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happyjillin

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Don't have one now but thinking of building an old fashioned stone/brick smoker/bar-b-que next year.  To be good the ham should be slow smoked for 12 to 14 hours and basted at start and 2 times more.  Ham hocks need about half this time. To many people around here will cook in oven than finish in smoker to give it a smoked flavor. 

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5 hours ago, RVGRINGO said:

The  OP wants to know how to do it, not how to buy one.

I want to buy them off someone who knows how to do them properly as pictured. Read what I said,don't just look at the pictures because you all don't even seem to understand the pictures. Tony sells skinless and fat less pork hocks. Rangers doesn't smoke what 'I'm asking for. In all my years I have found nobody here but I thought I'd try it again. The "picnic" ham needs to be pickled and hung in a proper smoker.hence the string mesh surrounding it

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9 hours ago, AngusMactavish said:

The person to contact is the husband of Gaby at La Media Luna in Ajijic, sin duda.

I talked to him about 3 years ago and he didn't seem interested in doing custom smoking like the picnic and hocks the way I wanted. Maybe try him again as at the time he hadn't finished his smoker.

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1 hour ago, Yo1 said:

Ask Tony's if they can get them double smoked.  When I make beans and ham hocks I end up using a little liquid smoke to get the right flavor.

I know you all mean well but you are not paying attention to any of this,pictures or what I am asking for. Tony's hocks are skinless and fat less. I buy them  but I prefer smoked turkey legs from Walmart or Soriana because they have skin and fat for flavour including smoke. When I first got here many years ago I asked Tony if he could get whole smoked hocks and he said no because  the skin and fat are worth more processed as chicharrone.  here is a schematic of a pig  and fresh hock and picnic ham, so that all of you can know as much about pig cuts as I  do and what I am talking about.

Pig+Butchery+101.png

pig picnic.png

pig pork-hock.jpg

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I thought you used to work at Swifts? So far, you are describing a smoked pork leg. To raise it to the level of ham, you have to find the veins and inject a brine and preservative liquid. There is special metal syringe for this. At least this is one of the commercial ways of doing it, and this will reduce spoilage and possible food poisoning. Lots of smokers up here in the hills, my neighbor has two or three, one is a Bradley Smoker made in Canada, popular all over the world, even among fine chefs. If you go their website you will find all the information you need, their cookbook is supposed to be very good.

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13 hours ago, happyjillin said:

I want to buy them off someone who knows how to do them properly as pictured. Read what I said,don't just look at the pictures because you all don't even seem to understand the pictures. Tony sells skinless and fat less pork hocks. Rangers doesn't smoke what 'I'm asking for. In all my years I have found nobody here but I thought I'd try it again. The "picnic" ham needs to be pickled and hung in a proper smoker.hence the string mesh surrounding it

Since you also didn't pay attention here is what I said about a picnic HAM  and suggesting that a picnic ham is not a HAM means that you have trouble understanding drawings of a whole pig and it's parts. You can't do a picnic properly in the "hills" nor in the backyard as you are suggesting, nor can fine chefs do it in their restaurant. Bradley smoker indeed, it is to laugh.

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45 minutes ago, happyjillin said:

Since you also didn't pay attention here is what I said about a picnic HAM  and suggesting that a picnic ham is not a HAM means that you have trouble understanding drawings of a whole pig and it's parts. You can't do a picnic properly in the "hills" nor in the backyard as you are suggesting, nor can fine chefs do it in their restaurant. Bradley smoker indeed, it is to laugh.

Er, Pedro my lad, look at all the ingredients listed on the package. How do think they got in there, including water. 

I could ask my extremely knowledgeable neighbor, but I am no longer interested in smoked meats and nitrate/nitrites because they are harmful to your health. 

Bradley Smoker indeed

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=36790.0

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1 hour ago, CHILLIN said:

Er, Pedro my lad, look at all the ingredients listed on the package. How do think they got in there, including water. 

I could ask my extremely knowledgeable neighbor, but I am no longer interested in smoked meats and nitrate/nitrites because they are harmful to your health. 

Bradley Smoker indeed

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=36790.0

If that worries you, might I suggest that you never eat any sort of ham,bacon,cold cuts,corned beef,sausages, large smoked meat portions of any sort. Stick to fresh meat only and avoid turkey and chicken too. Oh, and veggies like pickles and coleslaw salad most salad dressings including those you make from scratch,etc. Again you failed to read what I said about pickling,twice no less. Pickling is a term used by meat packers for injecting certain meats for various reasons. You  would be better served by making posts about something you know about. It appears that you are more interested in trolling and ruining this thread than adding anything useful.

Sincerely happyjillin and nobody else.

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1 hour ago, happyjillin said:

I suggest that you never eat any sort of ham,bacon,cold cuts,corned beef,sausages, large smoked meat portions of any sort. 

And you are a walking poster boy for that type of diet. How many stents are you up to now? Do you still eat uncooked, cured bacon?

Who cares  about a term used halfway in the past century, in a meat plant in the middle of nowhere, where its labor practises were so atrocious, that they still can't find anyone to work there. The link I sent in, a master certified barbeque judge does not call it pickling. Michael Ruhlman, considered to be a chef's chef does not call it pickling in his widely acclaimed book Charcuterie. He also includes plans for a smokehouse.

You asked if anyone had a smoker who could "do" ham. Implying that all was needed was smoke to make ham. It turns out you were very wrong, because the key point to make a ham flavor was in the cure and the pressing (mesh bag).

You are your own troll, coming up with continuous exaggerations and outright lies for over 15 years now. How many forums have you been completely banned from?

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I have a good smoker but have never done a ham. 

