Ham

A ham is nothing but a fresh pork leg, cured for about a week in a salt water solution, similar to what happens to bacon. If you do it right, it will be the moistest, tastiest piece of pig you have ever eaten!

First thing you need to do is get a fresh ham and remove the skin and most of the fat. You can turn the skin into cracklins and cook the fat down to lard should you wish. Makes the kitchen smell like holy hell, but it is very good.

Next, get a 5 gallon food grade bucket, or line a plastic bucket with a turkey roasting bag. Make your brine by mixing together 3 gallons of water, 2 cups of kosher salt and 3 tablespoons of Prague Powder #1, or pink salt. Not to be confused with Himalayan salt, pink salt is the active ingredient that turns your pig into ham.

Inject your fresh ham with the salt water solution to cover every square inch of the ham. If you don’t thoroughly inject the ham, you will just get roast pork, which isn’t bad, but it’s not ham. Place the injected ham with brining solution in the bucket or bag and refrigerate for 7-10 days. When the ham is ready to go, the brine should be relatively clear.

Once the curing is complete, smoke for about 5 hours at 325F, or until it reaches 145F. During the last hour, you can glaze the ham with your favorite glaze or BBQ sauce. Cut, serve, and enjoy the best ham only Honeybaked could dream about!

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