Fresh Whole Ham Questions


 

BSchmutz

New member
Hi all,

I will be doing a 20lb whole fresh ham for Christmas dinner and I have a few questions... I searched the forum and found some great info from Kevin Kruger and plan using a favor brine/marinade and roasting/smoking the ham at 325 - 350 until an internal temp of 145 - 155.

At this point I think I have two questions:

1) Does anyone have an approximate time estimate for a 20lb ham at 350 so I can figure out when to start (I've seen estimates around 25 or 30 minutes per lb, but that is at 225).

2) I will be using either a 22" weber kettle or a 4 burner Genesis II. My original plan was to use the kettle and cook a 'back-up' cured and smoked ham on the gas grill (if I crash and burn, I have to have something to serve my family!!) However, this will be my first time doing anything so big on the kettle and I am now leaning towards using the gas grill for the big fresh ham and cook the back up ham on the kettle... (I did our Thanksgiving turkey on the genesis and it turned out fantastic) so, any advice about which one to use would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you all for any input/advice -- just searching through the forum has already been a huge help thanks!

-Bryan
 
There are many cooking time/temp charts on the net. Here is one: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ingGuide.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1KBhp9U9l6gCtk6aEPDXbA
It's for your 350 degree cooking temperature, but note that it shoots for the older 160 degree meat temperature. If you're cooking to 145 your time should be shorter, obviously, but this ought to get you in the ballpark. Monitor the temp with a good thermometer, and you should be good to go.
 
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You can't go wrong with anything Kevin Kruger posted! That's pretty ambitious cook and can't say I've ever done it. I'd lean towards using the 22 weber kettle as you'll probably have an easier time getting some smoke on that ham and controlling temps. I've got a gasser too, but I've had no luck using chips for smoke. You can probably do either one, though. Do whichever one you feel most comfortable with. I wish I could help you on the time.
 
Hi guys, thanks for posting...

I definitely bit off more than I can chew, but the best way to learn is to do, right?

I really want to use the kettle, but am leaning towards the gasser just because of the ease of temp control. My kettle was packed away for a few year until yesterday - I am going to do a 7lb pork butt using the snake method to knock the rust off my charcoal skills this Saturday. If that goes well I'll go with the kettle on Christmas.

Whatever I do I will definitely report back to this thread... if I can get organized enough I'll try to document the whole cook with some pics and a decent write up. At the very least you all can learn from my mistakes if it turns out to be a disaster!!

Thanks for the input.
 
My last 24# took 6 hrs on the OTG @ 350-375 for Easter.
I'm glad you found some of Kevin's old threads, cause that's the only way I do fresh hams.:)

Tim
 
Well, I did a 7.3lb pork butt using the snake method today - 8.5 hours with an average temp between 275 and 300. I pulled it off the grill when it was 195 at the thickest (I checked a few other spots and the highest temp was 206 and the thermometer slipped right through the meat). Once the meat was off I played around with the grill and remaining coals, I think I should be able to keep it at 350 - 375 to do the ham on Christmas. I am really looking forward to trying it now! Thanks for the input and advice so far.
 
Merry Christmas everyone!

I thought I would post a few updates as I cooked the big ham...


My assistant this morning - she's not much of a helper, but she was the only one up early with me :)
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Here is the ham patiently waiting to go on the kettle (I brined/marinated it with apple juice, kosher salt, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, and black pepper).
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The kettle set up and ready to be lit. :blackperformer:
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I didn't get a pic of it on the kettle before I got put the lid on, but here it is chugging along...
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Thank you all once again for your input... it has been extremely helpful!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

-bry
 
I had lofty intentions of doing two whole hams at Christmas. I found pork legs at a great price, removed the skin and injected them to get the cure started. Then when I took them out of the cure the morning of Christmas Eve, I noticed a strange area on one of them. A google search confirmed that my pork had a cyst in it. Needless to say, it was nasty enough that both hams (28 lbs before trimming :(....) got tossed in the garbage. I had used the same knife, injector and cured them both in a bucket of brine together. I wasn't risking the second one being contaminated.

As far as a cyst in pork, google it at your own risk because it's nasty. Imagine a pocket the size of a lemon, filled with guacamole :mad:
 

 

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