Ham Smokin'

Smoked Ham

 

Yesterday, I was staring at my new smoker and wondering what I should cook up next when my wife saw me.  She walks over and says “Ya know, ya oughta smoke a ham.”

So, off to the internet I went looking for some help.  I found several sites but the jist of it was that you smoke the ham about 4 hours to an internal temp of 140-150 degrees.  Most also used a glaze.

The interesting part was whether or not you use a “cured” ham (already cooked) or a raw one.  I don’t ever remember seeing a raw ham in the grocery store, so I decided on a ham already fully cooked. 

I went down to the store to see what my selections were.  Turns out there was hardly a choice.  It not being a holiday, they only had a couple to choose from.  They did have an already cooked spiral sliced ham but I thought I’d rather slice it after the smoking.  I grabbed a five pound sugar cured ham for $1.99 a pound.

I got this $10 ham home and went to work.  First ting, of course, was to clean the smoker from the last time I used it.  Smokers, like bbq grills get backwards treatment in that after you use it, you just let ‘er sit.  Unlike anything else you use to cook that gets cleaned immediately and put away ready for the next use.  Interesting!

The first thing I did was rub a Dijon style honey mustard all over the ham.  Then, I rubbed it all over with brown sugar.

I let it sit while I fired up the smoker with a full pan of water and a smoke box of pre-soaked “cherry” wood chips.  Once the smoker gets up to about 200, it’ll start smokin’ and your ready to add the ham.  I had pulled out two of my three racks and had left the last one close to the bottom.  The rubbed ham went directly on the rack.

I’ve learned that the trick to smokin’ with a gas smoker is to make sure there’s plenty of wood chips in there to keep the smoke going and to keep the water pan with water as to provide moisture for whatever you’re cookin’.

After an hour, I turned the ham over, added some more cherry chips and some water and let ‘er go another hour.

After that second hour, I pulled out the entire ham.  I placed it on some foil and sprayed that baby with some canned pineapple juice.  I had debated whether to use pineapple or apple as another recipe mentioned and decided on the pineapple.  Then wrapped the ham with the foil and put it back in the smoker.

Now, at this point, you don’t need to add any more chips cause the smokes not gonna make it through the foil.  You might not need the moisture either, but I added some water to the pan.  The indirect heat at 225 is what you’re looking for.

After another hour, I pulled out the ham and unwrapped it making sure not to allow any of the juices to run out the foil.  One recipe called it making the foil into a “boat.”

I poured brown sugar all over it, then sprayed it with some more pineapple juice.  The spray immediately made the brown sugar into a glaze.  Then wrapped it back up and back in for another hour.  I also added some more water to the pan.

After another and final hour, I pulled it out.  I checked the internal temp and got right at about 145.  This bad boy was ready and I was dying for a taste, but nope, ya gotta let ‘er rest for a while cause it worked pretty hard in that heat.

Most recipes agreed between 15 and 30 minutes so I figured what the heck  30 minutes oughta do it.  That bad boy should be well rested and ready for a knife and fork.

I unwrapped the ham.  I slowly cut a circle around the bone, then cut off two slices.  The first one had glaze on it, so I let it sit on the plate, while I gave a taste of the second juicy slice.

Oh my god, you gotta try this!  Delicious!

Now, I’m not like most recipe publishers who would leave things right here.  I want to tell you the bad as well as the good.

First off, some of the meat closest to the outside was a little dry.

There’s a lot of fat on a ham, and there’s skin over that.  You have to cut it off.

If you’ve ever carved a small ham with bone, it’s about as easy as carving a turkey or a chicken.  You end up with a lot of chunks.  That’s ok, ‘cause you can use them and that fat, along with the bone for ham and beans.

Unless you’re using a huge ham like they cook in restaurants, you’re not gonna get a lot of thin sandwich ready slices, even with a slicer.  Be prepared to eat delicious smoked ham sandwiches with pieces.

I don’t think it makes a big difference what kind of wood you use.  While I was cooking, I thought, “this cherry smoke smells just like hickory and mesquite smoke.”  It’s smokey.  You experiment and decide if you think it makes a difference.  Let me know.

