Need major help on a fresh ham

[Paul Taylor]

Hey Ya"ll I desparately need some help. I have about a 20#fresh ham that my neighbor's dad wants me to cook for Thursday night. My dilemma is;1) how long should I smoke it for?;2) Do I need to use any rub on it? 3) this is my first fresh ham that I have done & I am scared s***less. I know that all of you pork gurus have some tips/knowledge on this, So if ya"ll can help me on this one, I would be forever grateful. Mind you, this ain't been seasoned or anything @ all. I am starting straight from scratch. Matter of fact, that hawg was just killed 2 nights ago. That's how fresh that we are talking. Any help in this as I said would be apreciated immensely.

Paul Taylor

[TAR RIVER RAT]

I would rub it with Tejas BBQ rub and cook it like you would a pork butt. It will take a while to cook it as it is 20 lbs. I have half of one like that, the butt end, and will cook it like a pork butt.
Tar

[Buckeye]

Kan't ritelee say much, but I do baleeve a fresh ham ain't been smoked nor been cured....so I'm guessin that a full blown cookin needs ta take place. I'd treet it like I wuz cookin a shoulder....mustard bath followed by Bill's rub or sum other tasty rub an go from there. Now....jus wait fer a reel expert opinyun on how ta tackle this situashun. Jus my sophomoric 2 cents. :wink:

[lwp aka old sparky]

paul
there is a good ham recipes on www.primogrill.com . i am going to use this week. good luck

p.s. you can keep n. sabin up there, all the talk say he is coming to miami the player want to keep bates as the coach. :D :D :D :D :D :D

old sparky

[Bob-BQN]

Paul, it depends on what they want to do with the ham. If this is a Christmas dinner ham that they are carving slices for serving, then I wouldn't cook it as long as for pulled pork.

When cooking a ham for slicing I inject it with a sweet sauce: some pineapple juice, a little cherry juice, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, and just a little ground clove (not too much because it is easily detected).

Then I cook it over some maple wood at 225* until it reaches an internal temp of 175*. During the last few hours I like to brush it with some maple syrup to give it a sweet glaze (you may want to try some TPJ for if they like a little tingle on the tongue :wink: ).

Don't worry Paul, you'll get'er done. :D

[C-Town Smoker]

Paul, give a shout to J Minion! He knows all about this fresh ham stuff! :D

[Ed Embry]

Hey Paul, how's it going? Danny Gaulden has a method on his website that I'm gonna try myself this weekend. Good luck.....Edwin

http://www.dannysbbq.com/recipes.asp?rid=66

[Ed Embry]

Sparky, where's the ham recipe on the primo site? -Edwin

[Bob-BQN]

QnBrew except for the injection, that's about what I do. The ham is tender & juicy.

Plus I like to reserve some of the injection sauce to pour over the slices when reheating. Ham is so salty that a little sweet helps cut it.

[Greg in Jersey]

This is how I do them.

Remove the skin
cut the ham where the bone was (so it will lay out flat)
coat with mustard
apply your favorite rub, try BRITU for a starter then modify to your liking
put in smoker, fat side down, go heavy on the smoke for about two hours
pull ham and turn over, roll and tie (so fat is on inside)
Smoke until 170-175 for slicing.
Make some of DannyG's mustard sauce for dipping (serve on the side)

IMPORTANT: let stand for an hour double wrapped in foil prior to slicing.

This is how I do them, but what do I know, I'm from NEW JERSEY

Good luck,
Greg

[Ed Embry]

Bob, I like your idea of the sweet injection over the salty ham. Think I'll try to concoct something along the lines of what you suggested. -Edwin

[lwp aka old sparky]

qn brew
try http//www.primogrill.com/food/drchicken-ham.htm but bob-bqn sound real good, now what to do???????????????

old sparky

[jminion]

Paul
A fresh ham is cooked just like cooking butt or picnics, it has not been cured so it will be like eating a large pork roast.
If you cook to say 170 to 175 internal it will slice well, if you take to the 190 to 200 range it will pull.
I would treat it like cooking pork butt, same kind of rubs.
I would figure aprox 2 hours a pound cooking at 225 to 250.

Jim

[Ed Embry]

Thanks Sparky. Whew, ham overload. :shock: Think I myself will go with Bob's. When in doubt pick the easier one. :)

[Bob-BQN]

Just to push you over the top .... here are a couple of hams :lol: :

http://www.romineinc.com/BBQ/pork/grafix/0003.jpg

http://www.romineinc.com/BBQ/pork/grafix/0089.jpg

http://www.romineinc.com/BBQ/pork/grafix/0090.jpg

http://www.romineinc.com/BBQ/pork/grafix/0091.jpg

[Woodman]

Bob, are those "cured" or fresh? Woodman

[Paul Taylor]

WHOOOOAAAA YEAH! This what I am talking about. Ya"ll are da BEST. :D Damn, is this brotherhood or IS THIS BROTHERHOOD? I know that I could count on ya"ll :!: I am gonna give this thing a whirl. Ya"ll don't even have an ideer how much that I apreciate ya. I could careless if ya come from Jersey or not. We"re all in here to learn. I knew that I could come here anytime & get some help. But then again, where else do I need to go?Thanks again. Let's rock-n-roll.

