I want to smoke a ham

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Thanks Dutch for the tour. I reckon I will maintain my method. Similiar to your stitch method. I hot smoke my hams to int. 170oF. Cold smoking just leaves another job. Is there any problem with this?
With my bacon, I cure the same as the hams but I usually include a good bit of mustard seed and a mixture of goodies after a raid on Mrs Dr's herb patches. I am still using old faithful mulberry ( I love it) and haven't tried the mango. Spending too much time reading the forum probably. We are still in drought here which sure is crazy for a tropical area like this. Thanks again guys.
 
Nope, no problem at all. Most smokers aren't set up for cold smoking anyways. It can be done but it's more work, like building a smoke generator and then piping the smoke to the food chamber. Then there is knowing how much pipe you need and how far away to set up the smoke generator so that by the time the smoke reaches the food chamber the temp. has dropped to 100* or lower.
 
I have done cheese in my large CB charcoal grill using a cheap hot plate w/a CI smoker box. I didn't know if temp was really an issue so long as it wasn't hot. What can you tell me on this subject? could I or would I want to smoke cured salmon or a ham this way, or is the 100* crucial to the process?
 
As a general rule anything smoked below 100* is considered "Cold Smoked". My neighbor has a setup that allows him to cold smoke his salmon at 85*. The effect here is that he is drying out the fish with smoke rather than cooking the fish with smoke. Of course his brine contains sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite and a lot of to keep the nasties from growing
 
Shock horror ! I have had a small leg of pork, 6kg, and a bit of belly in the brine for a few days and it came to me that I have not put any cure in the brine. Have since removed both pieces of meat to drain, O.deed the brine with cure, and replaced the leg and belly.

From you professionals, what chance of a decent ham from the stuff up.?
 
I would think that if you would de-bone it your odds of having a good ham would go up. However, that is only from what I have read and is not much more than a guess. Good luck.

Jamie
 
Thanks Jabo mate. Think I am past the last resort with this one. Will try Dutch's stitch method and see what happens. If it was for us here at Ilbilbie I wouldn't mind [would probably de-bone and make steaks] but was supposed to be Christmas thing for a young family of battlers in Miles, about 700 kms from here. The next kill is for a bloke's party down the road to the beach so it is booked. Should kill two perhaps, but they are only about 40 kgs so far.
Oh well these things happen in the best of families, as they say.

Thanks for your advice, best wishes.
 
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