County Ham ????

[Arun L.]

I’d scrub it down and soak it overnight - changing the water several times.

Thanks, I just read this ("Cold Water Method").

How to Cook a Ham: 14 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

Tender, juicy ham is the perfect main course for any holiday. It's a versatile meat that isn't difficult to cook, though the process requires a few hours' time. Choose between uncooked or cured ham, depending on what flavor you like, and...

www.wikihow.com

So I could soak it right before sleeping, then once more when I wake up. So it will be in a fresh water in the morning, until I'm ready to start cooking later in the day.

 

[Arun L.]

Here is where I get my country hams:

Tripp Country Hams, Old Fashion Award Winning Tennessee Country Ham since 1962

Tripp Country Ham is recommended when planning the menu of a special gathering or just shopping for the very best for your family. Delicious country ham, country bacon, Gift Boxes and Samplers

www.countryhams.com

I've been to the processing plant and I can tell you that the folks in Brownsville, TN do it the Old School way. Back in the day, you butchered hogs in the fall, salted them in cold weather and then smoked them in early spring. After that they were hung up and lasted for the rest of the year or longer. Tripp does the same thing, but they do it all year round by working in climate controlled rooms to simulate the temperatures of the natural Fall/Winter/Spring seasons no matter what time of year.

My wife and I use the soak then simmer routine. Then we (she) glazes the ham with a mustard and brown sugar mix and bakes it for a short period of time, more or less following the excellent preparation instructions on the Tripp website. If you have doubts about how to handle country ham, check the instructions on the Tripp site.

If you've only had city hams before, realize that city hams are more closely related to Spam than they are related to a genuine salt-cured and smoked country ham. Do NOT treat your country ham like a city ham. Keep in mind that because even after proper cooking the ham will be more salty than you might be used to and it definitely be more flavorful. Consequently, the portion size will be smaller than what you might be used to with a city ham.

I remember my long-departed Mother-in-law, (who grew up on a farm where they made their own country hams) saying, "The definition of eternity is two people and a whole country ham."

@Chris Allingham

I just got off the phone with Tripp.

The guy on the phone said he did not recommend smoking a country ham. He said it probably wouldn't turn out good.

He said for a country ham, it's best to boil or fry it. And it's good to make prosciutto out of it.

He said hams that are smoked, are cold smoked a little bit. That's it. Not hot smoked.

I also told him about this pineapple pepper glaze I had.

He said what I probably wanted was a fresh pork product, not an aged and cured one.

He recommended a boston butt or pork shoulder. He also named one more type of cut, but I forgot what it was.

What does everyone think? For something I want to smoke and use this pineapple pepper glaze, would one of the latter be better?

Then, if/when I do want to do a country ham, I'll boil it.

 

[Arun L.]

But then I see this, which does have a country ham (I think) smoked, but at 325 degrees, not low temp.

Whole Ham - Mustard & Whiskey Glazed - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Smoking a whole, partially cooked ham with a mustard and whiskey glaze on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. It's ham-tastic!

www.virtualweberbullet.com

I don't know anymore. Can I smoke a country ham, and where exactly can I get the smallest possible one? Can someone provide a link?

Should I do it at 325 degrees?

 

[Chris Allingham]

But then I see this, which does have a country ham (I think) smoked, but at 325 degrees, not low temp.

Whole Ham - Mustard & Whiskey Glazed - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Smoking a whole, partially cooked ham with a mustard and whiskey glaze on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. It's ham-tastic!

www.virtualweberbullet.com

I don't know anymore. Can I smoke a country ham, and where exactly can I get the smallest possible one? Can someone provide a link?

Should I do it at 325 degrees?

That is not a country ham. That is a "ready to cook" ham that you can no longer find in grocery stores.

