# Smoking With Corn Cob Pellets: Pulled Ham



## Sven Svensson (Dec 30, 2021)

Smoking with corn cob pellets was something I just learned about. Threads about it are easy to find and Pops has one with 20K views. I found a 40 lb bag early this week for $10 at Tractor Supply Company and yesterday was the big day. I used a mix of 1 part Knotty Wood Plum and 2 parts BestCob Premium Horse Bedding (yeah, you read that right). Many of you wrote about the nostalgic smell and taste of bacon and ham smoked with corn cobs. Even though I’m a former Minnesota farm kid I have no experience with that. So my experiment was going to be based on how it worked, smelled and tasted to me in this pulled ham cook.

I had a pork shoulder ham I took out of the brine and put in a ham sock as it had a lot of floppy parts thanks to a rushed butcher. I used the cob and hardwood mix in my Yoder pellet grill. I could immediately tell the corn cob pellets were producing much more smoke than I was used to seeing. There was never that subtle “line of thin blue smoke.“ The smoke smell was much stronger than using just hardwood pellets but not off-putting. Getting to the point, it was a 12-hour cook. I put the ham in a cooler overnight and pulled it early this morning while it was still very warm.

When I sampled it the smoke taste was much stronger like mesquite can be but without that pungent flavor. This morning when I went to clean the Yoder it was a mess. Ash was everywhere under the deflector plate. I decided I will not be putting a mix of hardwood and cob pellets into the pellet bin again. In the future, should I choose to use the cob pellets, I will put a mix in a smoke tube or turn it to cob dust and put it in my Amaze-N. As I mentioned before, because this cob smoke smell/flavor has no nostalgic hold on me I’ll have to figure out when I’ll use it. I have a huge bag left so I might give bags to some buddies.

I’ve read cob is good for cold smoking bacon and cheeses. That might be something I consider. But for me it will not be burned in my Yoder again unless it’s in a smoke tube. Certainly not in my auger-fed system again because of the mess and it really smoked up the neighborhood for 12 hours. I might owe a couple HOA neighbors some bacon lest they invent a new rule.







This is the 2:1 mix of Cob and Plum






The irony of putting this floppy shoulder in a sock only to turn it into pulled ham was not lost on me.






12 hours later and I had a very dark bark. I did not use a rub on account of the sock. Was the dark from the cob or the plum?






It fell apart on its own when I removed the ham sock. Perfectly cured using Pop’s brine. Works beautifully and flawlessly every time.






This is going to make some championship hash topped with a farm-fresh poached egg.


----------



## mneeley490 (Dec 30, 2021)

Looks good, Sven. Those pellets are much larger and more uniform than my bags have been. My pellets have been quite a bit smaller. Might just be batch variation. And they do tend to put out a fair amount of smoke.
For my tastes, corn cob meats need a couple days in the fridge, wrapped in plastic, for the flavor to mellow out; kind of like when smoking cheese. Then again, I've never used them in the hopper, either; just an AMNPS.
The Sportsman's Warehouse near me sells plum pellets, which is a real novelty around here. I've been thinking about trying some, but didn't know what to use them on before. Might try your mixture.


----------



## jcam222 (Dec 30, 2021)

Sven that looks world class. I’ve done pulled ham a couple times recently but with commercial cured hams. I want to cure my own to get moister results.


----------



## Brokenhandle (Dec 31, 2021)

That looks plum delicious! We love ham but have yet to do a pulled ham,  might have to change that. And look at the bright side... you might be the first to get a pellet smoker to put out too much smoke!

Ryan


----------



## Winterrider (Dec 31, 2021)

Sven Svensson said:


> I’ll have to figure out when I’ll use it


Maybe have to get a horse now 
Thanks for the insight. . .


----------



## SmokinAl (Dec 31, 2021)

That ham looks absolutely delicious!
Very nicely done!!
Al


----------



## Sven Svensson (Dec 31, 2021)

jcam222 said:


> Sven that looks world class. I’ve done pulled ham a couple times recently but with commercial cured hams. I want to cure my own to get moister results.


Pop’s brine from this forum is foolproof. You can turn any chunk of pork into ham. All is takes is a bucket and some patience. A garage fridge helps, too.


----------



## Sven Svensson (Dec 31, 2021)

Winterrider said:


> Maybe have to get a horse now
> Thanks for the insight. . .