How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch

 

By Meathead Goldwyn

Curing meats such as bacon, ham, or pastrami is fun and the results are often better than storebought. But curing is very different from any other recipe because you are using a preservative, sodium nitrite. You must read and thoroughly understand my article on the Science Of Curing Meats before attempting to cure meat or before you ask any questions. That page also contains info on scaling the recipe up or down.

 

Want to create a smoked ham at home but aren't sure how to do it? The key to creating a ham like the ones you normally purchase during the holidays is the curing process. Without it you won't achieve the same flavor or deep red color of a traditional holiday ham.

Click here to read more...

Wet Cured Smoked Ham Recipe

 
Select ratingGive How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 1/5Give How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 2/5Give How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 3/5Give How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 4/5Give How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 5/5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
Select ratingGive How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 1/5Give How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 2/5Give How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 3/5Give How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 4/5Give How To Make A Cured Smoked Ham From Scratch 5/5
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

finished ham

This recipe will help you create a smoked ham at home. Every animal is different, so you need to use the Curing Calculator on this page for precise amounts since it is unlikely your ham will be exactly the same as this one. 

Course. Dinner. Entree.

Cuisine. American.

Makes. Enough to feed at least 10 to 15 people

Takes. 12 days to cure, approximately. Use the Curing Calculator on this page to get the precise timing.

Special tools. You need a 5 gallon food grade bucket or bag to hold the meat and the cure. You can use a very clean plastic beer cooler in a pinch, if it will fit in the fridge.

Ingredients

To scale up or down, do not simply multiply or divide. Please use our curing calculator.

1 whole fresh ham, 15 to 20 pounds with skin and the fat cap removed, about 4" thick at the bottom while laying on its side

3 gallons distilled water

20 ounces by weight of Morton's kosher salt (2 cups)

3 tablespoons Prague Powder #1

1 1/2 cups Chris Lilly's Spicy Apricot Glaze or Danny Gaulden's Brown Sugar Mustard Glaze

Method

1) If your ham has skin, remove it and all the fat cap. You can use the skin to make cracklins. Skin and fat just do not add flavor. I debunk this myth in my article on fat caps. Besides, fat on a ham only slows the penetration of the cure and will get gelatinous after curing like this:

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2) Get a 5 gallon food grade bucket and clean the heck out of it first with soapy water. Rinse thoroughly with ounce of bleach per gallon of water. Dry thoroughly. Then and add the distilled water, kosher salt, and Prague Powder #1. Stir til they dissolve. Chill it.

3) Scrub the exterior of the ham thoroughly to remove as much bacteria as possible (don't use soap). Put the meat in the bucket and submerge it. If a piece of bone sticks out, get the hacksaw and cut it off or add more cure to cover it. If necessary, weight the meat down under a clean plastic container filled with water. Put the bucket in the refrigerator and let the meat cure for at least 7 days. If it is larger or smaller, use our curing calculator on this page to determine how long it needs to be in the cure. It must remain cold. After curing the water should remain transparent, but slightly pink, like this:

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If you don't keep it in the brine long enough, you might have a tan spot that will taste like pork, not ham, like this one.

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4) After the cure, it is time to smoke. Before smoking, rinse the surface since there will be a heavier concentration of salt on there. If you wish, you can apply a salt free spice rub like my Meathead's Memphis Dust just before smoking. If you want to serve it immediately, and I strongly recommend it, smoke the ham at 325°F until it is 145°F in the deepest part of the center. This will take up to 5 hours depending on the meat's thickness. Rule of thumb: 30 minutes per inch of thickness at the thickest part. Your mileage may vary depending on a lot of variables such as your cooker's airflow, humidity, how much moisture in the meat, etc. The reason we cook at 325°F is to prevent the stall which will happen at lower temperatures and that can result in a 12 hour or longer cook. During the last hour, paint it with a glaze. My favorite glazes are Chris Lilly's Spicy Apricot Glaze or Danny Gaulden's Brown Sugar Mustard Glaze. Make sure it doesn't burn. There is no substitute for a ham fresh from the smoker.

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If you don't plan to use it within a week, smoke it at 325°F until it is 165°F in the deepest part and it will be safe for up to two weeks in the fridge. Then when you reheat it cook it up to 145°F and lay down your first layer of glaze when it hits about 130°F. Reheating can take almost as long as the initial smoking.

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or so, or frozen. If you vacuum seal, it will keep longer. You can cut slices and grill ham steaks, or just warm it in the oven.

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving
Calories 650
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 50 g 77 %
  Saturated Fat 17 g 86 %
  Trans Fat -  
Cholesterol 192 mg 64 %
Sodium 142 mg 6 %
Total Carbohydrate 1 g 0 %
  Dietary Fiber 0 g 1 %
  Total Sugars 1 g  
  Includes - Added Sugars  
Protein 46 g 92 %
Vitamin D 1 µg 9 %
Calcium 28 mg 3 %
Iron 2 mg 13 %
Potassium 854 mg 18 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

"The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep."W. C. Fields

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Thanks Tom for a great post. How to make smoked cured meats without killing anybody. Interesting that he says including fat and skin does not help flavor. Chicharones are made separately, I thought Mexican's must have teeth of steel, but no, they add them to enrichen the bean pot.

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There is a good BBQ/Smoking website, AmazingRibs.com. The referenced Prague #2 (there is also a #1) are nitrite based pink salts (pink so people don't get it mixed up with table salt). Really important in preventing botulism. 

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The OPR first asked for a smoked ham and than qualified it to a pickled smoked ham.  This is a whole new ballgame.  You don't just inject a ham to pickle it'  A proper pickled ham is soaked in a brine solution for a week with turning it in the solution everyday.  It is than cooked by smoking it for at least 12 hours.  This is a southern treat and as the other members indicated, the ham and ham hocks are great in beans and other southern dishes.

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