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Well my ham turned out very good; thanks
daveomak
and many others. Everyone enjoyed it, even my wife who is just a little leery of my 'meat-crafting experiments'...lol. I cooked to 145F and held there for the safety factor. No one commented on the texture, but I did talk with my B-I-L about it. I am just surprised to how easy it is to make Ham; and inexpensive too, when I can get the butts for less than $1/lb.
The only complaint I have is the amount of fat, so it's not real easy to get decent slices, but mostly just chunks. And silly me didn't get any photos...doh!
daveomak
and many others. Everyone enjoyed it, even my wife who is just a little leery of my 'meat-crafting experiments'...lol. I cooked to 145F and held there for the safety factor. No one commented on the texture, but I did talk with my B-I-L about it. I am just surprised to how easy it is to make Ham; and inexpensive too, when I can get the butts for less than $1/lb. The only complaint I have is the amount of fat, so it's not real easy to get decent slices, but mostly just chunks. And silly me didn't get any photos...doh!
I’m not a fan of butts for ham either for the same reason you posted, fat. I use hind leg, shoulder picnic (below the butt on the front leg) or loins. The picnic is great, they are inexpensive, lower fat and are usually 8-9 lb. They are common to find with skin on. I remove the skin and make make pork rinds, and inject the roast. It’s a two-fer.
I guess I'm going to necro this great thread.
I think I have the main parts of the injection now, though if I don't have it right, please let me know. The wife is a huge ham fan, and I am not. Granted I've only had flavorless, salt lick ham from the grocery store. Now that I'm looking to make a ham from scratch, it appears as though word has spread to my wifes extended family and interest is growing all around. I'm hoping that this will be the ticket.
I've seen PhosThis! (Amesphos) mentioned in other threads and got my order this afternoon. I was happy to find the Kitchen Basics vegetable stock locally, which is rare in a small town. I did pick up a meat injector as well. Now I believe all I need is the ham... I do have two skin on picnic roasts in the freezer that I've also seen mentioned as being used. I've also grabbed the spreadsheet that was posted earlier in this thread.
Is there a better cut to start with than the frozen picnic shoulder that I have on hand?
Neil
I think I have the main parts of the injection now, though if I don't have it right, please let me know. The wife is a huge ham fan, and I am not. Granted I've only had flavorless, salt lick ham from the grocery store. Now that I'm looking to make a ham from scratch, it appears as though word has spread to my wifes extended family and interest is growing all around. I'm hoping that this will be the ticket.
I've seen PhosThis! (Amesphos) mentioned in other threads and got my order this afternoon. I was happy to find the Kitchen Basics vegetable stock locally, which is rare in a small town. I did pick up a meat injector as well. Now I believe all I need is the ham... I do have two skin on picnic roasts in the freezer that I've also seen mentioned as being used. I've also grabbed the spreadsheet that was posted earlier in this thread.
Is there a better cut to start with than the frozen picnic shoulder that I have on hand?
Neil
Use the picnic. I usually skin them first then inject. I then make chicharrones with the skin.
Picnic will work great. Boneless butts work good to and no bone. Oh, don't add the mini eggs. 
Picnic will work great. Boneless butts work good to and no bone. Oh, don't add the mini eggs.
I swear that I seen them in
daveomak
's original recipe... Though I have no idea how he gets them through injector 
I'll pull one out to thaw. I picked up a few when I seen them on for a decent price. I don't mind skinning them and then injecting.
I assume you want to trim off any large, thick fat cap/pockets on the surface?
There really shouldn’t be more than about 1/4” fat cap after skin is removed, they are surprisingly lean the picnics , part of why they make such great ham.
Also pay close attention when injecting and get along and around the bone, very important step.
I've been pouring over the threads posted here as well as reading through the Marianski book on this. It would be nice if there was a clear write up all in one place.
It took a fair amount of digging to figure out if PhosThis! would work since I had to order it online and not everyone will ship to Canada. I'm glad I was able to find the excel table for the brine mixture. Now I'm looking into how to inject the brine into the roast - where, spacing, how often etc. Same with the cuts that will work. Some are happy with the picnic, others like butt, while others say it's a tad fatty for ham. I assume that the traditional cut for ham is the preferred cut for, well... ham.
You are making too much out of the process. It’s simple and straightforward. Seems you’re looking for a bogeyman. Don’t do that. Your sourcing advice from to many places. Follow DaveO’s original post. It’s straightforward and very detailed on process. Just focus and do DaveO’s recipe. That works perfectly. It’s the only way I do hams.
You're not making to much out of anything . You're doing this for the first time , and doing your homework . That's good . Ask any and all question you have .
I had Dave helping me real time on my first one .
