way, and by following a simple curing process,  do it safely!

 

[brandon91]

Great job on your curing project!

Technically, it is called a front cured and smoked arm shoulder ham or picnic, differentiating from a hind cured and smoked ham.

To what internal temperature did you bring it to in the smoker before pulling it?   And what internal temperature did you bring it to when reheating it for dinner (if in fact you did so).

Weighing down the meat in the brine can be accomplished easily by half full ziploc bags of water on top, works fine, cheap, and throw them away, either quart or gallon bags.

Glad to see you venturing into curing, it is amazing how you can change the entire makeup of meat this way, and by following a simple curing process,  do it safely!

Thanks Pops! It was a fun project. If I recall I smoked to IT of 140 and let it sit in the fridge vac sealed for a while then reheated to 155 on Christmas day. Looking to make some bacon but I can't find bellies anywhere.

 

[disco]

I have never done a ham but this post has me on the edge! A great inspiring thread.

Disco

 

[brandon91]

 
I have never done a ham but this post has me on the edge! A great inspiring thread.

Disco

Thanks! I really recommend it, I made a store bought side by side since it was my first try and wasn't sure how it would be. No comparison! The one I made was so much better.

 

[brooksy]

Thanks Pops! It was a fun project. If I recall I smoked to IT of 140 and let it sit in the fridge vac sealed for a while then reheated to 155 on Christmas day. Looking to make some bacon but I can't find bellies anywhere.

If you have any Asian markets near by check them for bellies!

 

[trikefreak]

Oh no, you have revealed the secret to the cheapest, and best, ham anyone could ever have! I've done 6 picnic roasts thus far this winter, last year was my first time. It's flat out amazing how different this turns out compared to any store bought hams. Heck, I've been known to shred the whole thing and make 4 gallons of ham & beans with one of these. Keep up the good work!

 

[brandon91]

If you have any Asian markets near by check them for bellies!

That's exactly what I ended up doing, have 10lbs dry curing at the moment! 

 
Oh no, you have revealed the secret to the cheapest, and best, ham anyone could ever have! I've done 6 picnic roasts thus far this winter, last year was my first time. It's flat out amazing how different this turns out compared to any store bought hams. Heck, I've been known to shred the whole thing and make 4 gallons of ham & beans with one of these. Keep up the good work!

Wow 6 hams! The taste an texture really is superior to store bought. Thanks for the compliments, ham and beans is awesome!

 

[welshrarebit]

That looks awesome! I started down a similar path which ended last night in my 1st epic smoking fail. After a lot of reading I attempted to use a Tender Quick brine with a 5lb boneless picnic. Brine was made per package specifications and I am sure it was fine. I tried to cure in a 2.5 gallon ziplock bag. After 2 weeks in the fridge I realized I had an air bubble setting on top of the meat. That area was a gooey mess so I pitched it. Whole thing was dumb on my part, think I was just trying not to waste brine. Anyhow will be shopping a brining bucket tomorrow. How do you keep the meat from floating? I have read about people using frozen bags of water to keep the meat submerged but seems like this would eventually melt and allow the meat to float.

Been there, done that! My second attempt at home cured corned beef did the same thing... I tossed it! This was at least ten years ago.