Hi all,

I have a 17 pound fresh ham from a pig that was slaughtered 3 days
ago. I want to brine it and smoke it and would like all of your advice on:

1.) Your preferences in brine solutions and time of brining
2.) Cooking temps and times
3.) Wood chips that you think are best

Thanks for any help,

Mike

"mk" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> I have a 17 pound fresh ham from a pig that was slaughtered 3 days ago.
> I want to brine it and smoke it and would like all of your advice on:
>
> 1.) Your preferences in brine solutions and time of brining
> 2.) Cooking temps and times
> 3.) Wood chips that you think are best
>
> Thanks for any help,
>
> Mike
>

Are you trying to make a cured ham or made barbecue?

Different brines, different temperatures, different methods.

Hickory is the most popular for ham, but maple and apple are good also.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Thank you for the reply it's greatly appreciated.

Steve Wertz wrote:

>On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 08:41:57 GMT, mk >
>wrote:
>
>
>
>>Hi all,
>>
>> I have a 17 pound fresh ham from a pig that was slaughtered 3 days
>>ago. I want to brine it and smoke it and would like all of your advice on:
>>
>>1.) Your preferences in brine solutions and time of brining
>>
>>
>
>If you're going to brine it, you might as well use TenderQuick to
>give it a more hammy flavor. Brine for 2.5 days using 1cup of TQ
>per 1.5 gallons of water.
>
>
>
>>2.) Cooking temps and times
>>
>>
>
>Smoke at ~230 for 14-20 hours, or until it reaches 180. Higher if
>you want to pull it.
>
>
>
>>3.) Wood chips that you think are best
>>
>>
>
>I would use hickory.
>
>-sw
>
>

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

>"mk" > wrote in message
...
>
>
>>Hi all,
>>
>> I have a 17 pound fresh ham from a pig that was slaughtered 3 days ago.
>>I want to brine it and smoke it and would like all of your advice on:
>>
>>1.) Your preferences in brine solutions and time of brining
>>2.) Cooking temps and times
>>3.) Wood chips that you think are best
>>
>>Thanks for any help,
>>
>>Mike
>>
>>
>>
>
>Are you trying to make a cured ham or made barbecue?
>
>Different brines, different temperatures, different methods.
>
>
I'm trying to make a ham similar to a ham you would buy in the grocery
store. I'm pretty new to this as you probably can tell. So far I've
smoked kielbasa, chicken, and a turkey, which i must say was the best
turkey I've ever had.

>Hickory is the most popular for ham, but maple and apple are good also.
>
>
I have hickory, apple, cherry, and alder. Do you think a mix of any of
these chips would add to the experience?

Thank for the help
Mike

mk wrote:

> I'm trying to make a ham similar to a ham you would buy in the grocery
> store. I'm pretty new to this as you probably can tell. So far I've
> smoked kielbasa, chicken, and a turkey, which i must say was the best
> turkey I've ever had.

If that's the case then you'll want a longer curing time.
The Morton Meat Curing Guide recommends 2 days per pound. I
can confirm that it does take this long to get a full cure
on a big cut like a ham.

Also, I'd bone it out before curing. The bone area is the
most susceptible to spoilage. I wouldn't try curing a bone-in
ham until you get some more experience.

Here's a good recipe. There's other good info on this
site also, so you might want to take a look around.

<http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/Smoked%20Ham.pdf>

The Morton Meat Curing Guide is a straightforward, simple
to understand book on curing meats. It's well suited for
first timers.

<http://www.c-els.com/sfCatalog.asp?sn=E032120020070034&pchid=10196>

--
Reg

Thanks for the replies.
I have it sitting in a solution of water, salt, sugar, cayenne pepper,
white pepper, and white wine. I could not find a place around here that
sold cure so I'll just smoke like this and se what happens.

P.S. I also injected it.

Reg wrote:

> mk wrote:
>
>> I'm trying to make a ham similar to a ham you would buy in the
>> grocery store. I'm pretty new to this as you probably can tell. So
>> far I've smoked kielbasa, chicken, and a turkey, which i must say was
>> the best turkey I've ever had.
>
>
> If that's the case then you'll want a longer curing time.
> The Morton Meat Curing Guide recommends 2 days per pound. I
> can confirm that it does take this long to get a full cure
> on a big cut like a ham.
>
> Also, I'd bone it out before curing. The bone area is the
> most susceptible to spoilage. I wouldn't try curing a bone-in
> ham until you get some more experience.
>
> Here's a good recipe. There's other good info on this
> site also, so you might want to take a look around.
>
> <http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/Smoked%20Ham.pdf>
>
> The Morton Meat Curing Guide is a straightforward, simple
> to understand book on curing meats. It's well suited for
> first timers.
>
> <http://www.c-els.com/sfCatalog.asp?sn=E032120020070034&pchid=10196>
>

mk wrote:

> Thanks for the replies. I have it sitting in a solution of water, salt,
> sugar, cayenne pepper, white pepper, and white wine. I could not find a
> place around here that sold cure so I'll just smoke like this and se
> what happens.