Here's some of the different examples .
Picnic shoulder , I took the bone out after smoking .
Whole pork butt . Deboned and rolled back up .
A lot of fat on the inside , but not an issue after slicing .
Then I started doing just a small section , about 3 lbs .
Pork loin is a good cut to use also . Leaner texture .
Pork cushion comes from around the picnic shoulder has the same texture .
Not as easily available as the rest .
Just wanted to show some of the examples of what the different cuts look like
finished . Pick what's available where you're at . Inject and hold 14 days .
It can be done sooner , but the extra time adds to the flavor and texture in my experience .
Just as important ( or more so ) is fridge temp . Get a therm to put in the fridge you're using to hold the ham . So know what the actual temp is . Should be between 34 and 40 degrees F .
I use 36 .
I had Dave helping me real time on my first one .
If you're using a bone in cut , make sure you get in and around the bone the best you can . Then do as shown in this thread . Inject in a grid pattern around the rest of the ham .
Several cuts work for a " ham " The texture of the picnic is what I like , but use pork butt the most .
Here's some of the different examples .
Picnic shoulder , I took the bone out after smoking .
Whole pork butt . Deboned and rolled back up .
A lot of fat on the inside , but not an issue after slicing .
Then I started doing just a small section , about 3 lbs .
Pork loin is a good cut to use also . Leaner texture .
Pork cushion comes from around the picnic shoulder has the same texture .
Not as easily available as the rest .
Just wanted to show some of the examples of what the different cuts look like
finished . Pick what's available where you're at . Inject and hold 14 days .
It can be done sooner , but the extra time adds to the flavor and texture in my experience .
Just as important ( or more so ) is fridge temp . Get a therm to put in the fridge you're using to hold the ham . So know what the actual temp is . Should be between 34 and 40 degrees F .
I use 36 .
Just wanted to update this thread since I made this with a pork picnic shoulder. I'm not a ham fan, but my wife is. She'd rather have ham over turkey. My biggest issue with most commercial ham is that it's little more than a salt lick.
I'm happy to say that this was a hit. My wife loved it. Heck, I went back for seconds last night and even found my self sneaking bites from the fridge afterwards. My son didn't really care for a thick slice of ham with dinner, but this afternoon he packed down two subs that that he piled high with ham. I had a sandwich on a nice crusty bun.
Needless to say, there's very little left overs between the three of us going at it. The remaining bit, including the bone, will be going into pea soup for tonight.
I'll be doing this one again. I'd love to find an uncured ham and do one up for the family since the in-laws are big ham fans.
I'm happy to say that this was a hit. My wife loved it. Heck, I went back for seconds last night and even found my self sneaking bites from the fridge afterwards. My son didn't really care for a thick slice of ham with dinner, but this afternoon he packed down two subs that that he piled high with ham. I had a sandwich on a nice crusty bun.
Needless to say, there's very little left overs between the three of us going at it. The remaining bit, including the bone, will be going into pea soup for tonight.
I'll be doing this one again. I'd love to find an uncured ham and do one up for the family since the in-laws are big ham fans.
It's a great method for hams . Happy it worked out .
This is from a front shoulder , picnic cut using this method .
Picnic shoulder or pork cushion comes the close to the texture of a ham leg .
This is from a front shoulder , picnic cut using this method .
After doing mine, I can see why Dave was looking for a smaller gauge needle. I'd inject, a bunch would drip out. I'd do it again and the same thing would happen.
Would leaving the skin on and injecting through it help hold the marinade in better? Or is it really a matter of a smaller gauge needle?
Would leaving the skin on and injecting through it help hold the marinade in better? Or is it really a matter of a smaller gauge needle?
I didn't get any pictures of the ham itself, I did snap a pic of my lunch today.
EDIT: Just finished pea soup I made with the ham and bone. Talk about a difference in flavor. Very good!
EDIT: Just finished pea soup I made with the ham and bone. Talk about a difference in flavor. Very good!
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I don't think it's so much the size of the needle as it is the amount of injection per stick. I have a metered injector and I can dial down the amount of liquid from a spurt to a stream for each squeeze of the handle.
I LOVE ham. My dad always bought the cheap, salty Sugerdale ham growing up and I must say I still love that ham. I have always wanted to make one but was too ascared. This thread has given me some courage and gotten me off the ledge. So thankful for the recipe and the very detailed instructions. I have a question on the injector. Can I use the smallest needle on my injector(which is still pretty big) or should I look for more of a medical syringe with a small needle? I see 10 inch Luer Lock needles in various gauges and up to 60 mm syringes. Should I stick with 16 mm? 10 inch too long?? stick with 5 inch?
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