Smoking

[geds]

Well we had such a great response and great ideas concerning smoking turkeys - let's get some ideas going for smokin' that Christmas ham! I would love to find a recipe for a Honey smoked ham (similar to HoneyBaked Ham) where the meat is smoked and the outside has a sweet glazed crust.

Ideas?

[HunterAlpha1]

this year i vote for a ham, any kind but prefer candied(cherries and pineapple slices held on with toothpicks). i am sick an tired of messing with the damn turkey

[howlnmad]

My wife votes for jalapeno jelly and hickory but I go with maple and peaches. Adding a jam/jelly or honey near the end will give a nice glaze to it.

[bamajoey]

This may not be exactly what you are looking for, but we have cooked it with great success. You could modify the recipe to smoke instead of baking. This makes an excellent glaze.


http://www.emerils.com/recipe/5781/S...Sweet-Potatoes

[geds]

Originally Posted by bamajoey

This may not be exactly what you are looking for, but we have cooked it with great success. You could modify the recipe to smoke instead of baking. This makes an excellent glaze.


http://www.emerils.com/recipe/5781/S...Sweet-Potatoes

Sounds really interesting!

My biggest question concerning smoking a ham is whether to buy a precooked ham and smoke it for a while until it gets hot, or to go with an uncooked ham and smoke it at higher temp until done.

[hardball1962]

Geds, I always use what's called a fresh ham "uncooked", and smoke over red oak or pecan wood. You may have to talk to your butcher to get one, I do seems most of the hams they get at our local store are pre cooked.

[geds]

hardball do you treat the meat before cooking it? Baste it during cooking?

[hardball1962]

Originally Posted by geds

hardball do you treat the meat before cooking it? Baste it during cooking?

I do on a boston butt,I use a dry rub, but not on a ham. I do wrap the ham in foil after it gets a good smoke to keep it moist.

[Clipper]

I don't smoke hams but I do enjoy a good pork butt smoked slowly in my rig. We smoke it for several hours, say at least 8 or 9 hrs ( I have kept one on the smoker for over 11 hours) at about 250 degrees, over charcoal and apple wood smoke, basting every half hour or so with apple juice. It falls off the bone and we usually serve "Pulled Pork" sandwiches. Good stuff!

[millwright]

WTF ! Hams are already "smoked" ! (Unless of course you're buying a pork butt)

OTOH, there's a lot you can do to "improve" the OTS product !

IOW a slow roasting/smoking on the barby with lots of TLC and serious preparation can do wonders for an ordinary ham ! For years I've done hams in the oven after preparing them by crosshatching and studding them with cloves. Place the ham in a baking pan with onion and garlic cloves, and bourbon and water. Tent with aluminum foil and cook at around 250'F. After an hour or so, stick several rounds of pineapple to the ham with toothpicks and add the juice to the drippings. Slather the ham with molasses and retent. Keep roasting and basting until internal temp reaches 140'F ! (You can untent and baste to get a "glaze" after an hour) . And yes you can do this on the "barby" if you put the ham on a pan ! (Might even be better) !

Use the drippings to make "red-eye gravy" , either by a reduction (my preferred) or adding a roue ! >MW

[Bindernut]

I agree with millwright, clipper, and hardball. A "from the store" ham is already cured and smoked. Depends on the brand name though, it seems some brands are mostly just cooked with heat instead of smoking. One of the local meat markets does their own ham recipe using cure and an applewood smoke similar to what my grandpa's smokehouse recipe was. Grandpa also used the same basic recipe with bacon except those were soaked in just a salt brine before they were smoked.

My way...derived from grandpa's recipe the best I can remember it.
Do a fresh butt roast in the smoker. We typically use applewood since that's what the majority of our smoker fuel stash is. Inject the butt with some Tender-Quick (or other saltpeter type preservative) brine and let it rest in the cooler at least overnight...which is what the meat markets around here do for the curing agent too.
We never wrapped the ham...it's done with the rind on the cut so it's got that natural wrapper with that layer of fat to work into the meat. Just net it up so you've got something to hang it with.

We've never done a glazed ham in the smoker, but I think that basting with applejuice or applesauce would work great. I'll have to try that sometime. Thanks for the idea Clipper!

[eric8x]

vote for a ham

[JLA]

I dont smoke ham as most are already smoked from the market. I just bake and glaze with brown sugar and honey. I add pineapples (or 'pinejuices' as wesley calls them) during the glazing process.

I made a ham for thanksgiving that was glazed with grape jelly. That was actually pretty dang good ham..

[jack404]

take two hind quarters of venison to butcher and walk out with 2 very nice Westphalian smoked and cured

enjoy!

[hardball1962]

Key word here is "fresh" ham. The last 2 hams I smoked had been rooting in the food plot the morning before Your butcher may have to special order a fresh ham from the packing house.

[Shooter45]

A fresh ham in a must for doing your own smoking.

[geds]

I think you've convinced me to cook it in the oven already smoked. I'll save the smoker for a brisket or loin later!

[hardball1962]

Originally Posted by Shooter45

A fresh ham in a must for doing your own smoking.

Sam, have you ever done a whole hog? If so I have some questions.

[bamajoey]

Here's another one I found.

http://www.smoking-meat.com/november...oking-ham.html

I've tried ribs and Butt from his recipes that turned out good.

[mogunner]

I usually cross-hatch it good, then rub it down good with a yellow mustard and then slather it with brown sugar and honey and toss it in the smoker. I fill my water bowl with apple juice instead of water. It's pretty darn good, at least that's what everyone who shows up when I do one tells me, although myself I prefer a good pork shoulder or butt or brisket.

[geds]

Originally Posted by bamajoey

Here's another one I found.

http://www.smoking-meat.com/november...oking-ham.html

I've tried ribs and Butt from his recipes that turned out good.

So what is in his rib rub? The cooking method seems simple enough.

[Shooter45]

Originally Posted by hardball1962

Sam, have you ever done a whole hog? If so I have some questions.

Send me an email or PM and I'll help you out.

[bamajoey]

Originally Posted by geds

So what is in his rib rub? The cooking method seems simple enough.

That is his secret, and he charges for the recipe.