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I did a fresh (uncured) ham and a turkey for Christmas. Both came out great in the FE100. The ham was a 26 lber (whole pork leg, uncured, with skin on). To make crispy cracklings, let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator for 2 days. (Some recipes recommended brining, which I'll try next time, but I wanted the skin to be very dry to make cracklings.) Poke small holes all over the skin. Make 2-inch slits in the skin at irregular intervals and rub in spice paste:

20 fresh sage leaves or 2 Tablespoons dried
20 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 Tablespoon dried
8 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
put in food processor and process, add oil only to mix ingredients. Don't put in too much oil.

Preheat FE100 at max setting. I used pecan and apple pellets. Put roast in large pan on top of quartered onions, carrots, and celery. Insert Polder-type thermometer deep into the roast, but not touching any bones. When cooker is hot, put roast in cooker. Let go at max setting for 30 minutes (to get the cracklings crispy). After 30 minutes, lower temp to 325. When internal temperature reaches 150�, remove roast from FE-100, tent with foil, and let rest for 30-45 minutes. Took a total of 7 hours in the FE-100 to finish. As the roast is resting, make a pan sauce.

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup pork or chicken stock
1 cup port wine
2 tablespoons corn starch, dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water
salt and pepper

Pour off all the drippings (there will be a lot of fat) into a glass measuring cup or fat separator. Remove and discard the fat, leaving behind plenty of brown meat juices. Add the herbs, garlic, and stock to the roasting pan and place it over low heat. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour this liquid into a small saucepan. Put in the port wine and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce it over high heat for a few minutes. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and boil the sauce until it begins to thicken. Taste for salt and pepper.

To carve the roast, remove the cracklings, cut into small pieces, and serve separately. Carve the roast into thick slices and let the guests add their own sauce.

This is mostly from "The Complete Meat Cookbook" by Bruce Aidells. In the FE100 at these higher temperatures, there is a hint of smoke flavor on the meat, but not very heavy; the skin is cracklin crispy and delicious. I posted this same picture on the beginner forum on this site, hope I'm not overdoing it.


The turkey came out great too - brined for 24 hours, left to sit in the refrigerator for a day to dry. The FE100 is the greatest.
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