I wrote a long article about ham. It explains the differences between all the terms being thrown around here:

• Wet vs. dry curing (city vs country ham)
• Ham Cuts
• Ham, Ham with Natural Juices, Ham - Water Added, Ham & Water Product
• Spiral-sliced hams
• Ready to eat vs. Ready to cook

Ham Selection & Preparation - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Learn about the types of ham and ham terminology, which ham and how much ham to buy, plus tips on cooking temps, carving, storage, nutrition & more.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

 

[Arun L.]

That is not a country ham. That is a "ready to cook" ham that you can no longer find in grocery stores.

I wrote a long article about ham. It explains the differences between all the terms being thrown around here:

• Wet vs. dry curing (city vs country ham)
• Ham Cuts
• Ham, Ham with Natural Juices, Ham - Water Added, Ham & Water Product
• Spiral-sliced hams
• Ready to eat vs. Ready to cook

Ham Selection & Preparation - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Learn about the types of ham and ham terminology, which ham and how much ham to buy, plus tips on cooking temps, carving, storage, nutrition & more.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Taking notes as I'm reading.

* A city ham is good in the WSM, not a country ham.

* Jim Minion says it can be done.

However, it's 2 votes to not do it (Tripp representative; @Chris Allingham ) compared to 1, so I think not smoking a country ham wins.

Also, just thinking about the end result of a country ham, which is often prosciutto or Serrano ham, that's not something that would go well with the pineapple pepper glaze. So this just doesn't sound like what I want at this moment.

* Shank end preferred.

* Ham with Natural Juices preferred.


Only question I have is on this part below. Are there any pictures or videos that you recommend?

Trim the fat layer to 1/4″ and score the fat into a diamond pattern, cutting 1/4″ to 1/2″ deep into 1″ to 2″ squares.

 

[Arun L.]

Can someone help me find a city ham, preferably shank, preferably with natural juices?

This is what I could find:

1) Ready to eat, shank, spiral sliced honey glazed, "select ham with natural juices".

Kentucky Country Ham for sale| Broadbent Hickory Bacon | Smoked Sausage

Maybe a little weird that I'll also be putting on my own pineapple pepper glaze, but it's probably ok.

2) Ready to eat, hickory smoked:

Hickory Smoked Spiral-sliced Ham

<p>Our beautiful, fully-cooked Spiral-sliced Hickory Smoked Ham is lean, tender, brown sugar cured and slow-smoked over all-natural hickory logs for a distinctively delicious flavor. We use only growth hormone free pork from the Missouri Ozarks. Bone-in, spiral sliced and fully cooked, perfect...

www.kansascitysteaks.com

Not really what I want since I want to smoke it myself.

3) Unsliced hickory smoked.

Hickory Smoked Half City Ham Unsliced

Serve this ham at room temperature or warm to your preference. We guarantee delicious tastes in every bite!

www.smokehouse.com

Again, not really what I want since I want to smoke it myself.

I can't find anything else. Can anyone find anything else, or know of anywhere else?

If not, is # 1 what I want?

 

[Arun L.]

Well, I called # 1, they said their ham was already smoked. So in the end, there would be no difference between the 3.

I then with with # 3, since it was unsliced. @LMichaels said he liked unsliced more.

I'm still going to smoke it, because I want to use the WSM.

I had gotten bacon from Burgers Smokehouse before (but I now prefer Father's over them).

 

[Arun L.]

Only question I have is on this part below. Are there any pictures or videos that you recommend?

Trim the fat layer to 1/4″ and score the fat into a diamond pattern, cutting 1/4″ to 1/2″ deep into 1″ to 2″ squares.

Can someone help explain how to do this?

Thank you.

 

[Arun L.]

@Chris Allingham, it says for "ready to eat", to apply the glaze toward the end of the cooking process.

Would that be the last 30 minutes?

 

[Jeff Boudman]

Just smoke a butt!

 

[Arun L.]

Just smoke a butt!

Maybe another time. I placed my order for a city ham from Burgers Smokehouse a few hours ago.

