From Hog Leg to Easter Ham!

[solaryellow]

ya, i've heard that about nitrates before..

any idea where the nitrate we use for meats comes from? how its made or harvested?

for sure we cant cure a ham with spinach, right? so there must be something off here

so you think that any less than that amount of nitrite would be unsafe? and that your recipe contains the minimum amount you would recommend?

thanks pops

Actually you can. Most organic cured meats that say "No nitrates added" use powdered celery or celery juice to obtain the nitrates without affecting the flavor.

 

[builder59]

Pops,

does it really take 30 days?

 

[waucedah]

This is great stuff

Thanks

 

[waucedah]

What is a fry test

Thanks

 

[venture]

A fry test is frying a little of the meat and tasting before you store it.

Even that can be deceiving because meat stored can taste different than meat that was tested fresh.

Do it.  Then test your meat again after your preferred method of storing.

This will lead you to corrections in your original recipe that you might want to make.

Not precise.  It is a try and re-do process.  Or maybe not?

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[venture]

I must add that adding nitrates will affect the flavor no matter how they are added.

That is sometimes the reason for adding nitrates.

Also be aware that many of your favorite foods have nitrites and nitrates in them naturally.  Yes, even fresh out of your garden.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[waucedah]

Thank you
 

 

[duckybud]

Pops--THANK YOU for taking the time to present this information.  My father and grandfather were butchers all their lives, and made hams and bacon like this.  I was too busy to take the time to learn how it was done properly, now in my 60s I see that I should have paid more attention.  Your guidance is helping me figure out the way to do it the right.  There is something about bringing back tastes from the past, and remembering generations of the past, that makes learning and doing this the right way worth while.

I have figured out the bacon, just working out the flavors my family like the best.  Now you have provided the information the missing information for the hams.  I will be doing this in the near future.

Thanks again, to you and others on this site, for taking the time to help others.

Buddy

 

[backyardkcq]

I've followed the process you've posted several times now with excellent results every time. I even keep the rendered lard and the wife uses it for baking. The cracklings are always a hit. I've been smoking the hams in a regular smoker but I think it’s time to branch out to the smokehouse. Thanks for the inspiration Pops!

 

[pigglywiggly]

I am going to try and make a ham for this Christmas and was wondering if I could use honey in the brine instead of sugar? And if so, how much honey would be a replacement for 1 cup of sugar? Thanks!

 

[brentforsberg]

Been holding on to this thread for almost a year!  My ham is a lot smaller, going to start brining tonight and have it ready to smoke the day before easter:)  Thanks for the instructions!

 

[garyc]

Pop's, I have this thread printed out and have made several wonderful hams using your wisdom. Thank you. I have a question. I have a large ham in the brine for about 26 days now and I was wondering how long I can safely leave it in. This ham is for Easter and was thinking I would pull it in 2 weeks for smoking.

 

[cab2g]

Pop's, I have this thread printed out and have made several wonderful hams using your wisdom. Thank you. I have a question. I have a large ham in the brine for about 26 days now and I was wondering how long I can safely leave it in. This ham is for Easter and was thinking I would pull it in 2 weeks for smoking.

Pops, I have a similar question. I just ordered a fresh ham from the local butcher and was looking online, most recipes say brine for 1 day for every 2 pounds of meat. I know that eventually, the salt level will equalize inside the ham to match the brine. So does that mean that period of time is say 10 days for a 20lb ham? Or will the ham continue to get saltier for the next 20 days? Thanks!

 

[dba1954]

This was a very interesting post, abeit old ... saw some questions about nitrite concentrations ... USDA says you should have a minimum of 125 ppm. I'm curing a ham right now and the Insta cure #1 is about .6-.7 oz per heaping TSP. I weight however, and using 3 oz / gallon for 140 ppm concentration. My brine is very close to what Pops is recommending, with the addition of bay leaves and Juniper Berries. I am looking to cure it for 1-2 days per pound.... I found the pictures of how to separate out the sections and bones fantastic ...

http://www.sausagemaker.com/productdocs/Breakdown_of_Nitrite_Level_in_Brine_with_InstaCure_(Imperial).pdfp

