What to do with a leg

[ryguy]

I am smoking a ham leg on Christmas but I've never done this cut of meat.  The skin is still on, any suggestions on how to prep and smoke this?  I'm thinking over Cherry , finishing with a blackberry/pear glaze.

 

[werdwolf]

I assume this is a fresh ham?  what's it weigh and what are you smoking with?

 

[werdwolf]

Oh and the glaze sounds intreguing (how the heck do you spell that)

 

[ryguy]

yup fresh ham, 9.3 pounds

 

[ryguy]

yeah I got this Balsamic Sweet Onion Jam as a gift, so I figured why not pair it with blackberries and make a glaze, then I thought onions and pears go good, let's see what we can do!  It'll probably look like ham covered in tar but who cares!

 

[raptor700]

Is it a cured Ham?

 

[ryguy]

Raptor it's fresh, still has the skin on half of it

 

[raptor700]

Oh..........Then score the fat side in 1inch squares and smoke, (fat side up) then add that great recipe for a glaze you have the last 1-2 hours of the smoke.

                   

 

[werdwolf]

only have had fresh hams without the skin, I smoked them pretty much like a butt and used a little extra finishing sauce, to help keep them moist.  with the skin and fat layer that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[venture]

I don't think you could go wrong with this one from Pops:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/89979/from-hog-leg-to-easter-ham

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[SmokinAl]

I don't think you could go wrong with this one from Pops:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/89979/from-hog-leg-to-easter-ham

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[pops6927]

The above post referenced shows how to prep the ham, removing the hock and skin.  For making it into a ham you would need to cure it, but you can smoke it without curing as a fresh roast, like a butt or shoulder or any other fresh pork cut right now, it would be a regular pork roast and not ham flavored.  A leg is pretty lean and I wouldn't try to pull it like a butt, you'd be wiser to roast it to an internal of 160° and slice it as a fresh pork roast!  It would be delicious!

 

[mballi3011]

If Pops said it go with it. Now I would also remove the skin and then rub it an smoke it like everything else here. Now it would have the taste of ham for it has not been cured yet. I remember when I did my first ham the kids told me it wasn't ham cause it was grey colored and not pink in color. But they liked it thou. 

 

[ryguy]

Thanks everyone, I'll be sure to add the pics this time.  I should have done more research BEFORE selecting the ham.  I just figured if I already got a spiral cut cured ham it'd dry out in the smoker.

It'll be a great Christmas feast......I hope!

Merry Christmas! and Happy New Year!

 

[tyotrain]

POPs nailed it

 

[mdboatbum]

I'm still not clear on what you have. Is it cured or not? You keep calling it a ham, but then say it's fresh. You have a lot of good advice here for both, but the methods are somewhat different for each. Is is it a front or a rear leg? Did you get it from a grocery store, butcher or farm? Sorry to sound like I'm writing a book, but I just wanna make sure that you get the proper advice for the piece of meat you have. Could you put a picture of the leg, or even the label if there is one, up here so others with more experience than I can give you the right advice?

 

[venture]

If that is a spiral cut ham, it has already been cured. If it is a fresh leg, it needs curing to become a ham.  As pops said, you could smoke it without curing, but you have a smoked leg roast but not a ham.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[ryguy]

It's a fresh leg.  Not cured.  So here's what I did,

Rubbed it down with salt, pepper, a little paprika and garlic salt.  Then stuck some whole cloves in it.  Injected it with some bitters, brown sugar, garlic and salt.  I did add a little bit of ground clove to the injection.

I'm smoking it over cherry.  

For the glaze, I'm taking some Balsamic Sweet Onion Jam I got as a gift, simmering that with some blackberries to make a blackberry/onion glaze.  It'll be served in slices topped with slices of carmalized pear.

Here's what it looks like now:

 

[raptor700]

Good luck Guy,

Remember to pull at an IT of 180º - 185º for slicing.