Ham Chronicles: The Hammening

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brandon91

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Mar 10, 2014
281
134
the pit
Well here goes nothing, first attempt at a ham and curing in general besides some jerky. Not a TRUE ham I guess because I'm using a picnic.

Started with a 13lb bone-in picnic roast. Took the skin off and reserved for rinds.


Injected all around the bone with Pop's brine except I substituted the white sugar with real maple syrup.


Putting it in it's home for the next 2+ weeks.


7 days in, doesn't look scummy or smell offensive.


Out of the brine at 17 days, rinsed and patted dry. Cut some off for a fry test...

perfect! Not overly salty at all just right, and the maple sweetness was awesome. But 

something was missing..the smoke!


So into the MES it went 30min ago from this post, going to do it overnight. I couldn't

find any of those neat stockinette things I see on all the ham threads so I MacGyvered one

out of some cheese cloth. Using a mix of Maple, Pecan and Peach wood, and it smelled awesome when

I lit it up. I think it's going to be a winner. 


Results in the morning and into the fridge until Christmas dinner.
439.gif
 
wow.....looks awesome....liking the hanging bag. I saw them at my on line supplier & thinking of all the other uses as well.....great job, I'm sure there won't be much left....Willie
 
Nice job.  I was going to try the cheesecloth and purchased some, but I wasn't sure it would work.  Clearly it does. I did order some from Butcherssuply.com to try out. They sell 10 stockinette bags for like $4.50. And a stockinette hook for about $2.50.  Good work!
 
Thanks for the comments guys it really did turn out better than I expected, I was kind of getting paranoid there at the end, lol. I'm thinking the pecan is responsible for the great color. Now to put that bone to use for some beans!
 
That looks awesome! I started down a similar path which ended last night in my 1st epic smoking fail. After a lot of reading I attempted to use a Tender Quick brine with a 5lb boneless picnic. Brine was made per package specifications and I am sure it was fine. I tried to cure in a 2.5 gallon ziplock bag. After 2 weeks in the fridge I realized I had an air bubble setting on top of the meat. That area was a gooey mess so I pitched it. Whole thing was dumb on my part, think I was just trying not to waste brine. Anyhow will be shopping a brining bucket tomorrow. How do you keep the meat from floating? I have read about people using frozen bags of water to keep the meat submerged but seems like this would eventually melt and allow the meat to float.
 
That looks awesome! I started down a similar path which ended last night in my 1st epic smoking fail. After a lot of reading I attempted to use a Tender Quick brine with a 5lb boneless picnic. Brine was made per package specifications and I am sure it was fine. I tried to cure in a 2.5 gallon ziplock bag. After 2 weeks in the fridge I realized I had an air bubble setting on top of the meat. That area was a gooey mess so I pitched it. Whole thing was dumb on my part, think I was just trying not to waste brine. Anyhow will be shopping a brining bucket tomorrow. How do you keep the meat from floating? I have read about people using frozen bags of water to keep the meat submerged but seems like this would eventually melt and allow the meat to float.
Sorry to hear that! If you look at the 4th picture down from the top you can see I just used 2 regular sized dinner plates and laid it on top of the meat to keep it submerged. Good luck on your next attempt.
 
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Wow, your ham looks great!  I will have to say I am pretty amazed at the thermometer you have too!!!  I have never seen the igrill.  Does it work well?!?!?!  I am trying to find one online now!!
 
Wow, your ham looks great!  I will have to say I am pretty amazed at the thermometer you have too!!!  I have never seen the igrill.  Does it work well?!?!?!  I am trying to find one online now!!

Thanks! The igrill is awesome, you can find them at lowes or bass pro.
 
Very nice thread Brandon, real nice ! Great lookin smoke on that ham !

:points1:

:kewl:
 
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