I am from Sioux Falls. I decided to smoke it right in the pan. This was my first time using the smoker, but I do consider myself a pretty decent cook. I choose a gas smoker so it would be easier to control the temp. When I seasoned the smoker I wasn't happy with the size of the wood chip box, which was too small, and burned the chips too fast. I will be replacing that with something cast iron for the next go-round.
I found a recipe for Tasso ham on the IT, which consisted of a brine with curing salt, onion and garlic power, and cayenne pepper. I used a pork shoulder I found at Walmart marked down to 79 cents a pound. I injected some brine around the bone to insure hamminess, and brined it for a week. It came out of the brine looking like this. I also had a store bought ham to serve in case this experiment on my family didn't turn out. Besides, I have a huge family, today 28 of them showed up. This ham was intended for the second feeding at 5 PM.
I had a bit more trouble controllling the heat than I would have liked, but after adjusting for the "breeze" I managed to keep the temp at at around 225. I decided to soak my wood chips to compensate for the cheesy chip box, which didn't help enough so I wrapped the chips in foil before putting them in the box. Since I was worried about the smokiness fron cooking directly in the pan, I supplemented with extra "smoke bombs" to make sure one could tell it was smoked. I have white wine in the water tray.
I smoked it for 11 hours to reach an internal temp of 155, I feel it would have quicker if I had went directly on the rack with a catch pan below, that's the way I will go next time.
The final product? Well, It turned out pretty darned good. It had plenty of smoky flavor, with a hint of spiciness. Not too salty. It was very juicy and everyone said it rocked.
Thanks again for the very warm welcome and the great suggestions, and feel free to drop by if your in the nieghborhood.
-Joe
