So I just picked up a whole fresh ham from the store!! Plan is to cure it with tender quick and brown sugar, cure for 10 days (it's 20 pounds) and then smoke it to finish with a hot smoke and maple chips. Any downside here?? Anything I am missing?? I am assuming that I should remove the skin from the leg??
Jojo,
Not to burst your bubble, but I've been curing things with TQ for a long time, and I would not attempt to cure a 20 pound ham with TQ.
Curing a Ham is a lot more difficult than most people think.
You have to do things like injecting, and injecting into the arterial system, and stuff that I have no idea even how to tell you how.
That post you saw was probably from Pops, and it wasn't with TQ.
A Ham like that is a long process, and you need more knowledge than I have to do it.
Personally when I want to smoke a Ham, I will buy one already cured & cooked, and smoke the heck out of it again.
That way you get what will probably be the best smoked Ham you ever had, and no safety problems or catastrophes.
If your heart is really set to cure & smoke a 20 pound fresh ham, PM Pops, and ask him about it.
Bear
On edit: I started this post before RBranstner posted Pops' link.
Looking at that link, you'll see what I mean.