Ham Help

Patially cooked for me.


I did a little searching for ya and found a thread Tom posted some stuff in for a ham.

http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/709102888...491018434#2491018434

and here's another with some more info.

http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/709102888...341040024#7341040024


Use the "find" button and type in "smoked ham" or "partially cooked ham" to find some more info if ya need it.

set it on 200*,smoke until 148*.

Partially/mostly cooked.

Not spiral cut.

Drys out a little of the water,and adds some smoke.

Thanks for the information. I was just confused with all the different types of hams you can purchase and the way they are labeled in the store. I will go with a partitally cooked for the first time.

We smoke a lot of hams here and we buy 'real' hams, bone-in already cooked.

Since they are already cooked, I just stick them in the smoker for about an hour and 15 minutes. They come out nice a smokey and still moist. I prefer the spiral sliced since the smoke gets more into the interior of the ham.

Try it, you'll love it.

Tom, I've done a few spiral-slized hams from Costco and they turn out great. I put them cut side down, and the weight of the ham keeps the slices closed. They don't dry up, but I'm very careful not to overcook as they have the propensity to become dryer quicker.

But they're so much easier to serve that I think it's worth it. It's amazing what a little smoke will do for a store-bought el-cheapo water-cured ham!!

Dennis,I don't disagree.

But still,it is two different products -so the cooking methods will differ IMO.

Sliced hams are often better hams-not always.

The" on sale for $0.79,shank,or whole hams" is sometimes harder to deal with.

The low,slow method will make it good,and 12-15 hrs may dry out a spiral ham.

Some folks also like to inject,which can be a little messy on spiral cut.

Just my $0.02

I went out and bought a cooks brand whole ham from wally world that is partially cooked and hickory smoked. It is a 22 lb ham with water/salt solution added in the cryovac. Having never smoked a ham, how long should I allow to get this bad boy done? Should I soak the ham prior to smoking to lower the salt content? Any hints or ideas would be helpful since I am trying to time this to be done mid morning on Thanksgiving Day.

All the Cooks hams (and I like them, that's what I buy) are pre-smoked and pre-cooked. So following Tom's idea above, you're not smoking/cooking, you're smoking/reheating. I would put it in on a lower temp for no more than 2 hours, but monitor it until it hits 140 - 145 (food safe/reheat temp)

The Pre-soak doesn't apply, that is for the salt/cured (Smithfield/country hams) that are very salty.

Thanks Smokin! This will help me to know when I need to put this in to get it ready by noon on Thanksgiving Day.

Question about preparing the ham for the smoker...This ham is a partially cooked ham and has a portion of rind on the shank or small end of the ham. Should I remove this prior to smoking the ham or just leave it in place?

I would leave it in place and then remove it after smoking/cooking.

Then you'll have a smoked ham hock, a whole other culinary delight. Start soaking the navy beans now to throw that hock into!

I like to take the rind off, if it's already cooked, let some smoke penetrate the outside, hard to do through the rind.

Steve, maybe we're picturing different things. I'm picturing a 4-inch nub at the end of your ham, with little meat underneath it. Whatchu actually got??

Smokin is right on if the rind is covering meat that you are intending to eat right out of the smoker. He knows you gotta let smoke get to the meat..or, it ain't smoked.

I was also thinking of skin covering the end of the leg bone.

Is it more like a big layer of fat covering alot of meat?

It is just a 4 inch nub or so covering the end of the leg bone. Since it covers a small area, I thought about scoring the surface and leaving it in place until after the ham is removed from the smoker. Maybe I can remove it at that point and set it aside for a big pot of beans next week.

Good idea. Smoked bones are good in beans!

STOP IT! I've got a 12# bird going and y'all are making me crave ham & bean soup. I am dreaming of a big ol' cast-iron pan of cornbread. Eats don't get no better that that! OMG I'm hungry!

Hey Wheelz, you won't care if I put a slice of onion on my corn bead will ya?

The way I figger, it's customary and down-right proper, right?

Absolutely, we may not be very "Fit" but we sure are proper!

How do I know if my ham is cooked, partially cooked or not cooked??? It says "Hickory Smoked Ham, ready to cook" on the label, but if it's smoked, doesn't this mean it's cooked? I'd hate to smoke this baby for 10 hours just to find out that it was cooked and only needed to be re-heated and I've ruined it.

Non cooked is typically labeled Fresh Pork Leg,and they are very difficult to find.

Usually weigh over 20 lbs.

They are a part of the Cuban holiday tradition,so we can get them about now.

They are a special order,if available at all.



City hams are pumpeed with solution,partially cooked,and smoked a little.

The instructions, under the label,usually say something like" preheat oven to 325º,heat 2-3 hrs,or to about 150º-160º internal".

Country hams are the dry,aged ham,that are typically soaked overnight in cold water.

You would not resmoke these.

Thanks Tom,

This ham is about 12 lbs. and has a whole list of ingredients. I haven't taken the label off yet but would assume it states something similar on the back side of it. So since I'm not going to be cooking it in the oven, Should I use something like a 45 minute per pond smoking time?

That should be plenty and it may not take that long.

Depends on the cook temp.

As the threads say,you are just drying out some of the salt water and adding some legitmate smoke flavor.

I have my best results by pulling it out about 148º.

Some of them have a sugar/glaze package that you can mix up and coat the ham with for the last hour.

I've found that they usually are more mess in the cooker than they are worth.

When I cooked mine at Thanksgiving, it turned out fabulous. At our family gathering mine was gone before the other plain turkey or ham options. Good thing I cut off a section and set aside for later. (He! He! ) It was partially cooked and all I had to do was re-heat and eliminate some of the added water solution. Make sure you keep that drip pan in place, because this baby will get a work out with one of these hams. Mine was 20+ pounds, so I slowly brought it up to the temp over a period of 8 hours. It would have been ready sooner, but I actually slowed it down by turning the smoker down to 200 degrees so I could time it correctly.

Can you put a ham in the Smokette frozen and let it thaw at 250* with alot of smoke until it hits 145* ? We are getting our meats from the company wednesday and our family get-together is thursday.