SMOKED PORK HAM ROAST RECIPES

Steps:

• Buy a nice large pork shoulder or fresh ham try to buy with the skin on the fresh ham. I am doubtful you will find a pork shoulder with the skin on it but you can try.
• THE NIGHT BEFORE: Take your pork shoulder or fresh ham and stab it all over making deep stabbings in the meat all over the roast. Next, take your salt and pour about two tablespoons full in your hands and rub deep all over the pork roast or fresh ham sticking your fingers in the deep stabbed holes to penetrate the salt well into the meat. Do this all around the fresh ham. You will need about 2 tablespoons of salt altogether. If it is a very large fresh ham you might need as much as three tablespoons of salt. Rubbing deep into the meat all over and into the holes made with a sharp knife. Please be careful with the knife when stabbing the pork so as to not cut yourself. Make sure your hands are dry as well as the handle of the knife when stapping the pork. You do not want your hand to slide down onto the sharp blade as I have seen happen when stabbing the pork.
• After salting put the pork to a side. In a blender add the lime/lemon or sour oange juice, garlic cloves, and the seasonings bay leaf, cumin powder, oregano, pepper, 1 teaspoon salt. Blend on high until all is liquified.
• This is your Cuban Mojo, pour one cup of the mojo in a jar cover and reserve for later.
• Now take your pork roast and pour the rest of the sauce all over the pork roast rubbing the mojo sauce deep into the pork meat in the slits or holes. The secret is to make sure you rub your pork meat roast or fresh ham with all this lime/garlic sauce making sure it is well introduced into the meat.
• When done sprinkle a little more oregano, cumin, black pepper over the entire roast again just a little sprinkle. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate until the next day for roasting.
• Next day remove pork from the refrigerator let stand on the counter for at least an hour then put into a preheated 325 degree oven.
• Depending on how large a roast you have roast about 3 to 4 hours or a little more.
• Pour a half cup of the reserved mojo and baste your roast every hour with some of the mojo.
• Roast is done when the juices run clear and the meat is tender. Do not cover with aluminum foil to roast. You can tent the roast with aluminum foil but do not crimp the edges all around. You want to roast your pork meat not steam it. I do not even tent mine.
• If the roast starts to get too brown on top tent it with the foil. Take a large piece of foil and fold in half then put over the roast leaving the sides open, no crimping. A five pound roast can take as long as five or six hours slow roasting. When done remove roast from the oven take out of the pan put into another pan. Let roast hang out for a bit.
• In your pan there should be lots of pan drippings. Pour them into a frying pan over medium heat and add the onions and fry them in the drippings.
• Next, take a half cup of the reserved mojo from the refrigerator and pour into the onions sauteing everything for about five minutes. After about 10 minutes slice all of your roast and pour the mojo with onions all over the meat mixing it well into all of the pork meat. Serve with Cuban black beans and white rice. There is another traditional dish served with the pork, rice, and black beans. It is called Yuca (Casava). It is boiled when tender it is served with the pork, black beans, and rice. It looks like boiled potato only it is long and very starchy. It is served with a mojo sauce that is also pored over it but only lemon or lime juice and fresh garlic are used. But that is another recipe. It is a tradition to also include that dish with the Cuban roast pork dinner. Don't forget the Crispy Cuban bread and the Sangria or wine, For dessert pass a delicious flan. Buen Apetito. Enjoy.

Steps:

• Remove all of the netting and wrapping from the ham and lay the ham on a cutting board or preferably down into a large foil pan.
• Pull the slices apart one by one and drizzle honey down in there.
• Add more honey to the top of the ham and the flat or front area. Spread it out with a brush or your hands.
• Pull back the slices once again and sprinkle a bit of rub down in between each one. Oh so good!
• Now apply rub all over the outside of the ham including the flat area in the front.
• To finish things off, drizzle more honey all over the top,sides and front of the ham.
• Tip: if the slices start to fall down in the front, use toothpicks to pin them up. I figured this out about halfway through the smoking process ;-)
• Set up your smoker for cooking at about 240°F using indirect heat.
• If your smoker has a water pan, fill it with hot water.
• We are going to apply light apple smoke for the full 3 hours that the ham is in the smoker.
• Most store bought hams do well if you smoke them at 230 to 240°F for about 3 hours. These are already cooked and the process is only to add more smoke flavor and to add seasoning and perhaps crisp up the outside here and there. If you want to smoke for less time, that is perfectly acceptable but results may vary.
• When the smoker is preheated, place the pan with the ham into the smoker. The pan will catch drippings and keep your smoker cleaner.
• Note: Some smokers such as the Bradley advise strongly against using aluminum pans in their smokers. I recommend that you follow the manufacturers advice for the safety and well-being of your smoker.
• After about 2 hours, you can opt to make the pineapple/root beer glaze and pour it over the ham. This is optional but recommended.
• Make the glaze using 1 cup of root beer, ¼ cup of brown sugar, 1 TBS of butter, 2 TBS of Jeff's original rub and ½ cup crushed pineapple (undrained).
• Add the ingredients into a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
• Bring to a boil and let it reduce for 6-8 minutes to thicken.
• When it's finished, gently pour it all over the top of the ham.
• Alternative glazing method if you did not use a pan in the smoker: Remove the ham from the smoker about 15 minutes early, place it in a oven safe pan or dish and pour the pineapple/root beer glaze all over the top of the ham.
• Place into an oven preheated to 275°F for about 10 minutes.
• After 3 hours of smoking/cooking time, the ham is finished and can be removed from the smoker.
• Remove the ham from the pan onto a serving platter and call dinner.