By Steven Raichlen
- Total Time
- 7 hours’ smoking, 6 days’ curing, plus prep, cooling and drying time
- Rating
- 4(70)
- Notes
- Read community notes
A true ham, weighing 15 to 20 pounds, comes from a hog’s hindquarters. It’s a formidable piece of meat, requiring several weeks of curing and 24 hours or more of smoking. A shoulder ham (sometimes called picnic ham) has a similarly magisterial appearance and profound umami flavors, but in a size that will fit in your refrigerator and can be cured and smoked inside a week. When possible, buy a heritage pork breed, like Berkshire or Duroc, preferably from a local farmer or butcher.
Featured in: Yes, Ham Can Be a Surprisingly Easy Spring Project
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Include recipe photo
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:12 appetizer servings or 6 to 8 entrées
- 2cups kosher salt (preferably Morton)
- 1½cups honey
- 1packed cup dark brown sugar
- 2tablespoons Prague powder #1
- 6cloves
- 6allspice berries
- 3fresh or dried bay leaves
- 3fresh lemon zest strips
- 1tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 1fresh skin-on, bone-in (9- to 10-pound) shoulder ham (sometimes called picnic ham)
For the Brine
For the Spice Bundle
For the Ham
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
643 calories; 29 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 54 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 53 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 678 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
Step
1
Make the brine: In a large pot, place 2½ 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.
Step
2
Make the spice bundle: Tie the cloves, allspice berries, bay leaves, lemon zest and peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth.
Step
3
Stir the spice bundle and another 2½ quarts ice water into the brine, remove from heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
Step
4
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 1½ inches apart. (This is optional, as you’ll remove the skin, but it facilitates injecting and gives the ham a striking appearance.)
Step
5
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 1½-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.
Step
6
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.
Step
7
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 1½-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.
Step
8
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.
Step
9
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.
Step
10
Place the ham on the grate, fat-side up, using indirect heat, and add 1½ 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 1½ 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.
Step
11
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.)
Step
12
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.
Ratings
4
out of 5
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Greg C
One tip I learned for firing up you charcoal smoking is employing the “Minion Method”. This works by placing your charcoal into your smoker or grill in a ring shape and adding small about of burning charcoal into the center so it burns slowly from the inside out, thus, maintains temps. I can get 8-10 hours of steady temps employing the Minion Method.
Andrew Vancouver
Just a quick note about salt. 1 cup of Morton's kosher salt weighs 241 grams. If substituting a different brand of kosher salt, the same weight of salt should be used (2 cups x 241 grams/cup = 481 grams). Do not substitute different brands of kosher salt volume for volume (cup for cup). For example, 1 cup of Diamond kosher salt (the brand I use) weighs only 137 grams so this recipe would require 3 1/2 cups of that salt (481 grams/137 grams per cup = 3.5 cups).
Diane - Glendora
I used a 7lb pork picnic ham. Brined 6 days and dried per the recipe. Enclosed with foil in my Cameron Stovetop Smoker with 1Tbsp Applewood and 1Tbsp Hickory shaving. Smoked over med-low for 1 hr, then emptied out the drippings, replaced wood shavings per above, and smoked another 1 hr. Moved covered ham in smoker to 250°F oven for 90 min, then uncovered and glazed w Brown sugar glaze, returning to oven until ham hit 165°F. It was the best ham I've ever eaten!
Linda Dietrich
My father raised and smoked his own fresh hams. The best.
Paul
This was truly one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever cooked. There is a lot of work that goes into this ham but the final result superseded any and all expectations. I used a Weber Kettle grill to smoke the ham with the “Snake Method”. This allows you to place all the wood chunks that will eventually smoke the ham before lighting the briquettes.
Leigh
We found the final result really salty. We also couldn’t find a skin-on ham so not sure if that was the difference, but given the work that went into it I wouldn’t make this again.
Luther
Insanely delicious! Followed recipe using 10lb pork shoulder. 1 cup kosher salt. Everything else as instructed. 8 hours in smoker with hickory wood. After done removed some of the fat, although there was very little left, and added a simple glaze. Back in smoker at 325 for about 20 minutes. Truly the best ham I've ever had and I have many decades under my belt. This is worth buying a smoker for if you have the room for one. Many thanks for an incredible recipe and perfect directions!
thebigcafeteria
A picnic cut is significantly less fatty than most butt cuts and I would not sub this cut considering it’s preparation.
Diane - Glendora
I used a 7lb pork picnic ham. Brined 6 days and dried per the recipe. Enclosed with foil in my Cameron Stovetop Smoker with 1Tbsp Applewood and 1Tbsp Hickory shaving. Smoked over med-low for 1 hr, then emptied out the drippings, replaced wood shavings per above, and smoked another 1 hr. Moved covered ham in smoker to 250°F oven for 90 min, then uncovered and glazed w Brown sugar glaze, returning to oven until ham hit 165°F. It was the best ham I've ever eaten!
Helene
What, pray tell, is Prague Powder #1? (Of course, I immediately want some.)
Luther
Prague Powder #1, also known as Instacure 1 is a curing agent that is used in sausage making, curing pork (like the recipe here) etc. It's what is used to keep meat from spoiling.
Andrew Vancouver
Just a quick note about salt. 1 cup of Morton's kosher salt weighs 241 grams. If substituting a different brand of kosher salt, the same weight of salt should be used (2 cups x 241 grams/cup = 481 grams). Do not substitute different brands of kosher salt volume for volume (cup for cup). For example, 1 cup of Diamond kosher salt (the brand I use) weighs only 137 grams so this recipe would require 3 1/2 cups of that salt (481 grams/137 grams per cup = 3.5 cups).
Stephen B.
I'm wondering if this recipe can be followed up to the point of smoking the ham--and instead, omit the smoking and go directly to roasting in a slow oven. (Not that I dislike a smoked ham, but that is just a bridge too far for me.)
Andrew Vancouver
Yes for sure you can. You could also add 1.5tsp of liquid smoke to the brine to impart a smoke essence to the ham. https://www.smoker-cooking.com/liquid-smoke-in-brine-recipe.html#:~:text=Use%201%201%2F2%20teaspoons,smoke%20added%20to%20the%20brine.
Jim W
Should the number of days brining be cut down if you use a pork loin or smaller cut of meat?
Mike Friedman
It's the other recipe linked to the article.
OceanBeachSF
Would this recipe work substituting a pork butt for the picnic ham?
Luther
The butt is "front" of the picnic without the shank attached to it. So I would say you'd be good to go.
Greg C
One tip I learned for firing up you charcoal smoking is employing the “Minion Method”. This works by placing your charcoal into your smoker or grill in a ring shape and adding small about of burning charcoal into the center so it burns slowly from the inside out, thus, maintains temps. I can get 8-10 hours of steady temps employing the Minion Method.
Private notes are only visible to you.
