[USA] My First Ham
- Chuckwagon
- Veteran
- Posts: 4494
- Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 04:51
- Location: Rocky Mountains
Jim,
We've been holding our breath all week long. I'm turning blue. Is it ham yet? Is it ham yet? Inquiring minds want to know!
How about some photos? We need a couple of "peeks" at your craftsmanship.
I'm willing to bet you'll never go back to "store bought" ham ever again.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
We've been holding our breath all week long. I'm turning blue. Is it ham yet? Is it ham yet? Inquiring minds want to know!
How about some photos? We need a couple of "peeks" at your craftsmanship.
I'm willing to bet you'll never go back to "store bought" ham ever again.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill!
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- Frequent User
- Posts: 186
- Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 14:25
- Location: Blaine, MN
My First Ham is Finished!
On March 25th I prepared the ham cure brine according to Chuckwagon`s instructions.
I placed the meat into a clean food lug to contain the brine as I administered the brine injections.
The meat weighed a little over 11 1/2 pounds, and I calculated the cure to be injected at 18 1/2 OZ. I was able to locate and use the main artery, but it seemed that too much of the brine was leaking from the two cut edges. I injected about 30% into the artery and the remainder of the brine was distributed around the bone and throughout the meat. The picnic ham was then immersed into a 3 1/2 gal. food service bucket. The ham was not completely under the brine, so I recalculated the brine formula for one quart and added it to the bucket. Now the ham was submerged.
Unfortunately, I didn`t even think to get any pictures of that part of the process. I guess I was just concentrating too much on matter at hand.
This past Sunday I poached the shoulder ham I had been curing.
The ham had been resting for about 12 hours.
Not knowing how much water to start with, I place the cured ham into the pot and added water to cover it. Then I removed the ham and heated the water to boiling. I let it boil for 15 minutes then added cold water to drop the temperature to 174°F. I tried to hold this temperature between 168°F and 174°F, and was surprised that it still took over five hours to reach 150°F. The ham was transferred back to the washed and clean brine bucket where ice and cold water lowered the temperature to 99°F, which took another three hours.
The finished ham was placed on a drying rack overnight in the refrigerator, and wrapped in butcher paper the next morning.
Yes, we did cut some small samples from the large end. It did not taste very salty, but I guess most of the surface salt was washed out during the poaching. I`m counting on the interior salt levels balancing to the outside over the next week.
The taste and texture was wonderful! The color was a light pink, not near as dark as some smoked hams I have had. We are looking forward to tasting it with family. This ham will be Easter dinner for a dozen people, and I am counting on left-over`s!
Thanks for looking!
Jim
I placed the meat into a clean food lug to contain the brine as I administered the brine injections.
The meat weighed a little over 11 1/2 pounds, and I calculated the cure to be injected at 18 1/2 OZ. I was able to locate and use the main artery, but it seemed that too much of the brine was leaking from the two cut edges. I injected about 30% into the artery and the remainder of the brine was distributed around the bone and throughout the meat. The picnic ham was then immersed into a 3 1/2 gal. food service bucket. The ham was not completely under the brine, so I recalculated the brine formula for one quart and added it to the bucket. Now the ham was submerged.
Unfortunately, I didn`t even think to get any pictures of that part of the process. I guess I was just concentrating too much on matter at hand.
This past Sunday I poached the shoulder ham I had been curing.
The ham had been resting for about 12 hours.
Not knowing how much water to start with, I place the cured ham into the pot and added water to cover it. Then I removed the ham and heated the water to boiling. I let it boil for 15 minutes then added cold water to drop the temperature to 174°F. I tried to hold this temperature between 168°F and 174°F, and was surprised that it still took over five hours to reach 150°F. The ham was transferred back to the washed and clean brine bucket where ice and cold water lowered the temperature to 99°F, which took another three hours.
The finished ham was placed on a drying rack overnight in the refrigerator, and wrapped in butcher paper the next morning.
Yes, we did cut some small samples from the large end. It did not taste very salty, but I guess most of the surface salt was washed out during the poaching. I`m counting on the interior salt levels balancing to the outside over the next week.
The taste and texture was wonderful! The color was a light pink, not near as dark as some smoked hams I have had. We are looking forward to tasting it with family. This ham will be Easter dinner for a dozen people, and I am counting on left-over`s!
Thanks for looking!
Jim
- Chuckwagon
- Veteran
- Posts: 4494
- Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 04:51
- Location: Rocky Mountains
Beautiful work Jim!
Your guests are going to rave over this project, mark my words!
Very nice indeed. Are you going to smoke it or serve it as is? Many folks heat the ham in a 325°F oven until the IMT reaches 140°F, then place it into a smoke house and use a smoke machine such as A-maze-n as soon as a dry pellicle has formed. The heat is maintained to keep the meat at 140° (upper limit of bacterial "danger zone") while it is smoked for a couple of hours.
You would be surprised how many people mishandle a ham at this point and actually re-introduce staphyloccous aureus, having destroyed any trace of it previously by the cooking-curing step. Unfortunately, when re-introduced, staph may develop toxins which are not destroyed by further cooking! Ouch! So, if you smoke the ham, please get it into a refrigerator as soon afterward as possible until you reheat it for serving. Use plastic gloves to handle it, and make sure the shelves in your smoker are clean too, or simply hang it while smoking.
