How To Smoke A Fresh Picnic Ham Food

HOW TO COOK A PICNIC HAM - SMOKED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Place picnic ham on a large roasting pan or baking dish, fat side up. Pour 3/4 cup of water into the bottom of the baking dish.
• Cover roasting pan with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour. This allows the rind to be removed easily.
• Remove the foil and peel the rind off the top of the fat cap. Cut cross check slits into the fat and about 1/2 inch into the meat of the ham.
• Puree remaining ingredients (oranges, brown sugar, vinegar, honey, mustard, cinnamon, salt and cayenne) in a blender to make the glaze. Brush some of the glaze all over the ham, making sure to get into the slits.
• Bake for another 2 hours, uncovered. Brush the glaze after 1 hour cooking time and then again about 30 minutes later. Bake the remaining 30 minutes.
• Once done cooking, the fat should be starting to crisp and the glaze nicely caramelized. Let the ham rest for about 5 minutes before carving.
• Carve the ham into nice sized serving slices. Serve with glazed carrots, potatoes, squash and more!

SLOW COOKER PICNIC HAM

Steps:

• Trim thick skin (rind), and fat off ham.
• Spread about 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar on the bottom off the slow cooker crock.
• Place the ham flat side down into slow cooker. Rub remaining brown sugar onto top of ham.
• Cover, and cook on Low for 6-8 hours.

BRINED FRESH HAM

Steps:

• To brine the pork:
• Combine all of the ingredients in a large container. Submerse the ham in the brine and let it hang out for 3 days in the refrigerator. (It's a plan-ahead but soooooooooooooo worth it!)
• To cook the pork:
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Remove the ham from the brine, pat dry and make slices in the skin to create a diagonal cross-hatch pattern.
• To make the paste:
• In a food processor, combine the rosemary, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, to taste, and about 1/2 cup of olive oil. Massage this mixture generously all over the outside of the ham.
• Put the potatoes in a roasting pan large enough to accommodate this whole shootin' match. Toss the potatoes generously with some olive oil and salt. Nestle the ham on top of the potatoes and toss the whole thing in the preheated oven. Check the pork in about 30 minutes, the skin should be getting brown and crispy. At this point, remove the ham from the oven and turn over, baste with any leftover rosemary/olive oil paste and rearrange the potatoes so they don't burn. Nestle the pork back onto the potatoes and return to the oven. Roast for another 30 minutes.
• Remove the ham from the oven after the first hour. Check the potatoes to see if they are getting a little crispy, rearrange them and add the chicken stock to the bottom of the pan to keep things really moist and juicy. Reduce the heat in the oven to 350 degrees F and roast for another hour.
• To make the glaze:
• While the ham is cooking, combine the Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard and honey in a small bowl. Remove the ham from the oven and brush it, generously, with the honey mustard mixture. Return the ham to the oven and roast it for about 30 minutes. Flip it over and brush again with the honey mustard mixture (really slather it on the pork). Roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Remove the ham from the oven, to a cutting board, tent it with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.
• Carve that baby and arrange the slices on a serving platter. Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and serve with the ham
• Go to town on that bad boy!!!!

GLAZED SMOKED PICNIC HAM

Steps:

• 1. First of all remove the ham from the cheese cloth bag that it comes in. In a large stock pot, place your smoked picnic ham, 3 Tbsp ground mustard and fill pot with cold water to cover ham
• 2. Timing from the time water starts to boil, boil ham for 20 minutes and drain water completely. Repeat this process 2 more times. After 3rd drain allow to cool a bit to handle.
• 3. At this point you will want to remove the rind but leave a little fat layer. Score the ham once the rind is removed Sprinkle lightly with the ground cloves (if you dont have ground cloves you can press 1 whole clove into each diamond section)
• 4. Place the picnic in a covered roasting pan Bake in preheated oven at 350 F for 1 hour.
• 5. While the ham is roasting, prepare your glaze. Then quarter your onions then peel and cube your apples. Set aside.
• 6. After an hour of roasting remove ham from the oven. Put quartered onions and cubed apples in bottom of roasting pan. Now glaze your picnic using a brush and cover it well. Cover roasting pan and put back in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove and glaze once again. Now you can pour and brush if you like depending on how thick you want the glaze. Put back in oven uncovered roasting for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Take Ham out of pan and put on platter allow to sit while you make gravy from the pan drippings. Once gravy is made you can slice the ham off the bone and serve. **Note** this gravy will tend to be a bit sweet but is very tasty.
• 7. This ham goes well with mashed potatoes, mashed rutabaga, all types of squash and fresh green beans.

