Cured Meats & Food Preservation > Charcuterie: Ham, Bacon, Sausage, etc.

Ham Brining 101

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TentHunteR:
Section 5: Smoking & Glazing the Ham
Now that the Ham is cured, there's just a couple final steps before it's ready to be smoked.

► Pre-Smoke Prep

Drying & Pellicle Formation
Remove the Ham from the brine, place it a wire rack and discard the brine. NEVER re-use brine!

Pat the ham off with some paper towels and let it air dry near a fan or under the hood of your stove with the fan running until it feels tacky to the touch. The tacky film that forms is a layer of proteins called the pellicle. It allows smoke stick to your ham. There's no minimum time frame for drying; as long as it feels tacky, smoke will stick to it.

Scoring & Seasoning (optional)
Scoring a cross-hatch pattern into the fatty side of the ham can add a nice look and cover up imperfections.

If you season the ham, I think it's best to keep it very simple. Here are a couple of ideas:
[*]Rub on a light coating of Fine Ground Black Pepper (no scoring & no glaze) - good flavor & gives an old world look.
[*]A sprinkling of course ground Allspice (my favorite) gives that classic "Holiday Ham" taste & smell. It's simple and will work on it's own or with most glazes. I use an inexpensive pepper grinder to grind the allspice berries over the ham.
[*]Here's a classic: Score a crosshatch pattern and spike the sections with cloves.
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This ham has been scored & seasoned with Allspice.



Ham Netting (optional)
Ham Netting can be used if you prefer to hang your hang. This requires a smoker tall enough for hanging.
Be sure to get netting made for the temperatures you plan to use! Cotton works for cooking & smoking.


► Smoking Methods
And finally... the ham is ready to be smoked! The only thing left is to decide how you're going to smoke it.

Any of these methods will work and trust me, they all yield delicious results.
Which one you choose depends upon how much smoke you want versus time constraints.





Making Cold Smoke
If you don't have a smoker than can produce cold smoke (below 100° F), here are a couple of easy options that will work for almost any grill:

A-MAZE-N Products offers a few different devices designed to give cold smoke using pellets or sawdust.
The A-Maze-N Pellet Tube will provide up to 6 hours of cold smoke using pellets.


Another easy option is to put a dry chunk of wood on top of 4 - 6 lit charcoal briquettes (do NOT soak the wood). This can provide 2 - 3 hours of good clean cold smoke.




► Glazing
Glazing your Ham adds a touch of sweetness and a nice sheen. It's totally optional, but to me the glaze is the Pièce de résistance; that final touch that takes your ham to the "Wow" level!

I like to start glazing when the Ham's internal temp reaches about 140° or so; any sooner and the glaze will most likely burn.  Brush it on every 15 - 30 minutes until the ham reaches 165°.

My two favorite glazes:

* Brown Sugar & Pineapple juice
* Maple Syrup.A few other glaze ideas:

* Brown Sugar & almost any fruit juice (Orange, Apple, etc.)
* Brown sugar, allspice & a bit of water.
* Cola, simmered & reduced.
* Honey thinned with just a little water.
* Maple & Brown sugar
* Maple Syrup or honey with just a touch of a cayenne  - Killer!)
* Brown Sugar & Bourbon or Rum.Mix your glaze ingredients in a small pan & simmer, stirring until it's a syrup-like consistency.


► Finish Temp
Once your ham has reached an I.T. of 165°, the ham is finished cooking and can be pulled from the smoker/oven and allowed to rest before slicing.


► The Hardest Part - Resting the Ham!
The smell of your ham wafting through your house is going to make you and your guests hungry. LET IT!!! After all your work, don't mess up now by slicing it too soon; let it rest for at least 30 - 45 minutes! This allows time for the fibers to relax so the ham is tender and stays juicy when you slice it.


Enjoy your ham and all the accolades that go along with it. I promise, once you cure & smoke your own ham, you'll never want to buy a mass-produced-store-bought ham again!

Thanks, and I hope you find this useful!

Cliff

TentHunteR:
Reserved for updates.

Sailor1:
Cliff, That is a fantastic write up.  Never tried to do a ham but now you have me really wanting to do this.  Thank you for taking the time to write this up!

Jim

Pappymn:
Bookmarked for future reference. Thanks

muebe:
Outstanding guide!

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