Curing and Smoking

Trooper

New member
In a recent topic (Christmas in Prime Time), Tenthunter remarked that he was going to be getting a picnic shoulder and curing and smoking it like a ham.

I know absolutely nothing about this - (curing and smoking like a ham)

Now that I've laid my ignorance right out there, could a few who have tried this, jump in with some comments and advice? Thanks. Just wanna learn all I can. EH?
 

TentHunter

Moderator
...Just wanna learn all I can. EH?

Me too, brother, me too! That's why I love this forum! I've never cured and smoked a ham either, so it will be a new and fun learning experience!


Here's what I meant by curing & smoking a picnic cut like a ham:

OK. A real ham is a cut of pork being the back leg or thigh of a pig. Whereas the shoulder cut is the front leg.

Here's a 16.25 lb. whole Pork shoulder I recently got from the butcher. I had him to cut the two sections apart: the right section is the Butt (or Boston Butt) and the left section is the Picnic cut.
DogTreats01.JPG


Now notice that the picnic cut looks a lot like a small ham. It can be cured (usually with a salt, sugar & nitrite solution) and then smoked just like a traditional ham. Same taste and texture, just smaller.



Here's a pic of a cured Shoulder that SilverBullet smoked as a ham. You can tell its a (Boston) Butt by the outline of where the bone was removed. Other than that its just like a ham and you wouldn't know the difference.
GEDC0523.jpg



Here's the link for that thread. There's a lot more info there from members who know a lot more about curing than me! :)

http://www.pelletsmoking.com/pellet-smoking-com-lounge-9/fresh-ham-606/



Hope this helps!
 
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Deb

New member
Trooper,

There are pictures of one I did in this thread http://www.pelletsmoking.com/pellet-smoking-com-lounge-9/weeks-challenge-scooter-judge-433/

the brine was from Charcuterie - here is a quick recap of directions

1 gallon water
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
2 packed cups dark brown sugar ( I have used maple sugar & added some maple syrup)
1/2 oz pint salt (8 tsp)

combine the brine ingredients in container big enough to hold the ham and stir to dissolve. I usually then put the brine in the fridge to get it really cold. submerge the ham in the brine. weigh it down to keep fully submerged soak - 1/2 day per pound

remove ham, rinse it under cool water, and pat dry place it on a rack on baking sheet and refrig 12 to 24 hours

hot smoke at 200 degrees for 2 hours, glaze return to smoker and smoke until IT of 155 remove from smoker & brush with remaining glaze allow to cook and refrigerate

(many recipes call for a much lower cook temp gradually ramping up the temperature over a long period of time, I have only used this one so I can't tell you the difference)

to serve slice & serve cold or reheat at 275 degree until warm in center

glaze (I never use this one)
1 1/2 c packed dark brown sugar
3/4 c dijon mustard
1 Tbsp minced garlic


The process is actually quite easy. The pink salt usually isn't available in stores & I have to mail order. You can get it through sausage making places. In fact most of them sell ham cures all mixed up (the salt, sugar, cure). It's also available through the Spice House

This post has some good resources of books, ingredients, websites :

http://www.pelletsmoking.com/pellet-smoking-com-lounge-9/nepas-point-us-right-direction-173/

TentHunter - last time I bought a whole one I had the meat guy make two cuts, I had him cut the hock off. I still cured & smoked it and it's in the freezer waiting for a good soup day.
 

Deb

New member
Just thought of something that could be important especially for a large ham. The recipe above is for a smaller ham. One thing that recipe does not call for and most others that I have read do : you should inject the ham with some of the brine... I think it's 10% (maybe 15, I have to look). of the ham weight .... this starts the curing from the inside as well as from the outside.
 

nepas

New member
Here is a tip.

When you smoke at low temps like 50* to 150* you need a cure. Hot smoking at 200* you dont need a cure. Most if not all of the pellet grills here will not go that low, Most start on smoke at 180* or higher.

Like deb said on hams.

When i do fresh hams i make a brine with a cure and inject close to the shank. My hams start at 100* to hang so a cure is needed.

Here is a ham i did.

P3240237.jpg


Made a brine with cure #1
P3240241.jpg


Injected right next to the shank all around.
P3240244.jpg



Submerged in the brine for 7 days in the fridge.
P3240248.jpg



After 7 days rinsed the ham and hung in smoker at 100* for 12hrs no smoke.
P3310314.jpg


P3310318.jpg


I started hickory smoke and raised the temp to 170* for 3 hours then transfered to my MAK on smoke for 4 hours. I added a pan of water to give off some moisture.
P3310323.jpg


Another 3 hours and you have a ham
P4010336.jpg


P4030352.jpg
 

TentHunter

Moderator
NePas,

Does NOT using a cure for hot smoking affect color that you know of? Or is the salt brine enough to react with the myoglobin to keep it pink?
 

nepas

New member
NePas,

Does NOT using a cure for hot smoking affect color that you know of? Or is the salt brine enough to react with the myoglobin to keep it pink?