 

[Chris Allingham]

Sounds like you're looking online for a city ham. I can't help you with that. Around Easter and Thanksgiving and Christmas, you will see lots of hams in the supermarket. Here in the Bay Area, we commonly see Cook's Brand hams in stores. There will be several versions in the refrigerated case, you look for the one that says "Half Ham" (includes the best center slices of the ham). And some are labelled "Cook's Butt" or "Butt End" and the other "Shank End"--you want the shank end if you can get it. Either of these will be pre-cooked and pre-smoked and not spiral-sliced. All you're doing in the WSM is applying more smoke flavor and heating the meat through to your liking.

If you're glazing a ham, I would think the last 30 minutes of cooking time would be about right.

I don't have a video on scoring a ham. There are lots of videos out there, but usually of a whole ham, not a half ham. This one is pretty good if you only watch the first 7 seconds and ignore the rest about glazing. You're cutting 1/4" to 1/2" deep through the fat and just down to the meat.

 

[Arun L.]

Sounds like you're looking online for a city ham. I can't help you with that. Around Easter and Thanksgiving and Christmas, you will see lots of hams in the supermarket. Here in the Bay Area, we commonly see Cook's Brand hams in stores. There will be several versions in the refrigerated case, you look for the one that says "Half Ham" (includes the best center slices of the ham). And some are labelled "Cook's Butt" or "Butt End" and the other "Shank End"--you want the shank end if you can get it. Either of these will be pre-cooked and pre-smoked and not spiral-sliced. All you're doing in the WSM is applying more smoke flavor and heating the meat through to your liking.

If you're glazing a ham, I would think the last 30 minutes of cooking time would be about right.

I don't have a video on scoring a ham. There are lots of videos out there, but usually of a whole ham, not a half ham. This one is pretty good if you only watch the first 7 seconds and ignore the rest about glazing. You're cutting 1/4" to 1/2" deep through the fat and just down to the meat.

Thanks for the info. I ordered a city ham from Burger's Smokehouse earlier today.

I will keep an eye out for Cook's Ham.

This looks like it. It might be possible to order by calling them, I might try that next time, depending on how things go with the Burgers Smokehouse one.

Cook's Ham - Bone-In Hams Traditional Half Ham

Description and product photos of Bone-In Hams Traditional Half Ham. Lists of flavor profiles, ingredients, sizes of Cook's Ham Bone-In Hams Traditional Half Ham.

www.mycooksham.com

It looks like the video you mentioned, didn't show up in your post? The one you said to watch the first 7 seconds of.

 

[Chris Allingham]

Whoops! Here it is.

You can't order a Cook's Ham, they're a mass retailer to supermarkets.

 

[Bob Jones]

Can someone help me find a city ham, preferably shank, preferably with natural juices?

This is what I could find:

1) Ready to eat, shank, spiral sliced honey glazed, "select ham with natural juices".

Kentucky Country Ham for sale| Broadbent Hickory Bacon | Smoked Sausage

Maybe a little weird that I'll also be putting on my own pineapple pepper glaze, but it's probably ok.

2) Ready to eat, hickory smoked:

Hickory Smoked Spiral-sliced Ham

<p>Our beautiful, fully-cooked Spiral-sliced Hickory Smoked Ham is lean, tender, brown sugar cured and slow-smoked over all-natural hickory logs for a distinctively delicious flavor. We use only growth hormone free pork from the Missouri Ozarks. Bone-in, spiral sliced and fully cooked, perfect...

www.kansascitysteaks.com

Not really what I want since I want to smoke it myself.

3) Unsliced hickory smoked.

Hickory Smoked Half City Ham Unsliced

Serve this ham at room temperature or warm to your preference. We guarantee delicious tastes in every bite!

www.smokehouse.com

Again, not really what I want since I want to smoke it myself.

I can't find anything else. Can anyone find anything else, or know of anywhere else?

If not, is # 1 what I want?

Penn hams in Kentucky are really good they are salt and sugar cured not smoked, I'm from New Jersey
and have an uncle in KY He turned me onto them 30 years ago. You can get them cooked or not, over the years I order them from a little shop in Bardstown KY called Olde Delaney's Country Ham Store.