Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Smoking a fresh ham.

Had a pig butchered a while ago and want to thaw out a fresh ham and smoke it. Any suggestions? Do I treat it just like a pork shoulder?

I have put a ham on a BBQ pit and cooked it just like one would a shoulder. Pretty good eating too.

I would.


However I would like to find a green ham and cure it.

For a fresh ham I brine for 10-12 days. Takes that long for the cure to get to the bone, bigger ham = more time. Then low temp smoke for 12-18 hours. Eats real good. Make my own brine, kosher salt, brown sugar, pink salt, couple bay leafs handful peppercorns.
RAS

I was going to brine a ham, but decided it was not worth my time. But artery pumping is supposed to distribute the brine better and shorten the soak time

The old folks dissolved salt into water until a floating egg showed a dime sized top above the water. Remember doing that, don't remember how long they brined.
Those hams could hang in thge smokehouse into spring.
Would mold a bit, might get a couple maggots, cut that off and eat the rest.


Mom sugar cured with a rub, injecting a brine around the bone.
Good, maybe better. But not really cured.

OP,
I take it you aren't cursing, just smoking.
Never did it, but I'd guess it's not going to be as good as a shoulder.
Shoulders have a lot of connective tissue, that cooks soft and gives the
end product flavor and mouth feel. (Chuck roast vs other roasts)

And shoulders have around 20% fat.
That is key to keeping the meat moist during the hours under heat.


If in your position I'd either cure that ham or eat it fresh,I'd buy butts to smoke.

But I'm damn fussy about what I like in food,.
Know exactly what a decent "pulled" pork should be and will be disappointed
In something dry and with less flavor. (Don't even like it pulled, I cut it up to avoid any "strings")

There used to be a guy here in town that had a restraunt that did burgers and barbeque. He had a concrete blockhouse smoke room that he could cold smoke in and used hickory sassfrass and a couple other woods. Dad took him a green ham and it stayed in the smokehouse 2 days. It was the best meat I had ever had to that point in my life.