Lets Talk Honey Ham

vance hanna · May 22, 2015

My oldest Son will Only Eat honey ham, Normally only one Brand of store bought Honey Ham, BUT he has agreed to try a honey ham if I make it, so below is what i am thinking about doing and i would like some input from our master Ham makers.

I will be using either a tenderloin or a pork sirloin roast, Most likely the latter.

I will be using tenderquick because i can buy it locally as oppose to cure#1 which i would have to order online and wait on(i plan to just not right away) and TQ seems easier for a beginner anyway.

I will "Brine" or "wet cure" the pork for 30 days in TQ Mixed with Either Water or Apple Juice. Maybe White Grape Juice.

I plan to mix up enough solution to cover the pork then i am going to take some of the solution and mix it with quite a bit of honey and inject the pork then mix the rest of the honey in the TQ Solution.

After 30 days of curing i do plan to smoke the pork with Apple wood and just a touch of Hickory

Just wondering if anyone sees any glaring mistakes with what i plan to do. The Goal is a Honey ham with a Strong honey flavor backed up by smoky salty ham goodness. I am also considering buying honey powder which i can get locally at a health food store.

Is there a problem with injecting the pork with a honey heavy curing solution?

Is it safe to cure the ham longer than 30 days?

I know the ham does not have to be smoked, but is there a problem with smoking it with a mild wood?

Anything yall see that i am missing?

themule69 · May 22, 2015

I'm not sure how well honey will inject but I'd like to know how it turns out.

Happy smoken.

David

vance hanna · May 22, 2015

themule69 said:
I'm not sure how well honey will inject but I'd like to know how it turns out.

Happy smoken.

David

Well I plan on taking like a cup or two of the cure liquid and mixing the honey in it to thin it our before injecting it, and i plan on buying a large needle and syringe at the local farm store, i figure if i can inject myself with Penicillin, this should be no prob cause it will be thinner lol

dirtsailor2003 · May 22, 2015

I prefer to use Pop's brine for wet cures so can't really comment much on using TQ in a wet brine. You do want to make sure and inject your cure brine into the pork if it is over 2" thick. It seems that your 30 day cure is a bit long for the size of cuts you are planning to use. With Pop's brine a loin soaks for a minimum of 14 days. I have no idea what time Morton's requires.

themule69 · May 23, 2015

Vance Hanna said:
Well I plan on taking like a cup or two of the cure liquid and mixing the honey in it to thin it our before injecting it, and i plan on buying a large needle and syringe at the local farm store, i figure if i can inject myself with Penicillin, this should be no prob cause it will be thinner lol

Honey is pretty thick.

Happy smoken.

David

foamheart · May 23, 2015

dirtsailor2003 said:
I prefer to use Pop's brine for wet cures so can't really comment much on using TQ in a wet brine. You do want to make sure and inject your cure brine into the pork if it is over 2" thick. It seems that your 30 day cure is a bit long for the size of cuts you are planning to use. With Pop's brine a loin soaks for a minimum of 14 days. I have no idea what time Morton's requires.

Totally agree. Make sure that the TQ bag has instructions and you follow them. Cure is not something you should take liberties because it can do serious physical damage and we ain't talking simple like food posioning. Just don't play lose with the curing process. It just ain't worth it.

It doesn't matter if you wet or dry cure, #1 or #2 cure, just make sure you have an approved method.

I have done some curing, not nearly enough to suggest anything except be sure of what you are doing OR take the time to become more familiar with whichever process you are using.

Maybe this will help

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?736-Curing-Salts

The bottom of the last page has a couple a free easy to reach experts, I am guessing they will only repeat all of the above mentioned advise.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...a220b/Pork_from_Farm_to_Table.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

However you go, make sure and document and take pictures so we can all learn also.

Good luck.

bdskelly · May 23, 2015

dirtsailor2003 said:
I prefer to use Pop's brine for wet cures so can't really comment much on using TQ in a wet brine. You do want to make sure and inject your cure brine into the pork if it is over 2" thick. It seems that your 30 day cure is a bit long for the size of cuts you are planning to use. With Pop's brine a loin soaks for a minimum of 14 days. I have no idea what time Morton's requires.

Cure 1 can be bought for not a lot of money @ Amazon and if you are prime you'll have it in a day or two. Pops recipe and directions are easy and safe.

vance hanna · May 23, 2015

Foamheart said:
Totally agree. Make sure that the TQ bag has instructions and you follow them. Cure is not something you should take liberties because it can do serious physical damage and we ain't talking simple like food posioning. Just don't play lose with the curing process. It just ain't worth it.

