BRINE FOR HAM CURING RECIPES

Steps:

• Prepare the brine. Blend half the water (12 cups), kosher salt, sugar, pink salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, and mustard seeds together in a large stockpot. Bring to a gentle boil and stir until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from heat and let it cool. Stir in the remaining 12 cups of cold water. You can add some ice to speed up the cooling process. The brine needs to be completely cool before adding the meat.
• Prepare the meat. While the brine is cooling, prepare the ham. Use a sharp boning knife to remove the shank and femur. The shank has more connective tissue and takes almost twice as long to break down as the rest of the meat. Reserve it for another cooking application. Removing the femur is optional. Keep in mind that the meat cooks quicker, more evenly, and is easier to slice when boneless. Trim any tough outer silverskin but keep the fat on. Don’t cut away too much tissue or the muscles won’t stay intact. Use kitchen twine to truss the ham into an even, round piece of meat if desired.
• Submerge the hog ham or hams in the brine and refrigerate for 3-5 days, or about 8-12 hours for every pound.
• Prepare your smoker according to manufacturer’s instructions using your choice of wood: hickory, apple, or cherry. Set the temperature to about 180 degrees.
• Remove the meat from the brine and rinse very well with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and set it on the top rack of the smoker if possible. Have a small bowl or tray of foil filled with water sitting on the bottom rack directly underneath to release steam.
• While the ham is smoking, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, stir the mustard, vinegar, honey, and pepper together until smooth.
• About 2 hours into the smoking process, and every hour after, lightly baste the ham with the glaze. Smoke the ham until it reaches 160 degrees internally in the thickest part of the meat. If smoking a venison ham, smoke to 150 degrees. If you find that the meat begins to stall, you might need to increase the heat of the smoker to 200 degrees. The total cook time will be anywhere between 8-12 hours, depending on the size of the ham.
• Serve warm or let it cool to room temperature and chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours before eating.
• *Brine the shanks with the rest of the hind quarter and add to the smoker for a few hours. It will absorb plenty of wood-smoked flavor and can then be transferred to a crockpot to finish tenderizing with onions, beans, and greens for a smoked hock stew.

Steps:

• CURE:
• In a large bowl or pot, whisk together PS Complete Ham Cure and water to create a brine.
• Remove 13 ounces of brine and inject it into the ham, being sure to inject around the bone. It is important to inject the amount of brine equal to 10 to 15% of the ham’s weight, into the flesh of the ham.
• Place ham in a large pot with lid and pour the remaining brine around the ham. The ham should be completely submerged in the brine. Cover with plastic wrap, and press down on the ham, then cover with a lid. Refrigerate the ham in the brine for 2-4 days (we recommend one day for every 2 lbs. ).
• After 4 days, remove the ham from the brine, and soak in cold water for 2 hours, changing out cold water after 1 hour. (Note: Another way to lower the sodium content of the ham is to refresh the water more frequently. For a less salty ham, change the water ever 30 minutes for 2 hours). Remove the ham from the water, place it in a glass baking dish, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• SMOKING:
• Remove the ham from the refrigerator, uncover, and blot dry with paper towels.Preheat the smoker to 130° F.
• Place the ham in a stockinette and hang it from 2 hooks latched onto 2 stacked top grates. Add ⅔ pan of moistened sawdust and smoke for 3 hours, with dampers ⅓ open.
• After 3 hours, remove the pan of charred sawdust, then add another pan of moistened sawdust on the burner. Increase the temperature to 160° F and smoke for another 3 hours.
• After 3 hours, remove the sawdust pan and close dampers. Increase the temperature to 185° F, and cook until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 150° F.
• Remove ham from the smoker, then refrigerate overnight, or freeze for future use. Note: A fresh, bone-in ham will take approximately 1 hour 20 minutes per pound to smoke at temperatures listed above.
• BAKING & GLAZING:
• Preheat the oven to 325°F. To heat the ham, place it on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, and bake uncovered. For a whole ham, allow 15 to 18 minutes to the pound; for a half, 18 to 24 minutes per pound. The ham will be ready when the internal temperature reaches 140°F.
• Remove ham from the refrigerator 1 hour prior to roasting. Remove stockinette, then score the ham’s fat cap, creating a cross-hatch/diamond-cut look.
• If you're one of those types who like their hams plain, then you can slice and eat as is after letting your ham rest in the refrigerator overnight. Or dice it up and toss it in your favorite soups, egg dishes, and more.
• If you want to take it to the next level, we recommend baking and glazing with a sweet glaze, like this Citrus, Pineapple & Tequila Glaze version with pineapple juice, brown sugar, orange marmalade, a hint of tequila, and fresh lime juice.