Whole Fresh Ham -- Brine Question

[rmshowalter]

I currently have two whole hams, about 20lbs each, in a wet brine in the fridge. They've been in there for two weeks now.

I trimmed the skin, scored the fat cap, and trimmed off the stringy bits before putting them in the brine.

However, I did NOT inject them with the brine solution. I'm realizing now that may have been a mistake, but I'm not sure what to do.

Should I...

a) inject them now and leave them a few more days?
b) leave them without injection and brine them longer?

Any help would be appreciated -- this is my first time curing fresh hams. The plan for the cook is to smoke them and then finish in the oven.

Thank you!

 

[DougE]

~5 days from Picnic to Ham....

I use non enhanced picnics... enhanced is OK but I cut the ingredients in half (1/2), to accommodate all the stuff processors add... Gently heat 10% the weight of the picnic, of Low Salt Vegetable stock, to about 100F.... 9# picnic ~400 grams of stock.... Once warm, ADD IN ORDER and...

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[SmokinEdge]

I currently have two whole hams, about 20lbs each, in a wet brine in the fridge. They've been in there for two weeks now.

I trimmed the skin, scored the fat cap, and trimmed off the stringy bits before putting them in the brine.

However, I did NOT inject them with the brine solution. I'm realizing now that may have been a mistake, but I'm not sure what to do.

Should I...

a) inject them now and leave them a few more days?
b) leave them without injection and brine them longer?

Any help would be appreciated -- this is my first time curing fresh hams. The plan for the cook is to smoke them and then finish in the oven.

Thank you!

What was the brine? How long have they been in brine? At what temperature are they kept in brine?

 

[rmshowalter]

What was the brine? How long have they been in brine? At what temperature are they kept in brine?

Thanks for the reply!

I used the brine from Billy Parisi on YT. Here are the ingredients (doubled for the two hams):

• 1 gallon water
• ½ gallon apple cider
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons pickling spice
• 2 1/2 tbsp #1 curing salt
• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups sea salt
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1 gallon ice
• 12-15 pound fresh ham
• 2 cups glaze

They've been in the brine for 14 days now at 35 degrees in the fridge.

Thanks for any wisdom you have on this!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Thanks for the reply!

I used the brine from Billy Parisi on YT. Here are the ingredients (doubled for the two hams):

• 1 gallon water
• ½ gallon apple cider
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons pickling spice
• 2 1/2 tbsp #1 curing salt
• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups sea salt
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1 gallon ice
• 12-15 pound fresh ham
• 2 cups glaze

They've been in the brine for 14 days now at 35 degrees in the fridge.

Thanks for any wisdom you have on this!

If I were you now, I would pull the hams, stir the brine, if it looks and smells good I would inject those hams with the brine. Paying close attention to the bone line and all around. Next would be the thickest part of the ham. Don’t worry to much about the first couple inches but get everything deeper and with bone injected. Then place the hams back into the brine and wait another week at minimum but two should be fine if the brine doesn’t get ropey.

 

[paulgeorge]

I currently have two whole hams, about 20lbs each, in a wet brine in the fridge. They've been in there for two weeks now.

I trimmed the skin, scored the fat cap, and trimmed off the stringy bits before putting them in the brine.

However, I did NOT inject them with the brine solution. I'm realizing now that may have been a mistake, but I'm not sure what to do.

Should I...

a) inject them now and leave them a few more days?
b) leave them without injection and brine them longer?

Any help would be appreciated -- this is my first time curing fresh hams. The plan for the cook is to smoke them and then finish in the oven.

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I picked up a whole 18 lb fresh ham today that I want to cure and smoke. Let me start by saying I have a CS25. A few questions, 1) should I cut it in half and 2) do I need to 'hang' it when I smoke or can I just place on the rack and rotate it a few times? a lot of the recipes call for putting it in a net and hanging, not sure why that would be needed.

 

[chopsaw]

a lot of the recipes call for putting it in a net and hanging, not sure why that would be needed.

Just kind of the way it's done . Don't have to if you don't want to . Gives a better end product in my opinion .