Nothing wrong with that. You don't absolutely need to use
nitrites. Salt and sugar will work. It will have a
slightly different flavor if cured with nitrites.

> P.S. I also injected it.

That's good. For a bone-in ham, injecting along the bone is a
requirement. It prevents spoilage, AKA bone sour.

--
Reg

On 27-Feb-2006, Reg > wrote:

> mk wrote:
>
> > Thanks for the replies. I have it sitting in a solution of water, salt,
> >
> > sugar, cayenne pepper, white pepper, and white wine. I could not find a
> >
> > place around here that sold cure so I'll just smoke like this and se
> > what happens.
>
> Nothing wrong with that. You don't absolutely need to use
> nitrites. Salt and sugar will work. It will have a
> slightly different flavor if cured with nitrites.
>
> > P.S. I also injected it.
>
> That's good. For a bone-in ham, injecting along the bone is a
> requirement. It prevents spoilage, AKA bone sour.
>
> --
> Reg

Look here for your sausage making supplies and or equipment;
http://www.sausagemaker.com/

The site is owned by Rytek Kutas the accepted master of sausage
making. His book is apparently the only single reference to organize
and consolidate the accepted practices and procedures for meat
curing and sausage making.

--
Brick(I'm paddling as fast as I can)

Brick wrote:

> Look here for your sausage making supplies and or equipment;
> http://www.sausagemaker.com/
>
> The site is owned by Rytek Kutas the accepted master of sausage
> making. His book is apparently the only single reference to organize
> and consolidate the accepted practices and procedures for meat
> curing and sausage making.

What a strange thing to say. While the Kutas book has many
good points, it's hardly "the only single reference" on
the subject. Some of the material has been completely
discredited, as a matter of fact.

For one thing, he advocates using a product called
Fermento to "simulate" the flavor of fermented sausage
preparations. This is akin to adding vinegar to bread
dough to "simulate" the flavor of a sourdough bread,
instead of using real sourdough culture.

Not only is this not an "accepted practice" as you
put it, it's universally looked down upon in the
industry as an adulteration, as well it should be.
A fermented product should actually be fermented.
No real insight there.

There's no such thing as a single reference or source
in the field of meat curing and sausage making. Like
all fields and specialties, you need to get your
information from multiple sources.

--
Reg

I started to write a message saying "no, don't even think about doing that".
I went to Rytek Kutas's bible about meat curing and he says the same. Brine
curing of a whole pork leg just won't work. It takes as long as three weeks,
and by then part of it rots. You have to spray inject and it using Prague
powder, and brine it for a short period fo time. You can't inject the
femoral artery as they do in the Armour Plant.
Good Luck,
Kent
> wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> I have a 17 pound fresh ham from a pig that was slaughtered 3 days ago.
> I want to brine it and smoke it and would like all of your advice on:
>
> 1.) Your preferences in brine solutions and time of brining
> 2.) Cooking temps and times
> 3.) Wood chips that you think are best
>
> Thanks for any help,
>
> Mike
>
>
>

"Kent" > wrote in message
...
>I started to write a message saying "no, don't even think about doing
>that". I went to Rytek Kutas's bible about meat curing and he says the
>same. Brine curing of a whole pork leg just won't work. It takes as long as
>three weeks, and by then part of it rots. You have to spray inject and it
>using Prague powder, and brine it for a short period fo time. You can't
>inject the femoral artery as they do in the Armour Plant.
> Good Luck,

What was never made clear though, was the intent of the finished product. If
he is talking about brining to cure and make a ham, you are correct. If he
is going to brine it, cook it at a higher temperature like barbecue, it will
be OK. Won't taste like ham and won't pull like a butt, but will still be a
good piece of smoked pork.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

> "Kent" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I started to write a message saying "no, don't even think about doing
>>that". I went to Rytek Kutas's bible about meat curing and he says the
>>same. Brine curing of a whole pork leg just won't work. It takes as long as
>>three weeks, and by then part of it rots. You have to spray inject and it
>>using Prague powder, and brine it for a short period fo time. You can't
>>inject the femoral artery as they do in the Armour Plant.
>>Good Luck,
>
> What was never made clear though, was the intent of the finished product. If
> he is talking about brining to cure and make a ham, you are correct. If he
> is going to brine it, cook it at a higher temperature like barbecue, it will
> be OK. Won't taste like ham and won't pull like a butt, but will still be a
> good piece of smoked pork.

