Brined fresh ham - Take II

[Zilla]

This is my second try on a fresh ham and it is really good. I trimmed it very well and brined it for 48 hours. I smoked it for about 9 hours at 225 degrees til it hit 160 internal temp. This is the way I'll do it from now on.

www.kodakgallery.com/photozilla

[DoubleBarrelSmoker]

Zilla-- that looks moist and flavorful- this might sound stupid but when you buy it what do you ask- for fresh ham, or by some other name

[SCOTT]

whats the advantage of a fresh ham?

[Bad Santa]

Looks like a winner to me Zilla, bet that ol' rooter never had any thoughts of being in your pit and ending up on the table.... :wink: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Much less immortalized on the BBQ forum with a bunch of meat eaters drooling and gawkin' at him. :wink:

[Thom Emery]

Did twice smoked ham at Thanksgiving
Turned out grand

[bigwheel]

Me too Thom..them twice smokers always seem to come out muy bueno. The few fresh hams I see in the stores down here seem to be show piece items usually hovering at about 3 bucks a pound and most of them look like they been there for a while with no takers. Now I gonna take a three bucker home and cure it myself..when there is one just like it for .99 which somebody has done the manuel labor? I dont think so. I aint that eager to reduantly reinvent the wheel all over again yet another time. You seem like a purty smart feller. You sure you wasnt from Texas originally?

bigwheel


Did twice smoked ham at Thanksgiving
Turned out grand

[Zilla]

Double barrel - It's just called a fresh ham.

Scott - No advantage to a fresh ham at all, Sept that I get to do it all my way. :wink: I got it cheap at $1.28 per lb.

[Ed Embry]

Zilla, that looks really good. What kind of brine did you use?

[TexLaw]

That's a nice ham, there, Zilla. I'm also interested in your brine, if you don't mind.


TL

[Zilla]

The brine was a standard 1/2 cup each salt, sugar, rub - per 1 gallon water, mix that I cooked, cooled and poured over the ham in a cooler then stacked bags of ice on top. It held at 35-37 degrees for 48 hrs. Brining in a cooler works great.

[david brace]

That ham DOES look good, Zilla...good color. But snce I never brined a ham before, I gotta ask about the trip to the cooler. Did you bag the ham in the brine and THEN put the ice bags on top? Or did you just pour the brine over the ham in the open coooler and place the bags on top of the ham? The second way I would suspect some ice would melt and dilute the brine some...tell me, please...

DB

[Zilla]

The 2nd way was my method. The bags of ice were water tight, pretty much !
When I was done I had to cut the bags open and pour the water out and it was clear not rusty colored like the brine so I guses you got to pick good bags of ice.

[papalion]

I'll take the ham and you can keep the beer :D :D What cut of ham is that? picnic, whole shoulder???

[Bad Santa]

Here's a way that I brine things without the worry of diluting brine. I have a 5 gal. pickle bucket with the seal gasket and lid. I put my brine in it along with what I'm brining, seal it with the lid and place it into a large icechest. (I think it's a 152 qt.) Then place bags of ice around the bucket, the whole brine stays cold inside the bucket while there is no worry about diluting. The icechest is big enough to hold 3 - 5 gal. buckets with ice, if you are doing large quantities. You don't have to have pickle buckets tho' you can use any bucket that has a waterproof lid, like the big icecream buckets in the store. Just use the bucket and lid with the brine and then chill on the outside with ice in a cooler.

[david brace]

Good idea Santa...I might have thought of that eventually, but now i don't have to.

DB

[Zilla]

I'll take the ham and you can keep the beer :D :D What cut of ham is that? picnic, whole shoulder???

Hello papalion, A Ham is the rear leg of a pig and the Picnic and Butt makeup the front leg with the picnic attached to the hoof and the Butt attached to the body at the chest.

[droller]

Me too Thom..them twice smokers always seem to come out muy bueno. The few fresh hams I see in the stores down here seem to be show piece items usually hovering at about 3 bucks a pound and most of them look like they been there for a while with no takers. Now I gonna take a three bucker home and cure it myself..when there is one just like it for .99 which somebody has done the manuel labor? I dont think so. I aint that eager to reduantly reinvent the wheel all over again yet another time. You seem like a purty smart feller. You sure you wasnt from Texas originally?

bigwheel




Did twice smoked ham at Thanksgiving
Turned out grand

I like that! Way to pile it up. :D

[bigwheel]

Well I have tole this story a hunnert times but here goes again. Take two Glad tall kitchen garbage bags one inside the other. Lay whutever you want to brine in the bottom..bone side up if it got bones..dump the cold brine over the top. Force as much air as possible out of the bags and tie a knot in the top and chunk it into the icebox or in the icechest with a bag of ice on top. Come back later. Cook it. Very little muss or fuss.

bigwheel



Here's a way that I brine things without the worry of diluting brine. I have a 5 gal. pickle bucket with the seal gasket and lid. I put my brine in it along with what I'm brining, seal it with the lid and place it into a large icechest. (I think it's a 152 qt.) Then place bags of ice around the bucket, the whole brine stays cold inside the bucket while there is no worry about diluting. The icechest is big enough to hold 3 - 5 gal. buckets with ice, if you are doing large quantities. You don't have to have pickle buckets tho' you can use any bucket that has a waterproof lid, like the big icecream buckets in the store. Just use the bucket and lid with the brine and then chill on the outside with ice in a cooler.

[TAR RIVER RAT]

Can't get any easier than that Bigwheel. :D
Tarbrine