Couple of Hams

[Sven Svensson]

I had a little knee surgery yesterday so I thought this past weekend would be a good time to smoke the growing meat collection for some meals. I had a couple boneless shoulders in there I threw into my Briner bucket a couple of weeks ago. I prefer bone in but my original intent was to use them for some breakfast sausage and bratwurst. That never happened. So ham it is. I may not be any good at brisket but I’ve got this ham thing figured out.

My pigs in a blanket ready to get cozy in the Yoder. I’ve got to figure out how to hang hams in this beast somehow.


I started them at 165 with lots of smoke. Just for kicks and because I bought another bag thinking I was out, I smoked with 100% Lumberjack Cherry. The color is always unreal. After an hour I increased it to 225 for the ride to an I.T. of 140. And at that point..


They get vacuum-sealed and take a long pasteurizing bath in the Sous Vide for 4-5 hours. They turn out incredibly tender and juicy.


Then they get to hang out in the beer fridge next to some amazing Russian River brews for a couple days to let the smoke do its thing. One is off to a friend’s house tonight. He has 12 kids so there won’t be leftovers. The other will have a date with my slicer once I’m off these crutches and can carry the beast.

 

[NefariousTrashMan]

Those hams look amazing. The color is fantastic thanks for sharing. I hope you have a speedy recovery.

 

[chopsaw]

Very nice . I agree . Cherry puts great color on hams .

 

[sawhorseray]

Some nice work there Sven, good job. Hope you heal fast and full, do the PT! RAY

 

[SmokinAl]

Those hams look amazing Sven!
I have to try some of those cherry pellets, love that color!
Al

 

[tbern]

look awesome!! hope you heal up quickly!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Hams look great. Like

 

[Brokenhandle]

Hams look great! Love using cherry for the color! Best of luck with healing! If I lived closer I'd haul your slicer in and slice it up...of course some quality control would be involved as well!

Ryan

 

[JLeonard]

Hams look great. And sounds like you friend needs to pick up a hobby....!
Jim

 

[flatbroke]

good job

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Sven, nice job on those hams.

 

[indaswamp]

Those hams look awesome Sven! And with the sous vide finish-I bet they are perfectly tender! Great job my friend Sven!

 

[tallbm]

I had a little knee surgery yesterday so I thought this past weekend would be a good time to smoke the growing meat collection for some meals. I had a couple boneless shoulders in there I threw into my Briner bucket a couple of weeks ago. I prefer bone in but my original intent was to use them for some breakfast sausage and bratwurst. That never happened. So ham it is. I may not be any good at brisket but I’ve got this ham thing figured out.
View attachment 646317
My pigs in a blanket ready to get cozy in the Yoder. I’ve got to figure out how to hang hams in this beast somehow.

View attachment 646318
I started them at 165 with lots of smoke. Just for kicks and because I bought another bag thinking I was out, I smoked with 100% Lumberjack Cherry. The color is always unreal. After an hour I increased it to 225 for the ride to an I.T. of 140. And at that point..

View attachment 646319
They get vacuum-sealed and take a long pasteurizing bath in the Sous Vide for 4-5 hours. They turn out incredibly tender and juicy.

View attachment 646320
Then they get to hang out in the beer fridge next to some amazing Russian River brews for a couple days to let the smoke do its thing. One is off to a friend’s house tonight. He has 12 kids so there won’t be leftovers. The other will have a date with my slicer once I’m off these crutches and can carry the beast.

Those look fantastic!

Last year I started curing and smoking pork butts for ham. I removed the bone after.
After seeing yours, I think I will remove the bone first and cure. I'll put them in my cotton turkey hanging bags and hang and smoke that way.

BTW I have a solution for you being able to hang hams and maybe a little bit of sausage. Turkeys may be too big I think but I'll mention some ways that may work :D

A picture is worth a thousand words so here you go :)

I would get some angle aluminum and cut to make 2 rails like the one indicated by the BLUE arrow below.

I would fasten the new aluminum rails in the areas indicated by the green arrows below.

I would buy some 1 inch diameter untreated Oak wooden (or hardwood) dowels and cut them to fit on the rails (2-3 dowels should do).

Now you can hang your hams, some ring sausage, and chickens.
You could MAYBE even bag a smaller turkey, and hang horizontally.

Here's what seems to be a well priced (for current times) piece of 1/4 thick angle aluminum. It will hold a heavy piece of meat no problem, the flats are plenty wide to hold dowels and the length allows you to cut all you need:

I would drill a number of holes into the bottom flat of angle aluminum to make some slots.
It would be similar to this slotted angle aluminum here but round holes ( or you could buy this at a higher price. I assume 1/8 thickness and 1 inch flats should get the job done and would save time)

With the holes/slots you can drop small stainless steel bolts into the holes and they will act as "stops" for the dowels if you have to hang something across 2 dowels for a more complex hang like a turkey or a brisket flat. This will keep the dowels in place and prevent them moving/sliding together or around in any way.


For simple horizontal hangs use 1 wooden dowel. You just bag your meat and tie both ends. Then use strong butcher's twine or any other twin/wire and tie to both ends of your bagged meat and then tie to the single dowel.
Think of this kind of like a hammock and how that works.

For complex horizontal hangs (a big turkey that needs to be back or breast down, or a brisket flat for pastrami) you could use 2 wooden towels and make something like a "stretcher" (like when carrying wounded people).
You put the 2 wooden towels in with "stops" in the rail to prevent the dowels from moving out of position. Then and hang the bagged ham/turkey between them.
You can put a netted meat bag over both dowels and make a stretcher and place the bagged turkey/meat on the stretcher area.
You could tie like 3+ strands of cotton twine from one dowel to the other that the bagged meat would wrest on.
There's a few other ways you could go but I think you get the idea :)

If any of this makes any sense and/or helps, let me know haha :)

 

[CTXSmokeLover]

Those look beautiful and really tasty. I have never smoked a ham before or really even considered it but I will now. Thanks for sharing!

 

[912smoker]

Those hams look great Sven and prayers for a speedy recovery!

Keith

 

[motocrash]

Great looking hams. You can perfume a pig with Hickory, but Cherry is the lipstick on the pig.

 

[mneeley490]

Yum! It is amazing the color that cherry can put on both pork and beef.

 

[tx smoker]

WOW!! Those look superb Sven. Beautiful hams and I bet there are some happy people in your life Very nice job my friend and congrats on the carousel ride. Much deserved.

Robert

 

[DRKsmoking]

Sven , those are a couple of Cherry Hams you have there . And very nice of you to pass 1 on to your friend with all the children, ( hes been busy )
Hope the knee heals well.

David

 

[DougE]

Fantastic looking hams, Sven. Cherry sure does impart an awesome color.

And sounds like you friend needs to pick up a NEW hobby....!

Fixed that for ya, Jim.