Cure will add a pink tint to the meat regardless if its low smoked or started at 150-160. The brine adds flavor and keeps the meat moist. When i make a brine i try not to use allot of salt. Use pickeling spice or other items.
 

bflodan

Member
I have a 24lb fresh ham sitting in my fridge right know waiting for Christmas Day...Im going to begin curing I think on Wed. Not sure to do with skin on or off??? My butcher recommended with the skin on, but Deb sent me a curing link that had the skin and fat removed... I think Im leaning towards the removal....Anyone have a recommendation??
 

nepas

New member
I have a 24lb fresh ham sitting in my fridge right know waiting for Christmas Day...Im going to begin curing I think on Wed. Not sure to do with skin on or off??? My butcher recommended with the skin on, but Deb sent me a curing link that had the skin and fat removed... I think Im leaning towards the removal....Anyone have a recommendation??

Normally Trim the skin but leave some fat, i left it on because my neighbor likes the skin. Its your call, either way it will come out good.
 

TentHunter

Moderator
Ham Curing Experiment

OK, I picked up two 7 1/2 lb. picnic shoulders this past weekend to make a couple of hams. While they're not actual Ham cuts, the end result should be the same.

I'm experimenting by using two different brines to compare two things:

1) Compare flavor differences in sweeteners.

2) One brine with Sodium Nitrite & one without. How will it affect the color.
Ham01.JPG


Both Brines: contain 1 1/2 gallons filtered water and 1 1/4 cups pickling salt.

Red Container: Sweetened with Maple Syrup and Brown Sugar. It also has 4 tsp. Cure #1 (which contains Sodium Nitrite).

Blue Container:
Sweetened with Honey & White Cane Sugar. NO nitrite.

Note: I placed a small plate on top of each shoulder to keep it totally submerged.

More to come...
 

TentHunter

Moderator
Update... kind of, sort of...

You'll recall that in the Red Container I added some Cure#1 which contains Sodium Nitrite. I actually only added 1/3 of what most recipes called for, but since I won't be cold smoking it for hours I'm not worried about potential botulism. I only want to test to see how a small amount affects color.


In the red container, along with the picnic ham, I added some nice looking pork neck bones to brine/cure for a day and a half. This did two things; it gave me a little preview of the ham AND It gave me something to flavor a pot of green beans.
Ham02.JPG


After 1 1/2 days I threw them in the smoker along with some summer sausage I was already cold smoking. They cold smoked for 2 hours at around a 56 - 65° temp range. After I pulled the sausage I raised the pit temp to around 202° then slowly to 250° and hot smoked the neck bones to an Internal temp of 165.

While they cooled on wire racks for a bit, I sliced off a small piece to check flavor & color. The Maple/Brown Sugar flavor is really good, and if the color I'm seeing is any indication, then the there's plenty enough nitrite in the brine.

Here's what they looked like after curing and smoking.
Ham03.JPG



After they cooled a bit into the fridge they went to await their final destiny; A big ol' honking pot of slow cooked green beans ;)!

P.S. I really am loving this whole journey of discovery. And a tasty journey it is! I only hope that as I share what I'm learning that someone find this useful :).
 

TentHunter

Moderator
Update on the Ham-curing Experiment

I'd almost forgotten to post pics of how the hams turned out.

First here's the cured/smoked pork neck bones going into the pot of green beans with some big chucks of onions. They were FABULOUS! My daughter couldn't get enough.
Ham04.JPG





And now... On to the Hams.

I put both Picnic Hams in the Weber to Hot-Smoke for about 4 hours (Hickory smoke). The ham on the left is the Maple-Brown-Sugar WITH a nitrite cure, the one on the right is the Honey Ham with NO nitrite. Both were brined for the recommended 4 days, NO injection. Remember, I'm testing for color difference and color penetration (in addition to flavor).
HAM05.JPG



Now for the results...

First, BOTH hams were delicious! HOWEVER, both were pink and very hammy on the outside but more like a pork roast on the inside. I got a slightly deeper pink color and deeper color penetration from the Nitrite cured ham (on left).
HAM06.JPG



So what are my options:

1) I could add more salt and/or nitrite to the brine, BUT I really liked the flavor of this ham. It was great WITHOUT being salty, so that option is not the one I want.

2) Remove the bone. This might let more brine into the center, BUT many ham enthusiasts swear that the bone adds flavor.

3) A longer brining period.

4) Inject the brine solution down into the Ham right next to the bone (Like NePaS shows earlier in this thread).

I think because of the lower salt/sodium that a combo of options 3 & 4 is the way to go. We'll see because I picked up another Pork Picnic Shoulder to test this further.


NePaS, and/or Deb does this seem about right?


Note: Some of You may be wondering why I didn't follow NePaS' & Deb's suggestion and inject in the first place. This is a journey of discovery for me. I want to see and learn by this experience how each step worked. Besides this way I get to post pics :)!


Stay tuned for more...
 
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Deb

New member
That's cool Tent, I have wanted to play around with the no nitrate curing but haven't gotten around to it. I have only done 4 or 5 hams so I'll defer to Nepas on your question but I think 3 & 4 is what I would think.


I have some bacon started and was going to try a piece without nitrate, I chickened out at the last minute since I was working with Snake River Farm belly, I decided i needed to experiment on the stuff from the grocery store that is 2.99lb.
 
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