Told a friend of mine the other day that I would smoke a ham for him in a few weeks. Now I'm finding out that it is a fresh ham and not a store-bought one. So I did a little "forum research" and decided that all I needed to do was order the Buckboard Bacon seasoning that I have been reading so much about and cure the ham for about 12 days or so and then smoke...right?
Well, today he told me that all he wanted me to do was smoke the ham like I would a Boston Butt.
no cure, just rub and smoke!!
He said he was going to pull it or chop it like he would a butt ..... I was just wondering...What do these hams taste like when they are fresh and haven't been cured???
Is it the same as a butt, just bigger???
does it still taste like a ham????
Hoping some of you out there have done this already and could give me some info.
I know Tom mentioned smoking a ham like a butt one time , but never got to elaborate on the subject....

Did a 24 lb whole pork shoulder Saturday night on my FE. Did like a butt, used Bad Byron's. 225, mesquite pellets, 21 hours until 195 internal. Best pulled pork I have ever done. I rendered most of the fat out and it came apart with nice chunks. I will be doing more of these. I will be doing some whole shoulders in competition this year.

The ham flavor comes from the cure,mostly.

You're right about the bigger butt,or probably closer to the shoulder that duck mentioned.

MIM lets you cook shoulder or fresh ham,as your pork entry.

You can cook it to around 180� and slice like a butt,or take in on up over 195� and pull it.

As you know,much of the south may just take it to 170� and chop the meat into bite sized chunks.

Think about a whole hog cook.

Tenderness and texture tend to differeniate,more than taste of the sections.