Homemade Smoked Ham

Posted byNoriePosted inPork, RecipeTags:
Homemade Smoked Ham

I found the recipe for this homemade ham on the Internet.  I thought I’d try it because I just purchased a propane gas smoker and I wanted to see if I could do it and also to see how the smoker worked.

It is a little trouble to make this compared to just buying cured ham and just baking it in the oven or boiling it in water.  But the satisfaction of being able to make it and making sure there are no unnecessary ingredients or preservatives is worth the trouble.  It tasted a whole lot better than commercial hams.  I will share what I learned with you if you are ambitious enough like me to try it. 

I would give credit to the person who posted this brine recipe online but I don’t remember it.

Buy a whole fresh ham (the rear thigh of the pig), but you can also use the shoulder.  Prepare the brine:

  • 1 gallon water
  • 1 1/2 cups of Kosher salt
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 8 tsp. pink salt or curing salt (sodium nitrite) This is very important to prevent food poisoning

You can also use Morton’s Tender Quick (which is not a tenderizer but salt with curing salt already mixed in the right proportion).

Stir all ingredients together until dissolved.  Place the ham in a large enough pot to hold it fully submerged but small enough to fit in the refrigerator.  Add the cold brine to the pork until it is covered in brine.  Pierce the pork in several places all the way to the bone to help the brine soak through the meat.  Weigh it down with a bowl or a heavy plate to keep it fully submerged.  You can also inject it with the brine in several places. Keep in the refrigerator to cure at the rate of 2 days per pound.  It could take more than a week but the longer it cures, the better. 

After curing, rinse it off, dry it with paper towels and cook it the way you prefer.  You can bake it in the oven or you can smoke it in a Texas BBQ grill or an electric/propane smoker.  Follow your smoker’s direction on how to use it. You can also take slices and fry them as needed.  If baked, bake in 325°F for about 3 hours.  Meat should register 160°F.

If you opt to smoke the ham, keep the smoker temperature at about 200°F to 250°F and smoke for at least 6 hours. Check the internal temperature with a thermometer not touching the bone. The meat is done when it registers 145°F to 160°F.