Lastly, a whole ham is covered with that layer of skin and fat.  That’s the outside, except for one end.  I wonder if there’s a necessity to glaze it.  Maybe just spray it or baste it to keep it moist.  I don’t know.  I’ll try to remember the next time I smoke one, and I’ll let you know.

I’ll definitely do it again but I’m sure this won’t be one of those weekly things, maybe once or twice a year.  I’m thinking when I have guests so I can use a huge ham.

All in all, the smoked ham was delish and I give it a thumbs up!

 Enjoy!

Cole Slaw

I was lucky enough to grow up in a household where both Mom and Dad cooked.  Mom used the old red and white  Better Homes cookbook and lot’s of Family Circle recipes.  Dad was a fireman and you know how those guys cook. Plus, Dad had cooked at some lunch counters/ diners as a teenager.

Anyway, one of the things my Dad made best was his cole slaw.  This was long before KFC was around.  I never saw him use a recipe, he would just throw together the ingredients.  He’d slice a head of cabbage and throw in some Miracle Whip, just a little vinegar, and some celery seed.  It always turned out great.

Of course, once you get married now you join another person from a household that they believe had the best food around.  The trick is to mix and match until you find the right combinations that satisfy you both.

Here’s the Cole Slaw we now make at our house.

Cole Slaw

In a 2 cup measuring cup, mix together:

    1 cup Miracle Whip
    1/8 cup milk
    2 tbspn sugar
    ½ tspn celery seeds
     ½ tblspn apple cider vinegar

Pour this mixture over about 10 ounces of chopped/sliced cabbage.  We came up with 10 ounces because our local grocers sell precut cabbage in 10 ounce packs.  We use the one with carrots added but you decide if you want carrots or not.

Stir it up real good, cover and refrigerate.  We make it at least two hours before we eat to let the ingredients blend or “marry” as many cookbooks call it.  If we’re gonna have ribs or chicken for dinner and we want some slaw with it, my wife will make the cole slaw in the morning and let it sit in the fridge all day.  Then when you get ready to eat, stir it real good again and serve.

Carrots aren’t the only variation.  My brother’s wife adds pineapple and marshmellow.  I like ‘em.  My Dad would have a “hissy.”  We’ve also been known to put some rasins in there (there's a few in the batch in the picture).  I have some friends who add chopped onions and green bell pepper, but I tend to skip those.   Then, there’s the old Miracle Whip salad dressing or real mayo controversy.  You decide.

So, experiment and I hope you find just the right combination that fits your family.

Enjoy!

Note:  I updated the recipe on 6-7-2013.  I realized I missed an ingredient, the apple cider vinegar.
 

Grilled Cheese and variations thereof...

Some people are just nuts for grilled cheese sandwiches.  My wife is.  Then there’s  my niece who used to eat grilled cheese for breakfast.  I’ll have to ask her if she still does it.  I wonder if her husband does?  They’ve also got a new baby who will be old enough before long for a grilled cheese introduction…..hmmmmm.

Anyway, inexpensive, quick, and just down right delicious.

Just in case you live in Siberia and although you are looking at my blog, but have never tried a grilled cheese sandwich, here’s what you do.  Butter some bread.  Put a piece or two of American cheese in between with butter side out.  Grill.

Now, let’s talk variations.  One of the easiest is simply changing the cheese.  Maybe some provolone or swiss.  Then my wife adds some miracle whip.  Yep, before grilling.  Several years ago, we went to a little Mom and Pop place and they had added red onion and sliced tomato.  It’s fantastic and we still do it.  I of course, like dead animal products so I’ll add some roast beef, bologna, or chicken.  Every so often, we’ll skip the cheese all together and just have some grilled roast beef with bbq sauce (sometimes ham and bbq sauce).  How about ham and cheese, grilled… with mayo…..  Or, how about a little tuna salad or some salmon.  Listen, you could go on and on and on……  I’m really not sure about anchovies….

Enjoy!

