Ham Curring Question?

[DougE]

We all like it when someone says "Oh, this is great", but that tells me nothing. I want to know if it's too salty, too sweet, not sweet enough and so forth.

As can often happen, friends and family members will say that it's great because they want to avoid hurting the cook's feelings. When I give stuff to friends and family to try, I tell them outright that I want brutally honest opinions because they help much more than platitudes do for improving on my recipes.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I used a 50 mililetter srying and probley put probley 8-10 injections inside close to the bone. My injector is 6". I tried to get as much in as I could around all parts of the hams.

Ok now we have something to work with. I’m fine with this brine to meat weight. My biggest hope was for much more injection. a ml is a gram in weight, I was hoping for something close to 1000g of injection but you posted closer to 450g.

Personally, I would inject again today about as much as the first time. then Remove from the brine, pat dry and bag in a clean bag and let rest for 7 more days then smoke or cook.

 

[thirdeye]

As can often happen, friends and family members will say that it's great because they want to avoid hurting the cook's feelings. When I give stuff to friends and family to try, I tell them outright that I want brutally honest opinions because they help much more than platitudes do for improving on my recipes.

Yep. People are inherently polite. It's our nature.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I just want a successful cure experience here. If the OP wants more quality, I would encourage him to come back and let us help him next time. Honestly I think think this one may turn out ok.

 

[lintonskennel]

I don't see any red flags, so pay attention to how you like the overall product, and try to get honest feedback from family members. We all like it when someone says "Oh, this is great", but that tells me nothing. I want to know if it's too salty, too sweet, not sweet enough and so forth. Next time you can always make subtle changes if needed.

As a precaution, after you remove the hams from the brine, give them a good rinse, and a few hours of soaking in fresh water back in the fridge.

How long do you belive I should leave them in the brine. Another guy on here said 3 weeks. Witch is what I was leaning towards before I asked the question. But you guys have a lot more knowledge than me. Thank you guys all for your help

 

[thirdeye]

Personally, I would inject again today about as much as the first time. then Remove from the brine, pat dry and bag in a clean bag and let rest for 7 more days then smoke or cook.

I just want a successful cure experience here. If the OP wants more quality, I would encourage him to come back and let us help him next time. Honestly I think think this one may turn out ok.

We're all kind of shooting from the hip here.

And L lintonskennel does have two buckets, and two hams. This could be the time to hedge the bet so to speak. In other words..., cook one first, then cook the other in 6 or 7 days later? By dividing the risk, one may be better than the other?

 

[SmokinEdge]

We're all kind of shooting from the hip here.

And L lintonskennel does have two buckets, and two hams. This could be the time to hedge the bet so to speak. In other words..., cook one first, then cook the other in 6 or 7 days later? By dividing the risk, one may be better than the other?

Maybe so. When would you smoke the first one? What time frame are you thinking?

 

[lintonskennel]

Maybe so. When would you smoke the first one? What time frame are you thinking?

Im not real sure everywhere I look everyone is smoking them to eat at dinner. My plan was to smoke them enough that I could slice them up into ham steaks to freeze and use at a later date. So I was kind of thinking of smoking to an internal temp of 150? then letting them cool over night in the refrigerator then slicing the next day and vac sealing.

 

[thirdeye]

Maybe so. When would you smoke the first one? What time frame are you thinking?

Maybe smoke the smaller ham on the weekend of November 25/26 and sample it. And after smoking that one, make the decision on waiting a full week or smoking the second one sooner?

 

[thirdeye]

Im not real sure everywhere I look everyone is smoking them to eat at dinner. My plan was to smoke them enough that I could slice them up into ham steaks to freeze and use at a later date. So I was kind of thinking of smoking to an internal temp of 150? then letting them cool over night in the refrigerator then slicing the next day and vac sealing.

So, you are planning on smoking for ham steaks rather than serving a Thanksgiving ham? Cure timewise, this sounds good because you starting curing on November 12th, correct?

Once you get the internal temperature to 145°, it's technically "fully cooked". I take cured leg hams I've cooked to around 160° as I think they get more tender. And a rear leg ham is leaner than a front leg ham. Let's let others chime in on that question.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Im not real sure everywhere I look everyone is smoking them to eat at dinner. My plan was to smoke them enough that I could slice them up into ham steaks to freeze and use at a later date. So I was kind of thinking of smoking to an internal temp of 150? then letting them cool over night in the refrigerator then slicing the next day and vac sealing.

I’m guessing you need both for dinner? If not I’d think about what thirdeye just posted and smoke one and sample that to decide weather to go longer in cure for the second. If you have to smoke both then that’s not an option.

As far as IT yes 150* is good for cured pork (domestic).

 

[lintonskennel]

So, you are planning on smoking for ham steaks rather than serving a Thanksgiving ham? Cure timewise, this sounds good because you starting curing on November 12th, correct?

Once you get the internal temperature to 145°, it's technically "fully cooked". I take cured leg hams I've cooked to around 160° as I think they get more tender. And a rear leg ham is leaner than a front leg ham. Let's let others chime in on that question

We like ham steaks for a quick easy meal. With my job being long hours for 7 months a year and the dealing with the kids activities all the time we like to throw a couple ham steaks in the pan and fry them up with some boiled potatoes and a sauce that we make that goes great on the ham. we can be eating in about 30 min I don't believe we have anything going on this weekend so I will defiantly take your advice and try smoking the smaller one first. I will take it to 160 internal. What temp do you set your smoker at?
I am doing a ham for myself and one for my mom and dad.
Thank you guys for all your trouble. I really appreciate it
I will take some pictures and post them when I have something done.

 

[thirdeye]

I will defiantly take your advice and try smoking the smaller one first. I will take it to 160 internal. What temp do you set your smoker at?

Well watch your color after the internal passes 145° and base it on a combination of that and the internal temp. And on a ham as large as you have, take some temps in the center, but away from the bone as it can give you a false reading.

For something like ham, (or ham shanks and hocks) I run the smoker in the 225° range at first, then move to 250°ish by hour 2. I'm adding both smoky flavor and color, but a front leg ham like I smoke is way lighter than what you are working with. You might opt to stay in the 225° range longer. What kind of smoker are you using?

 

[lintonskennel]

Well watch your color after the internal passes 145° and base it on a combination of that and the internal temp. And on a ham as large as you have, take some temps in the center, but away from the bone as it can give you a false reading.

For something like ham, (or ham shanks and hocks) I run the smoker in the 225° range at first, then move to 250°ish by hour 2. I'm adding both smoky flavor and color, but a front leg ham like I smoke is way lighter than what you are working with. You might opt to stay in the 225° range longer. What kind of smoker are you using?

I will be using my MES 40" and a A-Maze smoker.

 

[thirdeye]

I will be using my MES 40" and a A-Maze smoker.

There are a lot of MES users on this forum. Use the search feature with terms like 'smoking ham in MES 40' and leave the member name blank. Just be careful about posts talking about smoking a 'fully cooked' ham.

 

[MR64]

I used a 50 mililetter srying and probley put probley 8-10 injections inside close to the bone. My injector is 6". I tried to get as much in as I could around all parts of the hams.

Any updates? I am also curing a small 10# ham for Christmas.