Does anyone know what this thing is?  Poor critter was born having bad hair
days.


I was born this way... what's your excuse?




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Thid can be done with a store bought Ham that has been precooked
Easy Ham Recipe
Ingredients
For this recipe, you'll need...


   a.. A half ham - butt or shank end
   b.. 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
   c.. 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
   d.. 1 teaspoon dry mustard
   e.. 1 teaspoon black pepper
   f.. 1 teaspoon paprika
   g.. 1 cup orange juice
   h.. 1 cup pineapple juice
   i.. 1 cup brown sugar

Rinse the ham and trim off any loose flaps of fat or skin. Combine the dry
spices (don't use the brown sugar here) and season the entire surface of the
ham.




Smoking the Ham
Place the ham in a smoker and keep the temperature between 200F - 225F. Smoke
the ham with hickory, pecan or oak for 4 to 6 hours. Since the ham is a
ready-to-eat ham, it just needs to be warmed before eating. An internal
temperature of 140F is a perfect serving temperature.

Combine the orange juice and the pineapple juice, and use it to baste the ham
every half-hour or so as it smokes. Combine a little of the juice mixture with
the brown sugar and coat the top of the ham with it an hour before removing it
from the smoker.
(Place the ham in a shallow pan in the smoker if you're concerned about getting
the sugary juice and brown sugar on things)


This easy ham recipe is a great way to spice up an everyday ham. Instead of
using a true ham (from the back leg of the porker) you can use a picnic ham (the
front leg) with equally good results.



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Brining Meat to Keep it Juicy
Brining meat seems to be a sort of "cooking secret" that many people still do
not know anything about or use.


I started out brining turkeys way back and I have since tried about every meat
imaginable. Some meats are affected little while others are affected alot.
Regardless, it is a process that is extremely simple and can be implemented by
anyone wishing to better their culinary skills.

As you know, I deal only with smoking meat but this process of brining meat can
even make an oven baked turkey a little more juicy and delicious even if it
isn't smoke flavored with real wood smoke.


What is Brining
Let me begin by explaining exactly what brining meat is and what it does then we
will get into the how-to part of the equation.

Brining comes from the root word "brine" meaning salt. Basically when you put
salt into a bucket of water and add a piece of meat...we'll say a turkey for
instance, a scientific process called osmosis begins to take effect. This
process seeks to equalize the amount of salt on the outside of the turkey with
the amount on the inside.

As you very well know there is little if any salt inside the turkey therefore
the salt and water is drawn deep into the meat fibers of the turkey creating the
process we call meat brining. The really neat thing about this process is that
you can add other spices, herbs, flavorings, etc. down into the bucket with the
salt water solution and it will get drawn in as well and thereby flavor the
meat.


I have tried various types of meat and plain and simple I just do not think it
effects beef and pork all that much. Poultry on the other hand is a totally
different story. The first time you carve that turkey after it has been brined
and then smoked you will see how much juicier and tastier it is.... there is no
comparison.


Brining Meat Ingredients and Process
The water to salt ratio is 1:16 or 1 cup of Kosher salt per gallon of
non-chlorinated water. I usually require around 2 gallons of water to cover a 12
pound turkey and therefore I use 2 cups of kosher salt. Any seasonings you
choose to add after the base solution should contain little or no salt else the
brining meat you are using can become too salty. I use a brick inside a large
zip-loc bag to keep the turkey submerged.

Here is a recipe I use occasionally:

2 Gal Water
2 Cups Kosher Salt
3 Cups Sugar
1/4 Cup Zatarains Liquid Crab Boil
4 TBS Black Pepper
1 TBS Dried Rosemary
1 TBS Thyme
1/4 Cup Molasses
1/4 Cup White Wine (not Cooking Wine)
1/4 Cup Worcestershire


Soak a 12 pound turkey in this mixture overnight or 10-12 hours in the fridge


Experiment with Your Favorite Brine Ingredients
You can get real creative with meat brining and add pinches and dashes of this
and that until you find the right combination. On the recipe above you can leave
out the crab boil for a less Louisiana flavor. Try a dash or two of cinnamon for
a nice twist. Wanna spice things up a bit...add a few teaspoons of cayenne or
run a couple of jalapenos through the food processor and pour the puree into the
mix...oh yeah!

