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March 20, 2024
For numerous American households, ham is the centerpiece of the Easter table, showing just about Rockwell-esque in our collective memories—burnished and wonderful, crusted with a sweet glaze and carved to expose a rosy, meaty interior redolent with salt and smoke.
Most men and women invest in hams that are brined (soaked-treated) with a curing agent like sodium nitrite. The hams are pre-cooked, this means they can be sliced and served as is. Or if you prefer to serve them heat, heat to 135 degrees. While they’ll taste smoky, number of of these commercial hams have found the inside of of a smokehouse the taste arrives from the liquid smoke integrated in the brine.
House-Remedied Ham
Are you up for a gratifying obstacle this 12 months? Want to serve a genuine house-cured ham to your visitors this Easter? There is a good deal of time for Smokehouse Shoulder Ham if you commence shortly. You are going to need to have a little bit of refrigerator house, a huge stockpot or other food stuff-risk-free container, a marinade injector and pink curing salt, also known as Prague Powder #1. The salt will give the ham its pinkish hue and deep flavor. (You can buy curing salt on line, but your butcher could be inclined to share a pair of spoonfuls with you.) A marinade injector can also be procured on the net or at a restaurant offer residence it resembles a significant hypodermic needle, and can be utilized to inject brine deep into the meat muscle, shortening the curing time.
Ultimately, you are going to need to have smoking chips (soaked for 30 minutes, then drained) or chunks and a kettle-fashion grill or other charcoal-burning grill with a lid. (A smoker is effective wonderful, way too.)
Make the brine: Incorporate the salt, sugar, pickling spice, curing salt, and 3 quarts of very hot drinking water in a substantial nonreactive pot and stir in more flavorings, if using. Boil till the salts and sugar are wholly dissolved. Awesome, then strain. Inject 2 cups of the brine deep into the pork shoulder at 1 1/2 intervals along the bone proceed till all the brine is applied.
Submerge the ham and refrigerate: Submerge the ham in the remaining brine in a humbo heavy-responsibility resealable plastic bag. Location in an additional big container to consist of any leaks. Remedy for 8 times, turning everyday. Midway by way of the curing time, evaluate out 2 a lot more cups of brine and pressure. Reinject the ham with it.
Drain the ham perfectly, then smoke: Heat your grill or smoker to 225 to 250 degrees. Incorporate the wood chips or chunks to the coals. Very hot-smoke the ham until cooked via. (The inside temperature ought to get to about 160 levels F on an quick-examine thermometer), 10 to 12 hrs. Insert the probe deep into the meat, but not touching the bone. (Optional: If you have the products, you can cold smoke the ham for quite a few hours at temperatures not exceeding 100 degrees.)
Glaze and reheat as desired: You can provide the ham hot off the grill or smoker, or enable it interesting to place temperature, then refrigerate right until you’re all set to provide. (It will keep, coated and refrigerated, for at minimum a 7 days.)
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