Taz;

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!  And many more to come also.

However, as far as the smokers go, I'm like Schultz:  "I know notting!"

I do have the model "G" BBQ though.

900F

Are they electric/charcoal or gas???

I have had a number Luhr Jenson and now I have a Char-broil water smoker.  It is electric and I love it.  Just do it a piece from the house.  Wife is going to be gone next week so beaver fleshing and smoking wild boar hams will be Tues and Wednesday.

Glad to hear she luvs ya.

BEAR

thanks, 900f!

bear - i've also got the big and little luhr-jensens - love them for cheese and jerky as well as otehr applications. i have three of the "R2-D2"-type charcoal smokers and they all perform very well, also. i prefer charcoal or wood smokers even though the propane/electric ones are more convenient.

she went to get the new smoker over the lunch hour and it looks like wal-mart raised the price overnight by 20$, which isn't much but is when you have four kids and this is kind of a luxury item anyway. looked at several alternatives around town but none were better than this one or what i already have, so the plan for now is to wait until next payday and then get it then.

of course, i looked pretty dejected as we walked out of the place - the only thing missing was a can to kick around to go along with the hands in the pockets, the hanging head and the shuffling gait....maybe she'll take pity on me and get it anyway; that will be a nice surprise for when a get home!

one bit of good news - pork shoulder was 98 cents/pound, so i grabbed one (7.5lb) and will be giving this thing a try this or next weekend. should be good!

Ron,

You might try their sight to store option. I don't know much about it but my wife does that when an item is less expensive on their web page. Then you have it shipped to the store and don't have to pay shipping. Only draw back is you have to wait a few days.

Just a thought

Wing master

Ron,  need your help soaking/smoking/cooking two wild boar this next week.  Wife is gone all week so I have a poker party Monday evening and plan on curing and smoking two large wild boar rear hams.

I want to debone them first.

Any and all curing recipes welcome.

I agree the charcoal thing takes better, but I'm decatant.....electric is my choice.

BEAR 

randy -

that was my next idea but when i checked online a little while ago, the damn price at on walmart.com also went up by the same amount last night. i guess i should have written them a bum check yesterday?

138$ one day, 158$ the next - and during an "economic downturn," no less! i will survive and wait until the next payday, but it is a bit of a disappointment.

Bear

I used to smoke hams all the time, this should get you started.

For each 25 lbs of ham

five quarts cold water

one pound salt (non iodized salt, pickling or kosher)

one cup powdered dextrose (you can use one and half cups brown sugar instead or I've used two cups maple syrup for sugar, two cups honey also works)

2/3 cup instacure #1 (sodium nitrite)

If you want to add spices such as ground clove, allspice, nutmeg, pepper or garlic you can add to brine before injecting, I try to not over do it but a little spice is good, I start with 1 tsp or so of one spice.

Mix this all together and inject hams to 10% of weight, I just use fl ozs, so 14 lb ham gets 2 to 2 1/2 cups injected (I've done up to 40lb hams off of big hog, brined for week and smoked for 3 days, smaller ones are better though)  Try to get it spread out so no pockets are formed.  If your going to bone them, I would roll them and put in stockinette or just tie with cotton twine.  Place hams in plastic bucket and cover with left over brine for 3-5 days in frig.( I usually end up having to make up more brine to cover, with boned out they may fit better in container and you may need less extra brine)

I take out ham and rinse and dry before smoking.

To smoke, I like low and slow,  120 for first 8-12 hrs (no smoke, draft open) then 140 for next 8-12hrs (hickory or maple smoke, draft half open) and finish at 165 (draft closed) until 150 - 155 is reached in center of ham.  With wild hog, I would cook to 160 if tricousis(sp) is a concern.

Ham is fully cooked and can be eaten as is, or if you want to stop at 140 you can finish cooking before serving.

I've had good luck with this and I personally prefer the maple smoked with the maple syrup cure and smoke.

I have also used this brine for bacon, just cut the instacure #1 to 1/3 cup and use less time smoking.