After the meat has brined for 10-12 hours take it out of the bucket, rinse the
meat real well making sure there is no traces of salt left on the outside of the
brining meat and discard the brine. Smoke (or bake if you must) as usual.

If any of you come up with some tasty concoctions please contact us and let us
know... we may even post the recipe with your name by it.

Good Luck!



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The Basic Turkey Smoking Process
Smoking turkey is best done after soaking the bird in a saltwater solution
called a brine which I will go over in detail on another page.

Basically the brine, through a process called osmosis, pulls the salt into the
turkey meat in an effort to equalize things a bit... you do not have to
understand why for now...just know that it works and that it works well. the
really cool thing is the fact that you can add other flavor enhancers such as
spices, marinades, seasonings, fruit juices you name it and it will get pulled
into the meat along with the salt.

After he turkey is removed from the brine it is washed down to remove all traces
of salt on the outside and then patted dry with a paper towel. The meat will
have a bit of a sheen and is now ready for the application of butter which is
rubbed all over the turkey especially under the skin. Be careful to not damage
or tear the skin more than necessary since the skin will protect the meat from
drying out while cooking and getting to much smoke.

I like to mix some Tony Chacheres cajun seasoning with the butter to give it a
little louisiana flavor but that is totally optional.

Place an onion cut into quarters, a few cut up stalks of celery, 2-3 cut up
carrots and an apple inside the turkey and he is ready for smoking.

Note: when smoking turkey always purchase one that is no more than 12-14 pounds.
Much larger than this and the meat stays in the danger zone (40-140 degrees) for
too long and that is just asking for trouble.

Place the Turkey Into the Smoker
Place the turkey on the smoker breast side down with the heat regulated to
around 225° or so. Make sure you have plenty of smoke flowing around the
turkey...I like to use mesquite when smoking turkey but other woods such as
hickory and oak work just as well.

See my new barbecue turkey recipe where I smoke a turkey for 9 hours using plum
wood.

Every hour or so I like to rebaste with some butter and turn the turkey a little
to make sure it is cooking evenly on all sides. Watch the wings and breast and
if they start to get too brown you can cover them with some foil.

The smoking turkey is done when the thickest part of the breast reads 175° and
the thickest part of the thigh reads 180°. I will usually remove the turkey
about 5° sooner than this since I know that the turkey continues to cook after
it is removed from the smoker and will raise another 7°-10° in temperature.



Wrapping Up the Turkey
Allow the turkey to "rest" for at least 15 minutes before carving to allow the
juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

Smoking a turkey should be on the list of things to do on Thanksgiving and
Christmas or any other day for that matter and it would not hurt to practice a
couple of times before then(you definitely don't wanna practice on the friends
and relatives).

Juicy smoke flavored turkey should be on the menu this thanksgiving and with a
little practice you will have raving fans that will want you to do one for
them...heck they may even pay you to do it!

By the way... smoking turkey takes about 30-40 minutes per pound. using this
calculation you can estimate what time you need to start in order for it to be
done with the rest of the food.


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A group of Alabama friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos
for the day.

             That night, one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the
weight of an eight-point buck.  'Where's Henry?' the others asked.

             'Henry had a stroke of some kind.  He's a couple of miles back up
the trail', the successful hunter replied.

             'You left Henry laying out there and carried the deer back?' they
inquired.

             'A tough call,' nodded the hunter.  'But I figured no one is going
to steal Henry!'









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Is there any life here?   Are any of the members still alive? Do you want to
keep this group going?

There has not been allot of activity at this group and I'd like get something
going.  I just got a Brinkman horizontal smoker with offset firebox.  Does
anyone have any recipes for meat rubs or how to go about using a smoker.  What
are the best woods for cooking and smoking? Do ya have a recipe for smoking a
turkey, Ham or ribs?  I've been doing some online reasearch and have learned
alot that I did not know but would like to hear from those who have been smoking
meats for many years.  What works and what don't?

Dan

I am sure folks still check this place out. if you have any questions feel free
to post. Also share your recipes.  Let's honor my Mom by keeping this going.

Jim Fritz