First time smoking ham (for Thanksgiving)

[jbs620]

A friend and I purchased a pig earlier this year and split it 50/50. We each received 2 cured (uncooked) hams. I have an MES and have never smoked a ham before. My counter part cooked one of his hams in a conventional oven and said it was great. But I want to smoke mine. I haven't even unwrapped it yet to see what it looks like. He said it still had some skin and fat. I pretty much need instructions for a rookie...

Do I trim the skin/fat before smoking or wait until it's finished to trim it off?

How long (time) do I smoke the 14lb ham? I've heard cook to internal temp of 160.

Any other pointers for a rookie would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS!

 

[gary s]

  Good morning and welcome to the forum, from another Cold and Rainy  day in East Texas. Lots of great people with tons of                    information on just about  everything 

            Gary

 

[jbs620]

Thanks Gary! South Central Kansas here.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Hey welcome! For that ham you can smoke it to 160, keep in mind that the safe cook temp per FDA is 145 for pork. I usually take my hams to 150, them wrap in foil and rest for 45min-1hour then slice and serve. I would remove the skin first and trim the fat. I do a simple rub salt pepper garlic. Sometimes I'll make a glaze using peach or apricot preserves. I apply the glaze when the IT hits around 140-145. Time will vary the last one I did was 12 pounds bone in and it took around 5 hours to hit 150 running the smoker at 250-265. Good woods to use apple, peach, pecan, cherry.

 

[themule69]

Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions
Post it and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is
because their are so many different ways to make great Q...

Dirtsailor has you covered on the smoking. You can also do a search and find lots of

methods.
Happy smoken.
David

 

[jbs620]

I appreciate the help and welcomes. Hopefully it turns out good!

 

[jbs620]

Well I called the butcher today to verify how they cured their hams. I'm glad I called because I had just assumed it was only brine cured. As it turns out it is brine, sugar and smoke cured to about 125. The butcher said I should only have to heat the ham and not cook it. I think I'll now search for preparatory tips.....rubs, woods etc. 

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Sounds like you have a good canidate for a double smoked ham:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch?search=double+smoked+ham

 

[jbs620]

Well I smoked the ham and forgot to take pictures. At any rate the ham turned out mediocre at best. The flavor as best towards the outside of the ham. The closer to the bone the less desirable the flavor. Over all though the meat was REALLY dry. I cooked it at about 200 for 4 hours. After removing it from the smoker I wrapped it tight in foil and towels and set it in a cooler for 2 hours. Not sure what to change to prevent the dryness.