Just got my half pig!

[jeffesonm]

So as the title says, I am now the proud owner of 1/2 pig... bought it from a local farmer and picked it up from the butcher a few hours ago. It's about 90lbs of meat total and includes sausage, bacon, a bunch of pork chops, some ribs, three boneless roasts (shoulder?) and three fresh hams. A few pork chops are defrosting for dinner tonight and a roast is defrosting for a Friday smoke session with his new friend Chuck Roast.

I plan on making pulled pork with the roasts, but what should I do with the hams?

 

[werdwolf]

You can use them for making sausage, or I smoke them up similar to a butt.

The wife will uses them in the "Crock pot" ( Ya, I know that's sacrilege) like she would a roast.

 

[beer-b-q]

Smoked Ham is Great...

But what I want to know is where did you find a pig with 6 hind legs (1/2 Pig = 3 Hams)...

 

[jeffesonm]

Yeah I was wondering that myself... this is the first time I've bought a side of pork so I didn't know what to expect. Maybe he cut one ham in thirds?

 

[rivet]

Excellent buy! Congratulations. Barbecue the butts/shoulders and roast the hams in the oven. They're really better that way. As far as the middle-meat parts....have a party! you've got some good stuff for your grill.

 

[jeffesonm]

So I've been doing some reading on the fresh hams... sounds like I can go the cure/smoke/bake route and make a traditional ham, or just smoke/bake and end up with more traditional roast pork.

If I go with the cure, anyone have any good recipes?

If I go with the smoke/bake, should I make it just like pulled pork? Or just take it up to ~160 and slice it?