Smoke flavor for a HAM.... ?????

[daveomak]

Please note the mix varieties and % of each to make life easier...

I've got this ham that's gonna hit the smoker in several days....

Any recommendations for using corn cob pellets ???? Pops smoked most of his stuff using cob...

 

[tallbm]

I'm not much of a hardcore Hickory guy. I think 100% Hickory makes things taste too much like bacon lol. My exceptions are with Bacon and Ham :)

THOUGH if I were to suggest a blend it would be about 65-70% Apple and the rest Hickory. I LOVE that blend on my bacon and I'm sure it would be amazing for Ham as well :)

 

[pc farmer]

I used all cob for my cured meats, even them hams I did. Just cant beat the flavor.

 

[chopsaw]

I use oak pellets mixed with apple and hickory wood chips in a 12" tube . Half pellets half chips .

 

[SmokinAl]

Well Dave it looks like the results are quite mixed.
I only use pellets for cold smoking, so I'm no help.
Other than to say my preferred wood is hickory & oak.
But that is because it's easy to get around here.
Al

 

[Bearcarver]

Still haven't tried Cob, but I'll have to go with 100% Hickory for Ham & Bacon!

Bear

 

[foamheart]

Cob and apple. Cob brings the color to the meaty parts where the apple puts a pretty amber color to the fats and skin. Both are sweet smokes.... and give you a beautiful end result. I like cob or pecan (mostly sausages), on pork and apple on anything with skin and/or a pellicle!

Skin on, skin off? Pop would say, rule of thumb..... Cure#2- skin on, cure #1 skin off.

AND last, but not least, why just smoke it once? Do it like the Doublemint gum commercial. A two day smoke with a days break in between. Bear made a believer out of me, anything that gets cured at my house gets at least 2 days in the smoker. Pop could not believe no one had ever done that before. Even though that Bear guy had a funny nickname, he must know his smoking. LOL

 

[browneyesvictim]

In my experience with Todds Cobb pellets with bacon was too sweet vs much of a wood smoke flavor. It's ok, but a little too sweet for my taste. I've gotten a little burnt out on straight hickory for kind of the opposite reason of corn cob- heavy wood taste and can almost be bitter if smoke is too heavy. I am really liking the pitmasters choice for just about anything. It is a real nice blend. But straight apple or straight cherry would be my choice for the best color, flavor and isn't overwhelming. Even a mix with hickory and apple or cherry would be close to the pitmasters choice for something inbetween.

Leaving the skin on a ham to me is kind of pointless. It is inedible for the most part and makes it hard to carve. I would rather have seasoning and basting going directly on the edible surface.

 

[daveomak]

2 day smoke.... break.. 2 day smoke...

OK.... How many hours of smoke each day... Would it be wise to make dust from the pellets so the smoke wasn't as "thick" ??? I'm thinking that's a good idea.....

Too much cob is too sweet... too much wood is too woody...

No skin... I think I can agree on that one... Skin it and make cracklin's.... I think Foam has a recipe somewhere..

Dirt, whom hasn't been around but, I PM'd him, did a mix including mesquite... Charlie did a mesquite mix too...
might be a nice touch of about 5% mesquite in the mix... any thumbs up or thumbs down for that ???

 

[foamheart]

2 day smoke.... break.. 2 day smoke...

OK.... How many hours of smoke each day... Would it be wise to make dust from the pellets so the smoke wasn't as "thick" ??? I'm thinking that's a good idea.....

Too much cob is too sweet... too much wood is too woody...

No skin... I think I can agree on that one... Skin it and make cracklin's.... I think Foam has a recipe somewhere..

Dirt, whom hasn't been around but, I PM'd him, did a mix including mesquite... Charlie did a mesquite mix too...
might be a nice touch of about 5% mesquite in the mix... any thumbs up or thumbs down for that ???

First, are you wanting to cook it in the smoker or just smoke it? With that last ham I made I think I decided the best way for me was to smoke it twice and then let it set till I was ready to cook it. Yes, it sat in the reefer for a solid week uncovered after smoking. And I cooked it in the oven. Remember this?

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/deboned-picnic-ham-foamheart.273193/page-2

Well I only smoked it once, I guess I lied. Says a 10 hour smoke at 110, Basically that means its the very lowest temp I can and still move smoke. I can tell you my reasoning for only one smoke. That ham had a beautiful color and I decided that color wasn't a bad way to go, especially after 10 hours. Normally I do a 4 to 6 hour smoke twice with a higher IT, but the 10 hour smoke looked so good. Probably 10 hours because after 6 or 8 the color wasn't good enough to quit. Since I wasn't cooking it, color is all that really matters because its an excellent absorption indicator.

I like using my expandable Oval with pellets and I leave the vent full open and the door on latch, (the door cracked open). This allows the max de-watering possible. It doesn't take a lot of smoke during this period because the IT is below 90. But it heats the meat up, adds a little smoke while kicking that humidity out. Then after the short Oval run, I cut in the aux. smoker and close the door, thats when I adjust the heat down to make about 110/120 IT. That first 45 mins to and hour I am running pretty hot.

BUT of all the things I did, I give Woodcutter total credit for the looks and the smokey taste of my ham. The MOST important thing is to form a GOOD pellicle!

 

[tallbm]

5% mesquite? I say go for it! It's only 5% you may not even notice it but if you do I believe it could only add to your flavor :)

 

[browneyesvictim]

I was very happy with a 12 hour cold smoke... Break... Cook/smoke to temp on this one and another one exactly like it after that. I just used pellets, not dust. I don't think I will change a thing on the next ones.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/tg-day-boneless-butt-ham.270129/

Mesquite on ham?... hmmm.. I dunno. I wouldn't say that would be wrong. Definitely different. 5% would be just enough to go, "what is that?"

 

[motolife313]

oak and cherry come out good for me on most stuff

 

[daveomak]

Thanks folks.... Here's what I decided.....
40%.COB..... 40%.ALDER (apple)... 20%.MESQUITE (hickory and oak)

The mesquite was chosen because of Cranky Buzzard and his mix and the reviews from his guests... Cranky had the perfect method for choosing the flavors and amounts of each... I loved it..

 

[801driver]

I am late here, but someday you might try pecan. It works well for my taste buds that are normally hickory for most everything else.

 

[Superflow]

Live oak is my go to! Kiln dry it in the cook chamber after pulling meat from the last smoke for the next smoke. Dries it on a molecular level. Good luck splitting it.