How I Made Ham - updated with final pics

Since ham has been mentioned in a couple of threads, I'll share my ham experience early. I would normally wait until after I glaze the ham. I smoke the ham before Christmas and then I glaze and cook it on Christmas Eve for the family party.

I began with two 22-pound fresh pork hams. I kept 1 whole and cut 1 in half. I keep the whole ham and then give the two halves to friends. I cut the hocks off the ham to get ham hocks.




Both sides of the ham, skin on. Step 1 is to trim the skin off each side and remove the aitch bone.




The next step is to cut the hocks off and to cut 1 ham in half.




I mixed a brine with water, salt, sugar, prague powder, pickling spice, extra cloves. I injected the brine into the hams and then let the hams sit covered in the brine for 2 weeks.

Time to smoke the hams. Hams went on the smoker for 9 hours with hickory wood. Pulled them off, let them cool for an hour, then placed them in large plastic bags and covered them with ice in an ice chest to cool them down.






Ham hocks were pulled off much earlier than the hams. They already went into a pot of red beans!




Hams are smoked and ready for Christmas.

The final step will be to glaze and bake the ham. Or, you can slice it cold if you'd rather.





UPDATE: ham glazed and baked, carved and served.