HONEY-CURED, HICKORY-SMOKED SHOULDER HAM

Steps:

• Make the brine: In a large pot, place 2 1/2 quarts water, the salt, honey, brown sugar and Prague powder. Bring to a boil over high, stirring until the salt, honey and sugar are dissolved.
• Make the spice bundle: Tie the cloves, allspice berries, bay leaves, lemon zest and peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth.
• Stir the spice bundle and another 2 1/2 quarts ice water into the brine, remove from heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
• While the brine cools, prepare the ham: Using paper towels, blot the pork shoulder dry on all sides. Using a sharp knife, score the ham in a crosshatch pattern, cutting through the skin but not through the meat and spacing the cuts 1 1/2 inches apart. (This is optional, as you'll remove the skin, but it facilitates injecting and gives the ham a striking appearance.)
• Measure out 2 cups brine and place in a deep measuring cup. Place the ham in a roasting pan. Draw the brine into a marinade injector and inject it deep into the ham all over, inserting the needle at 1 1/2-inch intervals and drawing it out slowly as you depress the plunger, until the brine starts to squirt out of the surface of the ham.
• Place the ham in a large pot or food-safe bucket with a lid, or 3-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the brine and flavorings (plus any brine in the roasting pan). If using a plastic bag, tightly seal, squeezing out any air, and place the bag in the roasting pan to corral any leaks. Brine the ham in the refrigerator for 3 days, turning the ham twice a day so it cures evenly.
• Pour the brine into a large pot and set aside. Remove the ham from its pot or bag and transfer it to a roasting pan. Using the marinade injector, re-inject the ham with brine (using 2 cups again, or more, if you can get more in), inserting the needle at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Return the ham and all the brine to the bag. (You can use a fresh bag, if you wish.) Continue brining the ham in the refrigerator for another 3 days, turning twice a day so it brines evenly. When ready for smoking, the meat will take on a pinkish hue.
• Drain the ham in a large colander, discarding the brine. Rinse the ham well with cold water, drain again and blot dry with paper towels. Place it on a wire rack over a roasting pan and let it dry for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.
• If using a charcoal grill, set it up for indirect grilling and heat it to 250 degrees. If using wood chips, soak them in water to cover for 30 minutes, then drain. If using wood chunks, there is no need to soak them. (With a kettle grill, use less charcoal than normal to obtain this low temperature.) If using a smoker, heat it to 250 degrees following the manufacturer's instructions.
• Place the ham on the grate, fat-side up, using indirect heat, and add 1 1/2 cups wood chips or 2 wood chunks to the coals. Smoke the ham until handsomely browned and cooked through. (The internal temperature will be about 160 degrees.) This typically takes about 7 hours, but you may need more or less time, depending on your ham, smoker and the weather. Add wood chips (about 1 1/2 cups) or chunks (1 large or 2 medium) per hour to the embers to maintain a constant flow of smoke. Rotate your ham a few times during cooking so that it browns evenly, and drape it loosely with foil if it seems to be darkening too much.
• Transfer the ham to a cutting board and let it cool for 20 minutes. Pull off the skin. (If you're feeling ambitious, you can fry the skin in 350-degree oil to make smoke-flavored cracklings.)
• Thinly slice the ham across the grain and serve. You can serve the ham hot, at room temperature, or chilled. Refrigerated, it will keep for at least a week.