Do not use this method....It is off by a factor of 10 for the cure amount...... It is dangerous......  DaveOmak edit

 

[diggingdogfarm]

This was a very interesting post, abeit old ... saw some questions about nitrite concentrations ... USDA says you should have a minimum of 125 ppm. I'm curing a ham right now and the Insta cure #1 is about .6-.7 oz per heaping TSP. I weight however, and using 3 oz / gallon for 140 ppm concentration. My brine is very close to what Pops is recommending, with the addition of bay leaves and Juniper Berries. I am looking to cure it for 1-2 days per pound.... I found the pictures of how to separate out the sections and bones fantastic ...

http://www.sausagemaker.com/productdocs/Breakdown_of_Nitrite_Level_in_Brine_with_InstaCure_(Imperial).pdfp

That is definitely an unwise way to measure cure!!!!!
Not good!

Whoever wrote the information in the linked PDF file, does NOT know what they're doing, it's riddled with errors!
Please don't use it as a reference!!!



~Martin

 

[atcnick]

I'm doing a ham with this recipe. Just took it out if the brine yesterday and plan on smoking it tomorrow. Any reason why I shouldn't cut it in two pieces and take the bone out before smoking it? Also wouldn't mind cutting it open to make sure there's no bone sour.

 

[integritybbq]

Thanks for this post as I just bought a bone in 22lb fresh ham, I have huge meat injector, and cure... but have a few questions:

1.Do I need to saw the bone off as you showed in step 1, does it matter?

2.Do I have to cut the skin off, does it matter?

3.I was planning on cooking this 12/1. will that be enough time for the cure?

4.When I do cook this in 22" Weber smokey mountain (water and charcoal smoker) Do i have to take it to (155-165deg) or 145deg? Seems like most people cold smoke then warm it to 155deg or so a few days later. I can cook it 11/30 then cook it again 12/1 if cure time permits. Would be easier to cook it all one day but not sure which provides best results.Any idea how long this will take to cook, I am guessing over 8 hrs at 225deg?( i do most cooks when I am sleeping as temp holds within 240-220)

5. With the cure recipe, what is the reason for white and brown sugar? I was planning on using just turbanado sugar( I like natural un bleeched sugar) Any reason for both?

I also plan on curing 2 10lb skin on bone in picnics as there is another thread of that, also have questions for that as i plan to smoke that the same day:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/149120/picnic-ham

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/147272/labor-day-ham-butts-started-in-pops-brine-tonight

Any help on my pork cooks would help a great deal, I plan on injecting tonight.

 

[integritybbq]

Well i ended up not curing the 2 10lb picnics as I got a bit scared that the bone was to big and skin was on. So those are marinating in rub and will smoke them for an overnight cook tonight. I did inject the 22lb fresh ham after removing skin and hacking the bone and have it on a huge ziplock bag in 5gallon bucket in refer. Ended up taking 2/12 gallons to make it float. I injected it with close to 50oz of brine. Pops talks about the opening in the bone, pretty hard to find but I think I found it, hard to tell. My injector  only holds 1.5oz and didn't have the 360deg spin nozzle so I hope all is well. First time injecting any meat, so really don't have a good feeling that I did it right. How will I know? I plan to keep this in for 30 plus days to play it safe. After smoking how will I know if the meat is spoiled? Makes me nervous to have anyone else eat it, including me.

 

[rsistrunk]

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I have brined and smoked two 23 lb hams as the process instructed.  Will bake one for Thanksgiving. Will the other smoked ham last in the refrig until Christmas?

 

[mneeley490]

 

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I have brined and smoked two 23 lb hams as the process instructed.  Will bake one for Thanksgiving. Will the other smoked ham last in the refrig until Christmas?

I would err on the safe side and put that 2nd ham in the freezer.

So I am doing my first ham, via Pop's brine recipe also. I have a 16 lb. boneless pork leg from Cash & Carry, so I don't have to worry about bone sour.

I altered the recipe slightly; with 2 gallons of water, I substituted 1 cup of molasses for 1 cup of brown sugar. I think it will give the flavor a little added dimension. It is drying off in the smoker now; I will add smoke in a few minutes, and start a new thread after I get pics of the finished product.