Easter Ham (lots of pics)

[Nole4L]

So after a couple good experiences curing beef I decided to try curing ham for Easter.

Started off with a 17.5 pound fresh ham front the butcher. I bought this a little over two weeks ago. Plan was to use Pop's brine.

I broke out the tools to work on this. A knife and screwdriver....

I don't know the weight without the skin but I'm guessing it was in the 15-16 pound range. Saved the skin to put on the smoker for the flock of weenie dogs we have wandering around.

No pics of brining it but I kept the bone in and injected the brine around the bone. Then put the fresh ham in brine for 13 days.

Saturday afternoon I started getting things ready. Took the ham out and tied it and got some wood ready for the fire. I was worried about how long this might take because I've seen people mention times like 1.5 hours/pound. I decided to start the fire at 2 am and have the meet in the smoker at 3.

Ham tied up and ready to go in the smoker around 3.

Half of the flock out in the early morning to check that nothing was dropped.

Hit 160 degrees after 6.5 hours. Fortunately I was able to pull it, foil it and put it in the cooler right before we left for church so I didn't have to drive home between Bible class and worship to add wood.

I fired up the smoker again after church and got a fire on the grill side to grill up some pineapple. I put the ham back in the smoker about 1.5 hours before we planned to eat just to warm it. More of team weenie out circling. That one is blind but his sense of smell isn't gone :-)

Final product. Ended up being very good and moist. Pop's brine is no joke. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to try. Bonus was that curing it from a fresh ham made some good dinner conversation. Next time I'll probably de-bone it just to make slicing easier.

Regardless of if you celebrate Easter or not I hope everyone had a great weekend.

 

[jcam222]

Looks AWESOME!! This is on my list of smoker to do's

 

[motocrash]

That upper thigh tattoo makes her look too sexy,asking for a good baptismal curing.
Great looking ham! Debone it,chuck the bone in the back yard for the Dackel-Wölfe.

 

[Jabiru]

Superb. Great looking feed for Easter.

I just have to pull the cover off my BBQ and our dogs start circling.

 

[SmokinAl]

That ham is a thing of beauty!
Very nicely done!!
And congrats on making the carousel!!
Al

 

[gmc2003]

Wonderful job on that ham.

Point for sure
Chris

 

[HalfSmoked]

Yes sir I could put my feet under your table. Awesome job great results.
Like the wiener pups we have 4.

Warren

 

[uncle eddie]

We often smoke hams...but never cured them. Enjoyed your post. Like!

 

[Nole4L]

We often smoke hams...but never cured them. Enjoyed your post. Like!

It's the first fresh ham I've done. I was a little worried after I started into it because I saw people talking about "bone sour", etc. But it turned out great. I definitely recommend trying it.

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Great, Nole!!
You did real good!!
Bet that was Mighty Tasty!!
Like.

Bear

 

[Preacher Man]

Good job not having to make the trip between Bible class and worship! I can't tell you how many times I've stepped up to preach smelling like I just spritzed myself with mesquite cologne.

 

[Nole4L]

Good job not having to make the trip between Bible class and worship! I can't tell you how many times I've stepped up to preach smelling like I just spritzed myself with mesquite cologne.

Yeah I've sat in church a few times with my wife telling me I smell like oak. :-). Fortunately we're only 4 or 5 minutes from the church building so it's doable for me. The Fireboard thermometer makes it easier.

 

[SmokinLogs]

That smoked ham looks mouth watering. Good job, and congrats on making the carrousel!