Midwestern Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

A few weeks ago, my friend Craig and I were talking about home.  We’re both from Missouri but both live in California.  His dad and my parents both still live back there.  We were talking about what we miss and don’t miss about the Midwest.  Of course, we talked about humidity, snow, and reminisced about growing up there.  Then the subject turned to food.  One of the things we both agreed on, we miss those fantastic tenderloins they have in the restaurants back there.  So, yesterday, we and our wives got together and made some.  They turned out fantastic!

They are so easy to make.  It’s basically, flattened pork tenderloin, breaded and fried.  Yup, that easy.  Here’s our step by step.

Pork tenderloin sandwiches

One package pork tenderloin (NOT pork loin, it’s gotta be tenderloin)

Flour

Salt and pepper

Eggs

Milk

Ritz crackers

Corn oil

Ok, there’s the ingredients.  Here’s what we did.

First you gotta fight with that silverskin on the meat.  Scrape, cut, and pull ‘til it’s all gone.  Sounds difficult but only takes a few minutes.  Then cut the tenderloin.  If you’ve never had one, the tenderloin is a long muscle about two inches in diameter.  So, ya look at it and say, how in the world do I turn this into a bun sized patty.  I cuta piece off about 2 -2 ½ inches, then you butterfly it, meaning you cut a slit about half way but you only cut it about half way through.  Then fold it out and hammer it flat.  The thinner the better.   Repeat until you’ve either run outa meat or you have enough to make a sandwich or two for each person.  I layer these between some wax paper then put them back in the fridge.  Smashing them down is pretty easy.  We have one of those tenderizing hammers which work good, but I just use my fists and play Rocky music in the background.

Then you gotta grind the ritz crackers.  I use a Cuisinart food processor, but a mortor and pestle work good too.  A wooden spoon in a measuring cup does just fine.  Speaking of fine, that’s the way you want your cracker meal.  I guess you could buy it, but for some reason the stores where I live, don’t carry it..

Put flour in a bowl and mix in a little salt and pepper.  Then throw two eggs in another bowl and put in just enough milk to give it the consistency you’d want for scrambles eggs.

Heat some oil to 375 degrees.  I use an electric fryer but you can do it on the stove.

Take your tenderloins out of the fridge and separate.  Take them one at a time, coat in the flour, dip in the egg wash, then cover with cracker meal.

Put straight into the hot oil and let it cook until it’s a golden like fried chicken or chicken fried steak..  It’ll only take a few minutes.  Turn it to ensure you have cooked both sides.

Put them on a plate with a paper towel.

Then prepare a bun (we like sesame) with some mayo or miracle whip, lettuce, tomato, and if you like dill pickle slices.  Some like ketchup.

Eat, enjoy, and talk about Missouri!

Smokin’

Last week I was looking at BBQ grills.  I have a nice one and don’t know why I look, but I do anyway.  This time of year (spring) they always have a good selection.  Anyway, I saw a nice upright, Charbroil, gas smoker ON SALE!  I’ve wanted one forever, so I looked at the wife, who said “Happy Father’s Day.” Even though, the holiday is weeks away, I knew that she meant to get it and don’t expect anything else ‘cept maybe a card.

Smokers are so easy to use and the food comes out great.  You soak some wood chips.  I like hickory and apple but have used citrus.  You can buy them at the grocer or hardware store.  Don’t use plywood or treated lumber though….  I soak ‘em for about two hours but they say (whoever they are) 30 minutes is enough.  I throw about half package in a bucket and let ‘em soak.  I pull out what I need and let the rest stay n the water.  Fire up the smoker and put some water in for steam and put the wood chips in the smoke box.  (Men, read the directions that come with the smoker!) Use your favorite rub on some meat of throw in some veggies or both and let ‘er cook.  The smoker will slow cook at about 200-250.  If your heat starts going higher, you need to add some water, or turn it down a notch.  Veggies only take an hour or so, but meat will need to cook ‘til it’s the right temperature.  My pork butt took about six and a half hours to get it to 170 internal temp degrees (measured with a meat thermometer.  Baby backs are the best on a smoker.  And chicken… Mmmmmm!

Enjoy!