The Easter Ham

[richtee]

Will be updated with after cooking/slicing pix, time permitting :{)
16.5 Lbs green weight, 13.5 now.

http://[URL=http://www.putfile.com/...utfile.com/thumb/3/8108354660.jpg[/img][/URL]

 

[travcoman45]

Wow, that there be a ham! Gonna be good rich!

 

[smokin' joe]

Looks good rich...I home cure 3 myself for tomorrows feast. Cant wait to hear how you liked it, I know this has been an extended project for you.

 

[richtee]

It's been fun tho, and I learned alot over the project too. Butchering a front and rear pig quarters, and the country cure method. Good luck with yours as well.. will hope to see some Q-view!

 

[bb53chevpro]

Looking good Rich. What time are you serving dinner? I'm only an hour away.

Andy.

 

[richtee]

2 PM, Sir. HAve a seat available too :{)

 

[bb53chevpro]

Would love to, but having dinner here. Turkey, ham, baked beans, ABT's, and might even try a blade roast in the smoker. Not sure about the roast yet.
Andy

 

[saxman]

Looks Geat, Rich!
I'm doing a home-cured ham myself. I'm not sure how long that puppy's gonna take though. I figure to start it around 10 pm tonight and see what my temp is in the am. I'll be using my electric Smokin' Tex 500C that tops out at 250 degrees..........not sure how much it weighs either, big enough for me to grunt when I lift it. Last part of a pig I bought in the fall.

 

[nh3b's]

what does the "country cure method" consist of?

 

[richtee]

Dry cure. Three applictions of cure. Compute the amount of cure required, and make a brine of about a pint with a small bit of it. Inject along all bones. Balance of dry...apply 1/3 and wrap and store in cool dark place. In 7 days do again. Repeat with last third. Cool smoke for a while. I did mine about 5 hours a day over 4 days. Hang to age..I hung mine for bout a month in an old clean pillowcase in the garage. Froze till Friday wrapped in tight foil, and defrosted yesterday. Gonna oven roast till 160 or so.

 

[capt dan]

Holy piggy, thats alot of work. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't eat all that is on their plate!
I truly hope that all that effort has a great reward for you!

 

[bighoss450]

Enjoy that there ham. My mouth is watering. I bet that there ham bone will also make some good soup beans.

 

[nh3b's]

Kudos to you for going through that process. I bet that flavor is awesome! Post how it came out and pics if ya can. Happy Easter.

 

[bassman]

Can hardly wait for the finished pics! Old guys like me need the visuals all the way through

. Keith

 

[crewdawg52]

I'm closer. Probably only 20 min away. Looks great Rich! Never tried dto home cure before. How'd it go?

My bad. Should have read all the posts. Done real good with the curing pilgrim. Looking forward to the finished pics!

 

[saxman]

Will be checking back to see how good it turned out!
Been tempted to try the country cure thing. After doing the wet cure a couple of times I guess that'll be the next step. Here's a couple of pics from the home-cured ham I smoked last night.

 

[richtee]

A couple pix of the finish. She's a tad salty. Good hammy flavor, overall I'd give it a 7. Next time I will freshen my hams regardless if I think they need it or not. Still have about 6 lbs left, so I dumped it in a icewater bath till tonight. Freeze for Hmm.. a Wings playoff game I think!

 

[desertlites]

good looking color there rich-to bad about the salty.

 

[richtee]

Yeah, I'm a picky bastage. Everyone wanted a few slices to take home, so it wasn't too bad. I just changed the water on the remainder, water had a definate salt tinge. Tried a bit of the ham and it's much improved. All I really needed to do is give her a freshning soak first....grrr. Ah well..first time could have been MUCH worse LOL! When I pull it out in a couple weeks I think I'll go to pull with it yum...

 

[geob]

Congrat for going the whole nine yards on the Ham. It don't look to salty. I like salt anyway. Makes the beer go down better.

Smoking