Best Jimmys Smoked Ham Recipes

HONEY-CURED, HICKORY-SMOKED SHOULDER HAM

Steps:

• Make the brine: In a large pot, place 2 1/2 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.
• Make the spice bundle: Tie the cloves, allspice berries, bay leaves, lemon zest and peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth.
• Stir the spice bundle and another 2 1/2 quarts ice water into the brine, remove from heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
• 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 1 1/2 inches apart. (This is optional, as you'll remove the skin, but it facilitates injecting and gives the ham a striking appearance.)
• 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 1 1/2-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.
• 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.
• 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 1 1/2-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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Place the ham on the grate, fat-side up, using indirect heat, and add 1 1/2 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 1 1/2 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.
• 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.)
• 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.

SMOKED HAM WITH SWEET HOLIDAY GLAZE

Steps:

• Season the ham with dry rub. Place plastic wrap over ham and put in refrigerator. Allow the seasoning to penetrate the ham overnight to give it a fuller flavor.
• Using indirect heat, preheat your grill to 250 degrees F. with hickory chips and charcoal.
• Place ham in an aluminum roasting pan and place on grill grates. Let smoke for 3 hours, making sure the temperature remains at 250 degrees F; adding more hickory chips and charcoal, as necessary. Remove to a platter.
• For the glaze:
• Place all ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat. Allow to simmer, cooking for 10 to 15 minutes, until the glaze is syrupy.
• Pour the warm glaze over the warm ham and serve immediately.
• Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

JAMIE'S CHRISTMAS JERK HAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180/350 degrees/gas 4. Put the ham in a large roasting pan with all of the poaching ingredients. Add water until it comes halfway up the side of the pan. Cover the ham with tinfoil ( making a tent over the ham to allow the steam to circulate).
• Bake for two hours or until pink and cooked through, remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes, remaining covered.
• While your ham poaches add the bay leaves and the dry spices to a food processor with the garlic cloves. Whizz it to form a paste then add the onions and chillies and whizz again.Pour in the rum and malt vinegar and keep whizzing while adding the thyme. Once it has a nice loose consistency the marinade is ready.
• When the ham has had it's 30 mins out of the oven, transfer it to a roasting tray and let it cool down a bit. While it's still warm, put your hand underneath the skin and gently pull it away from the meat, leaving a bit of the fat underneath attached. Then with a sharp knife, score the ham by lightly making diagonal cuts across the leg.
• Spoon the marinade over the pork (using the back of a spoon,it's hot stuff!) and into the scored fat. If you want to use your hands to rub it in PLEASE wear gloves!
• You can cover the ham with cling film and chill it overnight if you wish, or cook right away.
• Pour a small glass of water into the bottom of the roasting tray and put the ham into the preheated oven for 2 hours (350/180 degrees). Try to baste it every 30 mins or so to get it good and dark.
• After the two hours are up, scrape a bit of the marinade off with a spatula ans spoon about 3/4 jar of marmalade over it and a good swig of rum on top. Smear this mixture all over the ham and let it drip down the sides too. Spoon the juices off the bottom of the pan back over the ham and put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes, basting every 5-7 minutes to build up the crust.
• When it's lovely and dark, it's done!

HOME-CURED HOLIDAY HAM

Steps:

• Place kosher salt, brown sugar, pickling spice, and pink salt in a container large enough to hold the brine and the ham.
• Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and pour over the brine ingredients; whisk to dissolve. Pour in 1 gallon fresh cold water to cool down the mixture.
• Score the skin side of the pork roast with a sharp knife. Cut into the fat beneath the skin but not into the meat. Score about 1 inch apart, then score in the opposite direction to get the classic diamond-shaped pattern.
• Lower scored roast into the cooled brine, skin side up. Use a plate to weigh down the roast so that it cures fully submerged in the liquid. Refrigerate for 1 day for every 2 pounds of pork (for a 7 pound roast, cure for at least 2 1/2 days). Turn the roast over halfway through the brining process.
• Remove roast from brining liquid. Discard the brining liquid and transfer the roast back to the brining container. Cover the roast with fresh cold water to rinse off some of the salt. Depending on how salty you want your ham, you can soak it for just a few minutes or overnight. Remove roast from the water and blot dry with paper towels.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add a cup of water to a roasting pan with 2 whole star anise. Place roast on a rack in the roasting pan.
• Roast until ham reaches an internal temperature of 130 to 135 degrees F, about 2 hours. Ham will not be fully cooked at this point. If water has nearly evaporated, add a splash more. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Continue to roast until skin is browned and crispy and ham reaches an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees F.
• To make the optional glaze, mix the mustard, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a bowl. Brush glaze on the ham at this point, not before. Return roast to oven for about 5 minutes to crisp it even further.