whole fresh ham

dba1954Buffalo,NY

I picked up a whole 18 lb fresh ham today that I want to cure and smoke. Let me start by saying I have a CS25. A few questions, 1) should I cut it in half and 2) do I need to 'hang' it when I smoke or can I just place on the rack and rotate it a few times? a lot of the recipes call for putting it in a net and hanging, not sure why that would be needed. Recipes / Ideas welcome

3/7/135:16 PM

❤️ 0

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Former Member

I have an SMO45 which is a little bigger than the 025. I've only done 2 whole hams, but my learnings were - the first I brined for 1 day less than recommended in the Charcuterie book, an did not remove the skin from the ham. Ended up with about 1 inch thickness of ham and the rest smoked pork. The second one I removed the skin and brined for the full time recommended and smoked. Had a full ham and was delicious.
I should have taken notes, but that was early on and I've learned since then.

Good luck on your ham- nothing like it in the store.

3/7/135:41 PM

❤️ 0

dba1954Buffalo,NY

Didn't thing about the skin, thanks. i've seen recipes that say to brine from a week total(with injection) to 2 days per pound ... for and 18 lb ham thats 36 days. Haven't decided on approach yet. The longer brine might let me diffuse more flavor into it but wonder if that would make it saltier...

3/8/135:56 AM

❤️ 0

pulplipfictionMember

may want to check your math, or at least the formula. generally, half a day per pound - not 2 days per pound.

8/31/1310:17 PM

❤️ 0