What should I do with a 17.3 lb FRESH Ham?


 
B

Bryan Rice

TVWBB Super Fan
Hi All,

Happy Holidays.

Because of some confusion, mostly my fault I guess, I have been presented with a 17.34 lb FRESH ham to smoke for dinner tomorrow. Yikes.

I am sort of at a loss of what I can do with it with the time I have left.

It is about 5pm EST and we want to eat around 6 or 7pm EST tomorrow.

Since it is uncured, should I brine it? Any suggestion for brining a fresh ham of this size?

What cooking temp should I shoot for in my WSM?

The weather tomorrow is supposed to be a bit chilly (high 40s F) - can any give me an estimate on how long this thing should take to smoke/cook?

And one more thing - I only have Hickory or Mesquite available at the moment, which would you recommend?

Thank-you for any strategies you can suggest - I should have gone to the grocery myself, but oh well...if anyone wants to come to dinner, I'm sure that we'll have plenty of ham!
 
Absolutely brine it. If it's skin-on, cut the skin in a crosshatch pattern, through the fat under it but not in to the meat. They do very well with aromatic brines. I do one with salt and sugar, allspice, cinnamon, bay and sometimes rum.

No fear. You do not need to make this an overnight cook. Fresh hams do best, imo, as a high-temp/shorter cook. I make a paste rub of garlic, brown sugar, coriander and Cholula (like Tabasco) to smear all over it. Crank your cooker--use LOTS of fuel and an empty pan--and put in on--upright if you can manage it. Run it hot for 10 min then close off lower vents a bit--try to settle at 300 or so. Pull the leg when internals hit 150. Wrap and rest.

Wonderful with a mustard/shallot/thyme sauce, or my new favorite, a Morello cherry/mustard sauce.

On edit: Use the hickory.
 
I have not done a fresh ham. That said you can just treat it as a large butt. If I was in your shoes, I would skin and remove excess fat. Rub and smoke low and slow. I would start now. Use full ring with minion method. This will be a long cook.

Edit:
Kevin knows much more than I, disregard the above-I defer to the more experienced.
 
You certainly can do a low-and-slow, as Steve suggests: Your choice. If you decide to go that route then follow his advice and skin it, removing most surface fat in the process.

I usually have whole legs cut horizontally in half to make two more manageable roasts. I did a whole one, about the size of yours, for Christmas. The 8 or 10-pounders I usually do take about 2.75-3.5 hours. I think my Christmas ham took about 5 or 5.5, if I'm not mistaken. If you go the shorter-cook route, give yourself plenty of time but don't sweat it too much. The ham will wrap and hold well in a cooler. I love the things. One of my favorite cuts to cook.
 
I forgot--the brine. I use 6 qts water with 2 cups each Kosher and sugar. Brine overnight if you're doing the shorter cook. If you're adding aromatics, cook them in some of the water for a few minutes to release flavors, then blend in with the rest of the brine.
 
Thank-you very much for the very very useful and very appreciated information.

I think I will go with Kevin's strategy, it sounds very reasonable. I was guessing it would take about 20 minutes per pound, so your Christmas ham seems about in line with that.

I am definately not worried about it getting done too early - I just don't want it to get done too late.

I've got the brine together and it is nice and aromatic. I just have to cool it back down to a safe temperature and will start the brine.

Thank-you both for your advice. I love TVWBB.

I will check-in tomorrow and let you know how it goes.
 
Bryan, good luck. I am anxious to hear how it comes out. Please keep us informed. You will probably teach a few of us who have not done a fresh ham a thing or two.
 
These guys probably gave the best advice. I thought I'd just throw in that they ran a Good Eats epsisode on cooking hams sometime in the past week or so. Might be some help there if you need any more advice.

Joel
 
Hey there,

I just finished a sandwich made with the fresh ham I smoked last night. My first time with a fresh ham, and I must say, damn good. I injected it with a spicy apple juice brine, and I rubbed it with a cumin/paprika based rub. Smoked low (230-240) with black walnut and apple. Tastes a bit like a lean butt. And now I have a freezer full of sandwich meat.

Cheers,
Michael
 
Update: Fresh Ham Progressing Well

Things seem to be going well. At 3pm the hood temp was holding at 300 degrees F and it was starting to really get going.

The internal temp is only at 107 degrees, but I am not too worried yet. I think with some resting time, it will still be pretty close to done on schedule.

Just in case anyone cares I have posted some pics (from my cellphone) to document my progress so far:
Fresh Ham Pics

Again, thanks to everyone for thier advice and encouragement - this is so much fun.
 
Ham looks great.
If you need to speed things up, you can foil and return to wsm or if you need still more heat you can foil and go to the oven. Sounds like you have everything well in hand. I'll enjoy lamb leftovers while you are dining on a fresh ham. Hmmmm, I'll have to try one soon.
 
Bryan,
Ham looks great. It is 6:30 pm here so I'm assuming your are enjoying it right now according to your plans as posted above. Welcome to the board and I am sure you will enjoy all the good advice and tips availabe to us all on this site.
Be sure to let us know how it turned out
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
Success!
The whole smoke was great fun and the result was quite delicious. Now I have more ham leftover than I know what to do with but I think I will manage.

It was a wonderful way to spend the day.

Happy Holidays to everyone.

To see the final (if somewhat fuzzy) pics of the smoke you can see them here.
 
Good show, Bryan. The roast looks wonderful (as does dessert!). Really like your choice of brine ingredients too.
 
Thanks Kevin. Your suggestions helped tremendously and I was able to get it done at exactly the right time.

I was very happy with the brine. The next time I try a fresh ham I hope I have more warning, because I would like to brine for almost 24 hours and see how that works out.

As a side note, I just tasted some of the best ham and bean soup I have ever had. I took the hame bone (and joints), some pieces of the meat, the fat, and the skin, and boiled it all night and all day to make a super rich and smokey stock.

Then I strained it, and I threw in some more ham (cubed), pinto beans, carrots, garlic, oreagano, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and a pinch of ground cumin.

Wow.

Sometimes I think the best creations come from what you make the night after a big smoke with the leftovers. For instance, enchiladas with pulled pork and home smoked jalapenos...mmmm.....
 
Thats one tasty looking ham, got any left?

Question though, what store in Queens sells hardwood charcoal, I couldnt find any last year.
 
Originally posted by Bryan Rice:
The next time I try a fresh ham I hope I have more warning, because I would like to brine for almost 24 hours and see how that works out...
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I recommend it. My Christmas ham (the big one) I did for 3 days; the half-hams I do for 1-2. You have to be mindful of salt concentration and acidity but it works very well.

Your soup sounds great, right up my alley, and you're right, next-day inspirations can be pretty amazing.
 
Originally posted by Norman Stein:
Thats one tasty looking ham, got any left?
Click to expand...

- Oh yes. Plenty!

Question though, what store in Queens sells hardwood charcoal, I couldnt find any last year.
Click to expand...

- Here in Astoria, there are a couple places; at least two of the greek "bodegas" carry it on 23rd Ave. (between 21st and 31st streets).

I think there are several others as well. I suspect that a lot of the greek restaurants in the area use it for thier grilled items like souvlaki and fish. I usually can find it all year round, with in walking distance of my place.

The only thing I have trouble finding in the immediate area is good beef.
 
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