Comparison—Ham in Kitchen Range Oven and PG-500

[pmillen]

Two boned precooked hams from Costco.  I couldn’t quite get them both in the Fast Eddy by Cookshack PG-500.

See Spiral Ham for the method and glaze.  This time they were at room temperature when starting the cook.  It made a huge difference.

This is what they look like when unwrapped, kinda’ flat.


Into the pit.


It was a 50° day.  The recipe calls for cooking at 275° to 300°.  I preheated the oven and pit at 285° (LHt@20, HHt@65 for you PG users).  The PG-500 is not PID controlled so at this setting the pit swung a few times between 270° and 291° but most of the time it just sat at 288°.  The smoke ranged from light to an infrequent rather heavy, but never white bitter smoke.  It was always blue.  Steady blue smoke at a fairly constant 288°.  SWEET!

After 2¾ hours they were at 140°, just a few minutes before scheduled serving time.

Almost everyone thought that the smoked ham was the better of the two.  That opinion was supported by the leftovers.

[drholly]

Nice experiment and I bet a great meal!

[smokeasaurus]

While the oven offers steady heat....your Cookshack does the same with smokey flavor 

[pmillen]

While the oven offers steady heat....your Cookshack does the same with smokey flavor 

Well...Not as steady as natural gas convection but okay for most cooking.  I don't think precise temperature control is as important as many instant read thermometer users think.  A reasonable temperature swing has a limited effect on the food's internal temperature increase rate.  But it's an unpopular opinion, lots of cooks are willing to debate this with me.

[smokeasaurus]

When I fire up my offset and my goal is lets say 225, I can run between 200-260 due to adding wood and my coal base cooling down. I think it doesn't affect the outcome one bit. Life is too short to be obsessed with precise temp control........

[muebe]

While the oven offers steady heat....your Cookshack does the same with smokey flavor 

Well...Not as steady as natural gas convection but okay for most cooking.  I don't think precise temperature control is as important as many instant read thermometer users think.  A reasonable temperature swing has a limited effect on the food's internal temperature increase rate.  But it's an unpopular opinion, lots of cooks are willing to debate this with me.

You are correct about temperature swings over longer cooks. The average temperature swings do not make a huge difference IMHO. But shorter cooks or delicate recipes require more precision and stable temps. That is why commercial gas ovens use modulating thermostats with a constant pilot. The thermostat modulates the flame down to keep a very precise temperature.

That is how all gas ovens worked before electronic ignition came along. And that is also why old school cooks love those old ovens.

[pmillen]

I gave brief thought to putting one ham in my Pit Barrel Cooker.  It has a PID stoker for really good temperature control and the rendered grease dripping on the coals may produce an interesting result.  Has anyone tried it?  I didn't have time for the required research when it occurred to me.

Then, too, the recipe calls for basting every hour.  That would cause the run-off baste to extinguish the coals.  A pan would catch the run-off but would also catch the grease drippings.  Dang!

[pmillen]

I think it doesn't affect the outcome one bit. Life is too short to be obsessed with precise temp control........

Agreed.  Then too, temperatures and times in recipes are always rounded.  I never see, "Bake at 322° for 68 minutes."  The published record would be 320° for an hour and 10 minutes.  It's obvious when comparing recipes that are published with both Fahrenheit and Celsius cooking temperatures.  So temperature precision can't be such a big deal.

[Pappymn]

Is that the flat cut Ham they started carrying last year?  I tried them and thought it was an excellent product

[pmillen]

Is that the flat cut Ham they started carrying last year?  I tried them and thought it was an excellent product

I guess so.  It looks as though they cut it from end to end to remove the bone, butterflied it and cured it.  It was pretty good and provides a way to make slices of custom thickness.  I think spiral cuts are much too thin.

[TentHunteR]

Great thread!

Yep, if most people knew just exactly how much the temp in the average home oven swings, they'd stop worrying about mild temp swings in their grills.

The smoke ranged from light to an infrequent rather heavy, but never white bitter smoke.

And that right there is the beauty of pellet grills.  They give you that coveted light blueish-grey smoke that enhances the flavor without taking it over.