Fresh Ham Smoke w/QView

[raven1911]

Devolutionist,

Did you leave that thermometer in the ham while cooking? I have one just like that but wondered if I could leave it in the smoker while cooking or have to take it out? Man, that ham looks good. Did you do anything to it before putting it in the smoker besides taking the majority of the skin off and rubbing it with mustard? Any rub on it or injected with anything??

I have a wild boar butt that I need to cook and was wondering if I could cook it the same way you did? How did you figure your cooking time? Did you keep it at 225-250 the whole time? Sorry for all the questions but I am new to smoking.

Thanks!

 

[big-fokker]

Raven,
Those therms like you saw in Devolutionists' pics are made to be left in for the whole time. You can also find remote therms at Wal-Mart or Target pretty inexpensively as well. I bought a Taylor digital from Target for about $12 on sale last season. Here a link to the Taylor http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...t_adv_XSG10001
You pretty much stick the probe in the meat, put the meat in the smoker and when you hit your desired temp it'll beep.
DeeJayDebi has a time and temp chart on her site that will give you an idea of what to do.
Before I got settled in here, I used to try and figure cooking times by temp/lbs/time, now thanks to the wise folks here, I do it by temperature and I haven't missed the mark since

 

[devolutionist]

Yeah, I left it in the whole time. Had to take it out once thought because the face of it was getting pretty smoked up from the pineapple juice I was spraying on it. BTW, the only reason I was using that one was because the probes on all my other digital ones are shot.

Since this was my first one, I didn't really put much of anything on it - kind of wanted a "baseline" ham so I'd have a better understanding of where I wanted to go with it next time. All I really did was put a really light coat of yellow mustard on it, and then sprayed it with pineapple juice every 1 or 2 hours. Next time I'll doctor it up a bit more

Cooking time was based on 1.5 hours per pound, but it it didn't really take as long as that. Mine was 17 lbs and was done in about 16-17 hours, with the heat being kept between 225 & 240. Took the internal temp up to about 165-170. Like Big-Fokker says, cooking time is just a guideline to help you schedule the rest of your meal around what's being smoked - the bottom line of what really matters is the internal temp you're aiming for.

That wild boar of yours would be AWESOME cooked in a smoker, but since it'll have a lot less fat than a commercial pig, you'll want to really stay on top of it to make sure it doesn't dry out - I've never done wild game in mine though so I can't help you much with specifics on how to keep it moist.

 

[foozer]

If you were to take this ham up to an internal temperature of 200-205 would you be able to pull it like a pork butt

 

[devolutionist]

you certainly would!

the only difference between this cut and a boston butt is that the butt is from the front quarter (and has a picnic attached) and this is from the rear quarter.

bear in mind that this tasted like a sliced boston butt since it's fresh and not cured. didn't taste like a traditional ham at all... like Richtee said earlier, curing it is what makes it a ham. otherwise it's just sliced pork.

 

[pigcicles]

I can't believe you said "otherwise it's just sliced pork". It's PIG man. Pure heaven ... meat with it's own extra large stick. Wayyy better than any ol' chicken leg.

Glad that "just sliced pork" turned out good for you Devo. Keep up the good work. Remember - Pork Fat Rules

 

[walking dude]

i know this to be a stupid question.........and i know others willl tell me..........what are you using as a smoker....i know is a gasser.........

gosm?

 

[pigcicles]

His sig line and pics show the BBQ Grillware Dude

Edit: Pics don't show the name.. sorry thought they did

 

[walking dude]

crap pigs......my bad........didn't read the sig line.........thats a new one on me.......but its a good looking smoker

 

[devolutionist]

Sorry Pigs, saying it's "just" pork should definitely get me a slap on the wrist. That's just outright heresy.

Mr Walking Dude - It's a BBQ Grillware vertical smoker from Lowe's. Here's a pic of what they look like:

...and here's a thread where a couple of us were talking about the pro's and con's of them. Overall I still like it a lot. Only thing I wanted to do but couldn't because of size was a packer cut brisket, but doing just the flat worked out pretty dang good.

 

[propaul3681]

I am following the exact same process.  However it is late and I am tired. At 11 pm I put her in my reg oven at 350.  The fresh ham's inside temp was only 131.  up to 145 now..... at 160 she goes in the cooler.  Tomorrow is another day.  I am sure the oven detracts some but the thing was in the smoker for 11 hrs.  I think it will be good. Thanks for sharing!