The FSIS suggests reheating the ham for dinner, using a minimum 325°F. oven and serving it when the IMT reaches 160°F. For a really moist ham, some folks even re-introduce it into boiling water just before serving it. Of course microwaves or countertop apliances may be used as well.
Keep everyone safe for an enjoyable Easter. Have a great Easter holiday!
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Your guests are going to rave over this project, mark my words!
Very nice indeed. Are you going to smoke it or serve it as is? Many folks heat the ham in a 325°F oven until the IMT reaches 140°F, then place it into a smoke house and use a smoke machine such as A-maze-n as soon as a dry pellicle has formed. The heat is maintained to keep the meat at 140° (upper limit of bacterial "danger zone") while it is smoked for a couple of hours.
You would be surprised how many people mishandle a ham at this point and actually re-introduce staphyloccous aureus, having destroyed any trace of it previously by the cooking-curing step. Unfortunately, when re-introduced, staph may develop toxins which are not destroyed by further cooking! Ouch! So, if you smoke the ham, please get it into a refrigerator as soon afterward as possible until you reheat it for serving. Use plastic gloves to handle it, and make sure the shelves in your smoker are clean too, or simply hang it while smoking.
The FSIS suggests reheating the ham for dinner, using a minimum 325°F. oven and serving it when the IMT reaches 160°F. For a really moist ham, some folks even re-introduce it into boiling water just before serving it. Of course microwaves or countertop apliances may be used as well.
Keep everyone safe for an enjoyable Easter. Have a great Easter holiday!
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Last edited by Chuckwagon on Thu Apr 05, 2012 08:48, edited 1 time in total.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill!
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- Frequent User
- Posts: 186
- Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 14:25
- Location: Blaine, MN
Bubba,
It really wasn't as difficult as I had expected it would be. I sure appreciated CW's assurances of success! As to the cooking directions; I found conflicting instructions. One recipe from the WD/eng site called for boiling for 15 minutes then reducing the temperature for remainder of poaching time.
In the instructional pages prior to the recipes, the author discourages the boiling practice.
I won't know what effects this process had on the ham , positive or negative, until Sunday.
Jim
It really wasn't as difficult as I had expected it would be. I sure appreciated CW's assurances of success! As to the cooking directions; I found conflicting instructions. One recipe from the WD/eng site called for boiling for 15 minutes then reducing the temperature for remainder of poaching time.
In the instructional pages prior to the recipes, the author discourages the boiling practice.
I won't know what effects this process had on the ham , positive or negative, until Sunday.
Jim
-
- Frequent User
- Posts: 186
- Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 14:25
- Location: Blaine, MN
Gratitude to our Moderator, Chuckwagon.
Happy Easter Monday, Everyone!
Hey Chuckwagon! You were SO very correct, and I must admit to being somewhat skeptical. You had suggested that a simple "Boiled Ham" would taste exquisite.
A gross understatement, Sir.
That ham, even without any smoke applied, was the tastiest piece of cured meat I believe I have ever tasted. The meat was moist, not at all too salty, and surprisingly even very tender. The cure had penetrated completely and evenly, with the traditional pink color of a great ham. There was no hint of gray areas, even around the joints. Daughter-in-law claimed the bone for soup before the meal was over!
Thank you for sharing your expertise and recipe for "Hobble Creek Hog Leg" that helped make my first ham experience a resounding success!
It was the center piece of my son`s Easter Celebration Dinner, and for just a few moments, the talk of the table.
Jim
Hey Chuckwagon! You were SO very correct, and I must admit to being somewhat skeptical. You had suggested that a simple "Boiled Ham" would taste exquisite.
A gross understatement, Sir.
That ham, even without any smoke applied, was the tastiest piece of cured meat I believe I have ever tasted. The meat was moist, not at all too salty, and surprisingly even very tender. The cure had penetrated completely and evenly, with the traditional pink color of a great ham. There was no hint of gray areas, even around the joints. Daughter-in-law claimed the bone for soup before the meal was over!
Thank you for sharing your expertise and recipe for "Hobble Creek Hog Leg" that helped make my first ham experience a resounding success!
It was the center piece of my son`s Easter Celebration Dinner, and for just a few moments, the talk of the table.
Jim
- Chuckwagon
- Veteran
- Posts: 4494
- Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 04:51
- Location: Rocky Mountains
Gentlemen, you are making me blush!
Thank you SO very much for your kind words and comments. I am delighted and overjoyed that this project has worked so well for you. These are the kinds of words that makes my job worth its effort. Your words are my pay and today is payday! I am truly pleased that the ham turned out so well. And..... it didn't take a lot of spices and herbs to make it taste great eh?
Again, thanks for your kind words gentlemen. You are the BEST!
Best Wishes,
Your Sidekick & Saddlebum
Chuckwagon
Thank you SO very much for your kind words and comments. I am delighted and overjoyed that this project has worked so well for you. These are the kinds of words that makes my job worth its effort. Your words are my pay and today is payday! I am truly pleased that the ham turned out so well. And..... it didn't take a lot of spices and herbs to make it taste great eh?
Again, thanks for your kind words gentlemen. You are the BEST!
Best Wishes,
Your Sidekick & Saddlebum
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill!