Smoking a ham

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smoking bob

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 30, 2010
3
10
I have a 15 lb ham that has been brined but still raw...How long U think to smoke this??
 
How are you planning on smoking it? Cold smoke, hot smoke, cold smoke then a hot smoke? If you are hot smoking it what temps are you going to be smoking at?
 
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I have upright propane smoker...have used it numerous times but not a raw ham...I can control temps really well with this...I was tghinking cold smoke then hot ....Any advice would be great...What temps???
 
I think if the Ham is Raw, even though it has been cured, you should take it to 160˚ internal temp, before it is safe to eat.

The length of time it takes will depend on what temperature you are smoking it at.

Bear
 
going to cold smoke at 145 then hot smoke at 210...kinda figuring a ballpark length of time so its done (160) when we are planning on consuming

Smokin Bob
 
I think if the Ham is Raw, even though it has been cured, you should take it to 160˚ internal temp, before it is safe to eat.

The length of time it takes will depend on what temperature you are smoking it at.

Bear
I don't understand that Bear. I never take my ham past 148 degrees. It dries them out. If it is cured why would you need to take it to 160? Especially if it not probed or injected.
 
I don't understand that Bear. I never take my ham past 148 degrees. It dries them out. If it is cured why would you need to take it to 160? Especially if it not probed or injected.
You don't have to take it to 160˚ until you eat it.

Bacon is cured, and we take it to 80˚, or 110˚, or 125˚, or whatever when we smoke it, but it has to go to 160˚ before we eat it.

I'll look it up, so it's not just coming from me. That is what I read just lately.

Bear
 
This is one of the places I got it:

Both vacuum-packaged fully cooked and canned hams  can be eaten cold just as they come from their packaging. However, if you want to reheat these fully cooked hams, set the oven no lower than 325 degrees F and heat to an internal temperature of140 degrees F  as measured with a meat thermometer.

For  fully cooked ham  that has been repackaged in any other location outside the plant or for leftover fully cooked ham, heat to a temperature of 160 degrees F.

Cook-before-eating hams  must reach a temperature of 160 degrees F.  to be safely cooked before serving. Cook in an oven set no lower than 325 degrees F. Hams can also be safely cooked in a microwave oven, other countertop appliances and on the stove top. Consult a cookbook for specific methods and timing.

Country hams or dry-cured hams  (ham that has been cured, smoked and aged for a period ranging from a few months to a year or more) can be soaked 4 to 12 hours or longer in the refrigerator to reduce the salt content before cooking. Then they can be cooked by boiling or baking and must much a temperature of 160 degrees F.Follow the manufacturer's cooking instructions.
 


Timetable For Cooking Ham

Set oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Both cook-before-eating cured and fresh hams should be cooked to 160 degrees F. Reheat fully cooked ham to 140 degrees F.

Link: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Pork/Ham101.htm

[h1] [/h1][h1]Ham 101 - How To Cook Ham - Cooking Ham
How to prepare ham - Time tables for cooking ham
[/h1]
Bear

USDA says pretty much the same thing:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/ham/
 
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sausagemaker.com has a whole how to section on hams.  Rytek's book has them in there too.  i have a 25lb ham im going to smoke from a pig i butchered.  the guys on the sausage maker did two at one time and i think it took them 2 days to smoke it.
 
You don't have to take it to 160˚ until you eat it.

Bacon is cured, and we take it to 80˚, or 110˚, or 125˚, or whatever when we smoke it, but it has to go to 160˚ before we eat it.

I'll look it up, so it's not just coming from me. That is what I read just lately.

Bear
I thought pork was safe at 140, if it had been cured.
 
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I thought pork was safe at 140, if it had been cured.
Think of our "cured" Canadian Bacon & Buckboard Bacon.

Many smoke them to 140˚ or less. Then they have to fry or heat to 160˚ before eating.

If you smoke them to 160˚, you can then eat it cold, or just warm it slightly.

Bear
 
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I have a 15 lb ham that has been brined but still raw...How long U think to smoke this??
I don't see where he said he used a cure in his brine or how long it was left in the brine.... Assuming it had cure in the brine...
 
Think of our "cured" Canadian Bacon & Buckboard Bacon.

Many smoke them to 140˚ or less. Then they have to fry or heat to 160˚ before eating.

If you smoke them to 160˚, you can then eat it cold, or just warm it slightly.

Bear
OK Bear you made a good point, but I've been doing hams this way for a while. I'm not saying that I'm not putting my health in jeopardy, but I didn't think I was. Just as if you were my doctor I want a second opinion. I want to have bbally's or Pops input here. Hopefully one of them will see this & respond. Please don't be offended. I'm not questioning your knowledge, It's just somewhere along the line I thought that what I was doing was safe. If it isn't I thank you for setting me straight, but I gotta tell you that those hams that you pull at 148 are awesome, juicy, & tender. Now the other thing that I didn't consider is the run up in temp while resting the ham. It is entirely possible that the ham would coast up to 160 while resting. I never kept the probe in for the rest period. Next time I will.
 
 
OK Bear you made a good point, but I've been doing hams this way for a while. I'm not saying that I'm not putting my health in jeopardy, but I didn't think I was. Just as if you were my doctor I want a second opinion. I want to have bbally's or Pops input here. Hopefully one of them will see this & respond. Please don't be offended. I'm not questioning your knowledge, It's just somewhere along the line I thought that what I was doing was safe. If it isn't I thank you for setting me straight, but I gotta tell you that those hams that you pull at 148 are awesome, juicy, & tender. Now the other thing that I didn't consider is the run up in temp while resting the ham. It is entirely possible that the ham would coast up to 160 while resting. I never kept the probe in for the rest period. Next time I will.
You could not offend me by telling what you have been doing, and not having a problem. I see no reason to tell you not to do what you're doing. The only reason I said it on my first post on this thread, was if the USDA and every credible smoking site I have researched is saying 160˚, I wanted to put that in this thread, so the only temperature suggested was not your 145˚. If we all say 145˚, people may think that is definitely the right temp to pull a Ham cooked from the Raw.

This way they at least may want to look around for themselves, and make up their own minds. 

I don't know if a Ham can coast from 145˚ to 160˚, but that is only 15˚.

Bear
 
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