The simple solution is to bone it out and brine it open. This
achieves two things. It removes the marrow, which is extremely
perishable, and it cuts the effective diameter of the meat in
half, reducing the required cure time.

Artery pumping, on the other hand, is never a requirement.
Much ham was safely produced long before Armour Inc. appeared
on the scene. Kent has confused stitch pumping and artery
pumping here.

--
Reg

Hey All,

I really appreciated all the help you guys tried to give me. Thanks
alot. I smoked the ham and it came out alright. I brought some int
work and almost everyone said they loved it. I thought it was a little
dry but edible. I'll try another one in a few weeks and let all you know
how it came out.

Thanks,
Mike

Reg wrote:

> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>
>> "Kent" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>> I started to write a message saying "no, don't even think about
>>> doing that". I went to Rytek Kutas's bible about meat curing and he
>>> says the same. Brine curing of a whole pork leg just won't work. It
>>> takes as long as three weeks, and by then part of it rots. You have
>>> to spray inject and it using Prague powder, and brine it for a short
>>> period fo time. You can't inject the femoral artery as they do in
>>> the Armour Plant.
>>> Good Luck,
>>
>>
>> What was never made clear though, was the intent of the finished
>> product. If he is talking about brining to cure and make a ham, you
>> are correct. If he is going to brine it, cook it at a higher
>> temperature like barbecue, it will be OK. Won't taste like ham and
>> won't pull like a butt, but will still be a good piece of smoked pork.
>
>
> The simple solution is to bone it out and brine it open. This
> achieves two things. It removes the marrow, which is extremely
> perishable, and it cuts the effective diameter of the meat in
> half, reducing the required cure time.
>
> Artery pumping, on the other hand, is never a requirement.
> Much ham was safely produced long before Armour Inc. appeared
> on the scene. Kent has confused stitch pumping and artery
> pumping here.
>

You're absolutely right on. I would also leave out the Praque powder. You
would have sort of a "half ham". I have tried this a bit with ribs, with
marginal success. A rib is a rib, as Gertrude Stein would say. Leave it at
that.
My post wasn't clear when I reread it. Arterial injecting and stick
injecting is totally different.
Thanks for clarifying.
Kent

"Reg" > wrote in message
m...
> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>
>> "Kent" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>I started to write a message saying "no, don't even think about doing
>>>that". I went to Rytek Kutas's bible about meat curing and he says the
>>>same. Brine curing of a whole pork leg just won't work. It takes as long
>>>as three weeks, and by then part of it rots. You have to spray inject and
>>>it using Prague powder, and brine it for a short period fo time. You
>>>can't inject the femoral artery as they do in the Armour Plant.
>>>Good Luck,
>>
>> What was never made clear though, was the intent of the finished product.
>> If he is talking about brining to cure and make a ham, you are correct.
>> If he is going to brine it, cook it at a higher temperature like
>> barbecue, it will be OK. Won't taste like ham and won't pull like a
>> butt, but will still be a good piece of smoked pork.
>
> The simple solution is to bone it out and brine it open. This
> achieves two things. It removes the marrow, which is extremely
> perishable, and it cuts the effective diameter of the meat in
> half, reducing the required cure time.
>
> Artery pumping, on the other hand, is never a requirement.
> Much ham was safely produced long before Armour Inc. appeared
> on the scene. Kent has confused stitch pumping and artery
> pumping here.
>
> --
> Reg
>

On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:48:31 GMT, Reg > wrote:

>Brick wrote:
>
>> Look here for your sausage making supplies and or equipment;
>> http://www.sausagemaker.com/
>>
>> The site is owned by Rytek Kutas the accepted master of sausage
>> making. His book is apparently the only single reference to organize
>> and consolidate the accepted practices and procedures for meat
>> curing and sausage making.
>
>What a strange thing to say. While the Kutas book has many
>good points, it's hardly "the only single reference" on
>the subject. Some of the material has been completely
>discredited, as a matter of fact.

I think Brick intended to point out that this guy's book was the only
one 'out there' that had been written by a guy who was a European
sausage maker since JC was a Lance Corporal in the Jewish Navy.
half the salt.

Harry