Christmas Ham
Fresh Christmas Ham, Cured and Smoked
I have been curing pork loins for years. I expanded a bit with this recipe to do a whole ham. Obviously you don’t need to do a ham this large, this was merely what our local store had in stock. You just want to be sure to adjust the seasonings accordingly.
This is a simple recipe that requires some patience due to the curing process, but I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with the results. Make certain you measure the seasonings exact, especially the curing salt. The rule of thumb with the pink salt is one teaspoon for every five pounds of meat, do not deviate. You want to allow the ham to cure for one day for every 2 pounds of meat if possible.
Start by removing all of the skin from the ham except for around the ham hock. Remove any less than desirable fat from the ham and any silver skin. Then cut cross hatches in the fat so the cure will better penetrate and for presentation purposes.
Now to mix the brine!
Brine:
· 1 Whole Ham
· 8 cups of boiling water
· 2 1/2 cups of Salt
· 5 tsp of the pink curing salt
· 4 Quarts Cold water and 4 cups of ice
· 1/4 Cup of Gentry’s Ham Bone Seasoning
· 3/4 Pickling Spice
· 3 Cups of Brown Sugar
Add all of the spices to the hot water, stir thoroughly to dissolve.
Once dissolved add the brine to the four quarts of cold water with the ice. Stir again to mix completely.
You want to make sure you are using a food grade container for this process.
I then injected the ham in one inch intervals throughout. I used approximately 8 cups while injecting, being sure to get as close to the bone as possible. Set the ham down into the container with the brine, cover any exposed surface with more water. Let the ham cure for one day for every 2 pounds of meat.
I started smoking this at 250 for 3 hours on a wire rack. I then bumped the temp up to 300 for the remainder of the cook. I cooked this to an internal temp of 155 degrees. The last 15 mins I glazed the ham to finish.
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Gear:
Javelin Pro Instant Read Thermometer: https://amzn.to/2QtJoRX
Gloves: https://amzn.to/3m0dxXM
Black Gloves: https://amzn.to/3hc5CmA
Mercer Culinary RPX Curved Boning Knife: https://amzn.to/2EUEFqr