How to Kill a Ham

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I am always trying to fine tune my cooking on the Traeger smoker
and the other day I tried cooking a bone in Ham, with a little more heat, to see if I could get the middle meat a little warmer than 155*.

Most of my hams have been cooked low and slow at 225* but this time, I cranked up the heat to 350*.

I figured 2.5 hours would be a good time to put the temp probe into the meat and check it at 3 hours...................
Wrong.

When I went to insert the probe, the meat had already taken on a dark color and the meat looked like it was already done.
At 2 hours and 56 minutes the probe read..................
189* !!

I shut the heat down to 165* to hold the heat, since it was outdoors in 56* weather but it would not be served for another 3 hours.

Have no fear...............
the meat turned out moist and full of flavor and enjoyed by all.

If you are in a hurry, 350* will work for you..........
but I will use 225* and just accept that it will take a little longer to cook and washing the pan will be a lot easier.

 
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That looks amazing. I love ham, so if you get tired of leftovers I would be glad to dispose of them for you.
 
Guy that cooked the ham for the Big Thanksgiving meal we went to cooked it in a crock pot. Very good, moist and tender.
 
Looks good to me. You'd almost have to intentionally try to ruin something while grilling on a Treager.

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Venison Roast
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Eric300, could you vaccuum pack some of that venison and ship it on dry-ice to me? We could come to terms $$$ :D

Seriously, that looks good enough for a vegan to try.
 
Was this a fresh or a cured ham? I can't tolerate salt so I always smoke
fresh hams, when I can find them.
 
I guided a quail and pheasant hunt over Thanksgiving.
We lost our cook this year and could not find another in time so I have been doing double duty as guide and chief cook and bottle washer.
The Traeger at the ranch saved my bacon. The time it takes to cook something and the improbability of ruining a meal with it allowed me to stay in the field longer and prepare side dishes.
Wednesday night was rib eye steaks. I prefer my steaks over a charcoal grill but on the highest setting the Traeger produces a passable steak.
Thanksgiving was prime rib night. I don’t pre-smoke prime rib on it. It gets plenty without it.Next night was whole chickens. The last night was hamburgers.
Tough to beat a pellet grill for ease of cooking.
 
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