It doesn't matter if you wet or dry cure, #1 or #2 cure, just make sure you have an approved method.

I have done some curing, not nearly enough to suggest anything except be sure of what you are doing OR take the time to become more familiar with whichever process you are using.

Maybe this will help

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?736-Curing-Salts

The bottom of the last page has a couple a free easy to reach experts, I am guessing they will only repeat all of the above mentioned advise.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...a220b/Pork_from_Farm_to_Table.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

However you go, make sure and document and take pictures so we can all learn also.

Good luck.

Yep it does have instructions, and yes i will be following them! Curing is not something I would play around with!

vance hanna · May 23, 2015

themule69 said:
Honey is pretty thick.

Happy smoken.

David

LMAO yes it is, but when you add water with a salt in it, that honey will thin out pretty quick. I guess i could just use Mead.

vance hanna · May 23, 2015

BDSkelly said:
Cure 1 can be bought for not a lot of money @ Amazon and if you are prime you'll have it in a day or two. Pops recipe and directions are easy and safe.

Dont have Prime, but i did find out that i can get it at my local butcher shop so problem solved. Tho I still prefer the Idea of TQ at least till i get more comfortable with curing.

vance hanna · May 23, 2015

Got a 60ml syringe and 14g Needles at the farm store today for doing the injections this should be fun

vance hanna · Jun 4, 2015

So I got a Whole Picnic Shoulder For 15 bucks

vance hanna · Jun 4, 2015

So here is what i ended up doing, I made 2 gallons of Brine, One gallon with Tender quick via package instructions and to it i added 2lbs of honey, a few bay leaves, a teaspoon of Hickory flavor liquid smoke and Peppercorns. The Other Gallon was Pops Brine made with 2 cups honey,1/2 cup Himalayan Pink salt, and Pink curing salt number 1 per the recipe. Boiled both gallons together in my small brew pot(3 gallon pot, the Large brew pot is 20 gallons lol) Put it in the fridge and cooled it down, then i injected the shoulder with the brine all over and put it in the pot, weighted it down, and it will be ready to cook for the 4 of July im hoping, that is 1 month anyway lol

So 2lbs and two cups of Honey, if that aint a honey ham i dont know what is lol.

I also took a Pork Sirloin Roast, dry cure with tenderquick only, and put it in a vaccume sealer bag, Poured honey all over it and sealed it up. Did a beef roast with pepper,bay,brown sugar and tenderquick.

dirtsailor2003 · Jun 4, 2015

Are you saying you mixed Pops Brine with the Morton's brine?

Also did you add the cure prior to heating the brine or did you let the brine cool and then add the cure?

vance hanna · Jun 4, 2015

dirtsailor2003 said:
Are you saying you mixed Pops Brine with the Morton's brine?

Also did you add the cure prior to heating the brine or did you let the brine cool and then add the cure?

I did mix them together but i made them up in separate gallons. So I made up the TQ gallon following the TQ instructions Then I made up Pops Brine Following Pops instructions, then i dumped the 2 separate gallons into a 3 gallon pot. I added the Cure to the Mix Warm but not boiling as it was cooling down why do you ask?

dirtsailor2003 · Jun 4, 2015

It's not recommended to mix the different cures. Not sure why you did that.

It is recommended to add the cure to your brine after you hear it and after it has cooled down.

vance hanna · Jun 4, 2015

dirtsailor2003 said:
It's not recommended to mix the different cures. Not sure why you did that.

It is recommended to add the cure to your brine after you hear it and after it has cooled down.

Used up the last of my TQ and all i had to get to 2 gallons was the number 1 cure lol

gary s · Jun 4, 2015

Better stick to the recommended amount of whatever you are using, Other ingredients you can play with but no cure

Gary

vance hanna · Jun 4, 2015

gary s said:
Better stick to the recommended amount of whatever you are using, Other ingredients you can play with but no cure

Gary

Well i did have just the right amount of both, so i figured it shouldnt hurt too much, hope im right lol

dirtsailor2003 · Jun 4, 2015

Vance Hanna said:
Well i did have just the right amount of both, so i figured it shouldnt hurt too much, hope im right lol

If it was me I'd be pitching it and starting over. Using cures has a strict protocol. Deviating can lead to serious consequences. Hopefully DaveOmak, Pops or Martin (Digging Dog Farms) will chime in.

Lets Talk Honey Ham

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