This is a basic recipe for curing a ham. You can add other herbs and spice to suit your tastes; this is something I want to experiment with. Although this calls for a 3-4 lb ham, it can easily scale to a larger piece. You just need to make more curing solution, leave it in the cure for longer, and cook longer.
Curing the ham
Ingredients
3-4 lb fresh ham
1 cup Salt, non-iodized
1 cup Brown sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1 gallon water
Make the curing solution
- Add salt, brown sugar and pepper to a large pot.
- Add half, 2 quarts, of the water and heat until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
- Add the other half, 2 quarts, of cold water and wait for the liquid to cool.
- Place the ham into a large container. It needs to be big enough to completely submerge the ham.
- Pour the cooled curing solution over the ham. You might not need all of it but make sure the meat is covered.
- Put a weight, I use a plate, on top of the ham to hold it under the liquid.
Cover, and place in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
Every day or two, check on the ham and flip it over. Curing is finished when the ham is firm throughout.
Smoking
Equipment
Smoker
Meat thermometer
Smoking wood chips. I use apple wood.
Directions
- Soak wood chips in water for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the smoker to 225 F and add the wood chips.
- Remove ham from curing liquid and rinse well.
- Smoke the ham for 2-3 hours, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 F
- Add wood chips as needed during cooking.
- Remove from smoker and allow to rest for 15 minutes
- Enjoy
What if I don't have a smoker?
You can still make ham!
One option is to use a gas or charcoal grill.
Weber has a great guide on using a charcoal grill as a smoker here. This is how I smoked meat before I got my smoker. It takes some extra work and experimenting to control the temperature but still makes a delicious ham.
If you don’t have a smoker or a grill, you can cook it in an oven but won’t get a smoky flavor. Follow the cooking instructions above, excluding the wood chips.