BTW, Hey Sparky, I hope that Nick Saban does stay @ LSU. I wanna see another ring here. This bidness of a ring every 45 years don't cut it. I know that his family wants him to stay here. I heard that in the news.

Paul Taylor

[Ed Embry]

Dang, Bob. Those are some awsome looking hams :!: Thanks for posting the pics.

Paul, I'm with you on Saban, but I'm afraid he's gone. :cry:

[Bob-BQN]

The two at the bottom (most recently smoked) were "partially cooked", can't remember what the other two were.

[lwp aka old sparky]

bob-bon
on the fresh ham, do i put a rub on it or let the injection run over it, when do i baste it, 140 and pull it at 170 and wrap it. i am worried about the time the ham is 18# how much smoke do i use the first 2hr,how long do think it will take, my cooker is a upright and cooks fast at 220 , i am worred like paul. big party fr. i have the pork & turk, covered, the ham????????? thanks
old sparky :D :D :D :D :D

[Cal_BBQ Pit]

Paul, I hear ya on the brother/ sister hood here!!! This is great stuff, I was juss thinkin bout smokin me some Ham!!!


PS:What is the difference between "fresh" or "cured" ham? Anyone? Thanks


Cal.

[Ed Embry]

Hey Cal, cured ham has been through some type of brining, smoking, or aging process. Fresh ham has had nothing done to it. Hope this helps. -Edwin

[Cal_BBQ Pit]

thanks....this does help....does it make a difference if it is cured or not? Juss curious as I am going to start makin my own. Thanks QnBrew

[Ed Embry]

Well, the flavor will be different. If it's cured, it will generally be saltier, and may even be already cooked. These are still good warmed up on the smoker with maybe a glaze. With a fresh ham, you can apply a rub, inject, brine, or basically do anything you would do to a pork butt to add flavor.

[Bob-BQN]

Sparky, we’ve been talking about two ways of cooking the ham. Some suggest rubbing it and cooking it in a similar manner to a pork shoulder. When I cook a ham I don’t use any rub, instead I inject & glaze. Either way will produce a tasty ham, each will taste different but both will be good. For the ‘inject & glaze’ method, I don’t baste it because there is enough fat to keep it juicy. During the last three to four hours I’ll brush on a glaze once an hour to give it a beautiful gloss for presentation. I haven’t wrapped any of my hams or pork shoulders. Some wrap meat for pulled pork to let it rest, but if you wrap a ham after applying a glaze it will ruin the look. I haven’t cooked an 18# ham; the last 3 hams were 8.5#, 10.4#, & 11.5#. At 225* they took around an hour a pound to cook, 9 hours, 11 hours, and 11.5 hours respectively. I would expect yours to take in the neighborhood of 17 to 19 hours to cook and allow another hour to rest.

I’ve smoked meat two different ways, with heavy smoke at the first, and with a light smoke for the duration of the cook (keep in mind my present smoker is gas for fuel, adding wood only for smoke). We prefer the taste of having light smoke for the duration. So I add a couple wood chunks every two hours. Maple is my favorite wood for ham, but I’ll use pecan or hickory too.

Hope this helps and your hams are a great success.

Bob-BQN

[lwp aka old sparky]

bob
you have been a big help, your recipe sound good, i was going to pull at 160 & wrap & let sit .i better start early. THIS HAM HAS GOT TO ME. IT SOULD BE FUN.//////???. GREAT WEBB SITE YOU HAVE, HOW DO YOU USE ALL THOSE COOKERS. THANK AGAIN & MERRY CHRISTMAS. I WLL LET YOU KNOW THE OUT COME, THE WEATHER DOWN HERE IS GREAT 78* :D :D :D :D :D :D

OLD SPARKY

[Cal_BBQ Pit]

Well, the flavor will be different. If it's cured, it will generally be saltier, and may even be already cooked. These are still good warmed up on the smoker with maybe a glaze. With a fresh ham, you can apply a rub, inject, brine, or basically do anything you would do to a pork butt to add flavor.

Thanks, this makes sense......I am onto a HAM for the holidays!!! 8) I hear ya bout the weather lwp aka old sparky.

[Cal_BBQ Pit]

What type of meat do you use for the "ham"? Just wondering. thanks.

[Paul Taylor]

Hey Cal_BBQ pits. That BTW came offa wild hawg. I forgot to tell ya"ll that in the beginning because I myself didn't know @ 1st. I used the entire hind quarter.

Paul Taylor

[Cal_BBQ Pit]

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/ham/index.asp


Just thought I'd post this site I found on Hams....good luck!! 8)

[corndog]

I just did a fresh ham and shoulder on my new bullet smoker and both came of great!! And this was my first time of smoking anything in over three years!!! All I did was put a little rub on them and let them smoke.

[TexLaw]

Way to go, Corn Dog!

[Woodman]

Corny, where are you located? Wood Dog