Cured & Smoked Ham

Name: Fresh Ham Cured and Smoked
Prep time: 192 h
Cook time: 16 h
Total time: 208 h
Yield: 25-30
Ingredients: 1 – Fresh Ham (17 lb); 6 TB – All Purpose Meat Cure and Brine Mix; 32 oz – Water, cold; 3 Cup – All Purpose Meat Cure and Brine Mix; 2 Gallon – Water, cold; 1 Jar – Apple Pie - Cinnamon Spice Rub; Marinade Injector; Brine Bag / Brine Bucket; Stockinette

Skip the store-bought spiral glazed and make your own cured and smoked ham. Not only will you get ultimate bragging rights, but you'll get a ham that's much tastier than the store version. In our version, we cured our fresh or green ham for 8 days then dried and smoked in the Pro Smoker PK 100. For the cherry on top, we rubbed with an apple cinnamon rub and glazed in Cherry BBQ Sauce. The perfect ham recipe for Easter, Christmas or any other special occasion.

HAM 101

A ham comes from the back thigh/rump of a pig and can be purchased in a whole (18-20 lbs.) or half ham. The ready-to-eat ham you get at the store is generally a wet or brine-cured ham that is then smoked until pink and sliceable. A fresh or green ham (what you'll want to use for this recipe), is a ham that hasn't been cured and smoked. It's likely you won't be able to find this at your local grocery store, so be sure to check with your local meat market or butcher.

SELECTING YOUR HAM

As always, we recommend purchasing your fresh ham directly from your local butcher. You can ask for bone-in or boneless, but we recommend keeping the bone as it will increase flavor and moisture, plus you can use the bone to make delicious ham stock for soups (try this Ham & Northern Bean Soup). A slight fat cap (1/4") on your ham is desirable if you're planning to score, bake and glaze it.

PS Seasoning

Fresh Ham Cured and Smoked

Rated 3.3 stars by 16 users

Author:

PS Seasoning

Servings

25-30

Prep Time

192 hours

Cook Time

16 hours

Ingredients

1 – Fresh Ham (17 lb)
6 TB – All Purpose Meat Cure and Brine Mix
32 oz – Water, cold
3 Cup – All Purpose Meat Cure and Brine Mix
2 Gallon – Water, cold
1 Jar – Apple Pie - Cinnamon Spice Rub

Special Equipment

Marinade Injector
Brine Bag / Brine Bucket
Stockinette

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Directions

Prep the ham for curing by patting it dry after removing it from its packaging.
Combine the 6 TB of cure mix with 32 oz of cold water and stir until dissolved.
Use a marinade injector to inject the 32 oz of brine mix evenly throughout the ham. Focus on the areas around the bone.
Stir together the 3 cups of cure mix and 2 gallons of cold water until dissolved.
Place the ham in a brine bag or brine bucket and cover the ham with the brine. (If using a brine bucket, place a weight on top of the ham to fully submerge. If using a brine bag, roll the top of the bag down to eliminate as much air as possible.)
Place in the fridge or cooler for 8 days, which will come out to roughly 1 day per 2 lb of meat for curing time.
After the cure, remove the ham from the brine and rinse well under cold water.
Pat the ham dry and place on a rack lined tray and then back into the cooler for 24-36 hours to dry out.
On smoking day, take the ham out of the cooler and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before smoking.
Preheat smoker to 225 degrees.
Rub the ham generously with apple pie rub and then place the ham in the stockinette.
Hang the ham in the smokehouse and insert a meat probe.
Smoke the ham until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees.
a. You can also use a slower smoke schedule for the smoking process. See our blog for those directions
Allow the ham to rest for 20-30 minutes before placing the ham in a brine bag and then into an ice bath to cool rapidly.
Once fully cooled. Slice and store or use to your liking.