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On March 20th, Spring arrives with hope and promise of some really great barbecue!
Continued from Page 1
Choose a ham large enough for your purposes. It should have no more than a
thin layer of fat. Trim any excess and allow to come to room temperature.
Fire up the grill for hot smoking - about 175 degrees. Lay by a goodly
supply of green hardwood or begin soaking dry hardwood chips. White oak,
apple, pear or other fruitwoods should dominate with hickory added.
Lay on the ham, fat side up, away from the coals. Close the grill lid and
reduce the air supply. A steady stream of smoke should exhaust from the
stack. The temperature shouldn't get over 215 degrees for any length of
time. If the wood flames up it will deposit a layer of black soot on the
outside of the ham. Wipe it off with a damp cloth.
It is a good time to throw 10-20 lbs of sausage on the grill. This will
smoke down (and actually cook) much quicker than the ham. Any left-over
sausage will freeze as well as ham. Makes great start for red beans and rice.
Keep the smoke flowing for 8-15 hours. How long really depends on the size
of the ham, what you plan to do with it and what your plans are while the
ham is smoking. The heat and smoke are melting the external fat, drying
some of the added water and allowing real smoke to penetrate into the meat.
There is no real danger of it burning or overcooking.
When you are ready, shut down the draft on the grill and close all vents
to let things cool down. When cool enough to handle easily remove from the
grill. Slice only enough for immediate consumption. Let the other rest
until cool. Cut into convenient size pieces and bag in freezer bags. Remove
as much air as possible. Ham frozen this way can be cut while in its frozen
state if necessary. It will keep for six to eight months, but it will
rarely get a chance.
When you go to cook up that pot of greens or beans, boil the smoked ham
slices a few minutes to allow the seasoning to fully disperse into the
water without having to cook the greens as long. And will make a Yankee
pucker up to whistle "Dixie."
Enjoy.
© 2000 by Smoky Hale
Smoky
C. Clark Hale
8168 Hwy 98 E.
McComb, MS 39648
Smoky's 5th basic position for really great barbecue'n.
'According to Smoky' is © by C. Clark Hale
who is solely responsible for its content. Comments
should be addresses to cchale@bellsouth.net
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