Easter ham

[geigs]

Hello all-

Question for the masses. I am going to cure and smoke my first leg to make a ham for Easter. I did my first bacon a month ago or so and turned out fantastic. For this project I am trying to find a little information. I found one recipe that uses Tender Quick with a 3 cup for 2 gallons of water solution, adding in some spices and 3 cups of brown sugar. The question I have is, do I need to inject the leg as well, or will soaking it for 10-14 days get it done? This is about a 20# leg.

Any ideas would be very helpful!

Thanks!

 

[blacklab]

Curing it should get the job done. Injecting won't hurt it but in my opinion just an unnecessary step.

 

[piker]

I just brined a 4 lb. loin for ham and my next project is a whole leg. To shorten the process I plan on injecting at least 10% of the legs weight. It should take a few days off the brining time. But it is a pesonal choice thing. Thks Dave

 

[erain]

i believe you would be better off stich pumping this along the bone to make sure bone sour does not occur. and then putting in the brine. there is a book called great sausage and meat curing by rytek kutas. if you going to be doing any curing or sausage making i reccomend this book.
here is also a pictorial about curing a ham and smoking which pretty much fits what you have going. ck this out and be careful and dont cut any corners. good luck and hope to see this in a post!!!

http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/recipesHam.html

 

[geigs]

Is 10-14 days in this solution good enough? I want to make sure it's cured through. Having never used Tender Quick before and seeing so many different receipes a guy just doesn't know.

 

[geigs]

Bone sour? what is that? Is it becasue this leg is on the larger size that something like that can happen?

 

[erain]

bone sour is what can happen to bone in ham while waiting for the cure to penetrate to the depths of the ham itself. it actually is the marrow in the bone starting to get rancid and giving a sour flavor. stich pumping along the bone will eliminate this worry.

 

[geigs]

and this Stich Pump is easy to find?

 

[erain]

ck this site out, scroll down a bit an will show locations on where to insert needle to inject cure. you will need to get a injection pump with a special needle with holes coming out the sides of it for proper distribution. research this well before going ahead and make sure all your ducks are in a row. if you do so i think you will have good results. if you dont have a pump and need to order one and wait for it you could be cutting it close timewise for easter.

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/curing/curing-methods.htm

 

[erain]

ck this, this is where i bought mine. shipping will be expensive though. i had mine in an order with other stuff so it wasnt so bad.

http://stores.curleyssausagekitchen....%2C/Detail.bok

 

[pitrow]

I cured my first pork leg last year for xmas. Looks like the post got lost in the server switch.

Anyway, it was about 12lbs and I did a brine cure using the instructions on the TQ bag, along with some brown sugar and spices. I did inject the brine along the bone as much as I could with my cheap plastic injector. I think I left it in the brine for 3 weeks if memory serves. It was cured all the way through, though it was WAY salty. I soaked it in fresh water for a couple days, changing the water often to try and pull some salt out, but it still didn't help much. I think a full week in fresh water would have helped.

Anyway, in your case, I would definately inject something that big, otherwise like erain says, you run the risk of the inside getting rotten before the cure makes it in that far. I would think that two weeks in the cure should be enough if you inject it, but I'm certainly no expert on it!


Good luck with it!

 

[geigs]

I couldn't find anything to use to inject the pork so I cut the bone out. Probably not the best idea, but I had to do something. Anyway, I have three 5-6 pound roasts now. Will soaking in the brine for 2 weeks be too long?

 

[geigs]

I have been soaking now for a few days, I'm wondering since i have smaller chunks of meat if I should take them out earlier so they aren't as salty?

 

[ronp]

Easy way to tell is do a fry pan test for salt test. I usually do a 6 pound butt about 4 days with TQ but I do inject with a cheap vet's syringe.

Good luck!

 

[travcoman45]

Cure 2 days per pound, remove rinse, slice an fry, ifin to salty start soakin in cold water fer two hours changin the water ever 30 minutes. Then let set in fridge fer a few hours, overnight is better, then inta the smoker.

 

[irishteabear]

Don't forget the pics! I'd like to see the progress.