Uncured Ham

Let's see:

On the production schedule, to a Forum near you:

• Smoking Fish 101
  
  
• Smoking Cheese 101
  
  
• Curing & Brining 101
  
  
• to be added 101
  

Thanks for the suggestion Grasshopper (known to you newbies as AAHH).

Here's two sources to get your started. The posts are very old, but have some info.

this will get you started "researching" and I know how you like to do that. Come back and ask questions and we can go from there. It's a busy day here and I'll get back later with more info.

The Meat Curing FAQ

FAQ Smoking Butts and Hams

Thanks Smokin'.

The BBQ FAQ basically says to treat it as a shoulder (butt) for the most part.

The other link is a real good start to your Curing 101!!!

I think that I'll try one of each.

Smokin'
Don't forget to touch on curing loins in your curing and brining 101. I tried my first one last week (brine using tender quick and seasonings) and smoked it yesterday. I think it turned out pretty good for my first try, but I'd like your slant on brining times and consentrations.

Thanks for your prior 101 efforts,

Richard

Hey,AAHH....My experience has been that you won't make this a regular practice. ...Pre-cooked are simple,just as inexpensive,and work just as well.....Unless it is a long cold winter and you like to hand rotate and massage the hams and go for the perfect product....Too much work for me, for the difference in product.

Thanks for your input.

For yucks and grins, I am trying one cured with a coating of Tenderquick and brown sugar for a few days. The other one I will coat with mayo or mustard and treat like a butt.

We'll see how they turn out.

We bought a half a hog a little while back and these were 2 "ham roasts" that we did not know what to do with ... so, I am doing the only logical thing ... experimenting ... my wife LOVES it when I do that!!!

Hey,AAHH....Cooking it like a shoulder or butt is the way they do it in Cuba and Puerto Rico....We see a lot of it around here in a variety of their dishes and it is excellent. They like to marinate in sour orange juice,which can be achieved with 1/2 fresh orange and 1/2 fresh lemon juice.Fresh garlic and chopped cilantro, add some hot peppers to taste....24 hrs.in the refigerator..Smoke till it can be pulled in chunks.

Well, here are the results.

I had 2 "ham roasts". They were actually quite lean and about 3 # each.

I cured one. Just coated (rubbed) with Tenderquick (maybe about 1/2 cup) and brown sugar. Put in a plastic bag and cured for 2 days in the fridge.

I rubbed one with a basic rib rub ('cause that's what I had available) and refrigerated overnight.


I thought that they would take a long time to smoke, so at 8:30 pm I put'em in with 4 oz applewood at 225F. I took them off at 7:30 the next morning - the cured ham was 194 F, the rubbed was 186F.

The rubbed ham was much easier to slice. The cured ham was very tender and but sliceable.

BTW, I forgot to wash off the cured ham before smoking, I was a little worried about the taste ... but it tastes just fine, maybe a little LESS salty than your average store bought cured ham. The cured ham was "red/pink" as expected. The rubbed ham had the color of a pork roast (imagine that!)

Both hams were a little on the dry side. I'm thinking that I should have taken them off when they reached 160 or so (at "O dark thrity"). And IF I do it again, I think that I will use a brine solution of tenderquick and brown sugar to cure the hams.

Overall, not too bad, not too great. Here is a picture:

Hey,AAHH....170� seems to be about the best/max for me to slice....Don't do a lot unless like you, they are what is on hand....In that case, my wife says I'd try to smoke an Edsel.

Both hams looked great, but the cured ham looked the best. I do not hesitate to use saltpetre in my cured foods. Those who use Mortons are using it. I make my own. I cut the amount in half. Did you know that in Canada, saltpetre is banned, and they use absorbic acid (vitamin c) in place of it...and red dye to get the color. Prague Powder has it's value and since I'm not a rat eating 500 times what a single dose would be...don't worry. There are Deer hams in my CS's future and they will contain saltpetre.