Hahahaha! When my dad got up from the table in a restaurant and said, “I have to go see a man about a horse,” it wasn’t about a horse. Haha!


----------



## jcam222 (Dec 31, 2021)

Sven Svensson said:


> Pop’s brine from this forum is foolproof. You can turn any chunk of pork into ham. All is takes is a bucket and some patience. A garage fridge helps, too.


Yep totally agree. I’ve used Pops for tons of applications including belly, buckboard and Canadian bacon as well as Disney turkey legs. Good stuff.


----------



## TNJAKE (Dec 31, 2021)

Man I love pulled ham and you certainly nailed it. Nice work bud!


----------



## DRKsmoking (Dec 31, 2021)

That looks great, now a couple rolls and some spicy mustard , awwwww nice

I love ham and never did a pulled one , so on the list it goes

David


----------



## GaryHibbert (Dec 31, 2021)

Looks fantastic.  You sure caught my attention.  I've had some corn cob pellets for years--just not sure what to do with them.  now I lnow.
Gary


----------



## Hamdrew (Dec 31, 2021)

Probably my favorite food, and that looks *good.* This is the first I'm hearing about corn cobs and now have to do some research.


----------



## bauchjw (Dec 31, 2021)

Wow! That looks incredible! Great work snd such a beautiful ham! You should have saved it for the throw down!!!! Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to try out some cob in the AMAZN tray, no nostalgia for me either, even as an Iowa boy. Just curious.


----------



## DougE (Dec 31, 2021)

That ham looks awesome!! Nice detail on the whole process, too.


----------



## Brokenhandle (Dec 31, 2021)

bauchjw said:


> Wow! That looks incredible! Great work snd such a beautiful ham! You should have saved it for the throw down!!!! Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to try out some cob in the AMAZN tray, no nostalgia for me either, even as an Iowa boy. Just curious.


If ya all need more cobs feel free to come follow me around next fall in the combine...you can have all you want!   

Ryan


----------



## HalfSmoked (Jan 1, 2022)

Nice job on the ham for sure pop's brine is easy to use.
Glad your cobs were ground what your pop was going to see about a horse may have been hold cobs.    

Warren


----------



## mneeley490 (Jan 1, 2022)

Thought you might be interested in what a cob-smoked ham would cost you if you bought one. These are two places in Vermont that I used to mail order ham and bacon from back in the 90's. Both were very good.








						Harringtons Corn Cob Smoked Bone-in Dinner Ham
					

The best bone-in dinner ham corn cob smoked in Vermont




					www.harringtonham.com
				








						Bone-In Dinner Ham
					

The Dakin Farm dinner ham is the original dinner ham.  Hand cut and hand trimmed this ham is an outstanding center to any family dinner.   Taste for yourself the cob smoked flavor and family tradition in each bite.




					www.dakinfarm.com


----------



## DougE (Jan 1, 2022)

Brokenhandle said:


> If ya all need more cobs feel free to come follow me around next fall in the combine...you can have all you want!
> 
> Ryan


What time you're watching them picking up cobs, I'll be sneaking off with a few gravity wagons full of corn. lol


----------



## Brokenhandle (Jan 1, 2022)

DougE said:


> What time you're watching them picking up cobs, I'll be sneaking off with a few gravity wagons full of corn. lol


I'll make sure I go to the neighbors field first! Lol

Ryan


----------



## DougE (Jan 1, 2022)

Brokenhandle said:


> I'll make sure I go to the neighbors field first! Lol
> 
> Ryan


LMAO!


----------



## crazymoon (Jan 2, 2022)

S S, Excellent looking ham and I'll bet the hash was delicious!


----------



## HalfSmoked (Jan 2, 2022)

Brokenhandle said:


> I'll make sure I go to the neighbors field first! Lol
> 
> Ryan




Hahaha, he shoots better.

Warren


----------



## HalfSmoked (Jan 2, 2022)

Thanks, DougE for the like I appreciate it.

Warren


----------



## WV_Crusader (Jan 6, 2022)

That is top notch! Ive had it made with the cob like you did and it is amazing!


----------



## 912smoker (Jan 7, 2022)

Late to the party ss but that looks great  !
Never tried the process but now adding it to the every increasing list !
And sounds like I need to add some cobs in the Gravity Flow  !


----------