BEAR wrote: Ron,  need your help soaking/smoking/cooking two wild boar this next week.  Wife is gone all week so I have a poker party Monday evening and plan on curing and smoking two large wild boar rear hams. I want to debone them first. Any and all curing recipes welcome. I agree the charcoal thing takes better, but I'm decatant.....electric is my choice. BEAR

sorry, bear, i missed your post! looks like roberts advice is good! if you have any other questions, let me know and i will get some answers!

Thanks Robert and Ron.

I just got back from my traplline.  Going to start deboning in one hour.

Can Insta-cure #1 (sodium nitrite)  be purchased in a large supermarket?  or is there another name or chemical I could substitue??

thanks

good news - we "poked around in the couch cushions" and came up with a way to come up with the extra 20$. went up and purchased the smoker.

it's not often that i "blow" money on something that would be nice but don't really need - i gotta admit that i'm glad i did this time ~

already done, RD - in fact, i did tht last night and had a small problem. the firebox door must have gotten TOO hot, because the paint disappeared over a large portion of it. i have it rubbed down with oil for now and will repaint it if necessary, but i also sent an email to brinkmann asking for a replacement door.

looking forward to the first wmoke with this thing - i've gone ahead and named her "charlene...." why? because i figured my wife would get mad if i named it "Giada...."

Bear did you smoke those hams yet?   If you did, how did they come out, if not when?  We need a report and pics.

Sorry no pics I forgot.

First I trimmed away a lot of fat, and then deboned them.  Then I cured them 3.5 days using the sodium nitrite, sugar/salt, spices, etc.  Then I smoked them open (both sides got smoke since the bone was gone,  4 hours with the temp on 170 oF.

Then I tied them up with butchers twine, and enclosed 4 strips of bacon in each ham (inside the wrap).  I used bacon strips around the outside and them put them in the oven with a thermometer inside.  Bake pan was closed and I added a 1/2 inch of orange soda in the Bottom to keep them moist and control temperature in the roaster to 210 oF maximum.  In 45 minutes at 325 oF they thermometer read 175 and I took them out.  Tasted delicious.  Put them in 2 gallon zip-lock bags with orange soda around the outside and quick froze then.

My smoker is a water unit, but electrical with a temperature control.  that means less air as none is needed for the charcoal/fire.  I used wet hickory sawdust, and it smoked like a old shed.

Sounds good, I hadn't thought of useing orange soda for glaze.  Did it give much orange flavor?  I bet that would be good on birds, maybe lemon lime soda on chicken. 

I updated my big propane smoker to an electrical with temp control also,  Masterbuilt http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602009-cat570001-cat20120&id=0034425516721a&navCount=2&podId=0034425&parentId=cat20120&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=QX&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true - http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard -item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A& amp;_DAV=MainCatcat602009-cat570001-cat20120&id=00344255 16721a&navCount=2&podId=0034425&parentId=cat2012 0&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=QX&am p;rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS= true

before Christmass, got it from Bass Pro on sale for $149 shipped, unit went out the first time I used it, they stood behind it, but it took more than a month to get new unit, I've used it six or eight times since, it's about 5cft in size and works better than 25cft propane smoker for small batches.

bear - that sounds completely delicious!

the orange pop is a great idea and well-suited for ham. as you know, i use dr. pepper for my rib mop, mixed with soy sauce. for soemthing lighter i've been thinking of using 7-up or maountain dew. now i am thinking a 7-up/orange pop on top of coutry style ribs.

keep em going!

>>>Currently I am using a Brinkman upright charcoal burner. It works good, but doesn't call for the aromatic wood.<<<

if you're talking about the black R2D2 units, they work great with any wood of your choice - i do it all the time and made some damn good ribs and chicken with it last year:

those brinkmanns can do anythying the big boys can - just not as much of it!

i'm sure they're good, KP, but don't know too much about them. for 800 dolalrs they'd better come with a pretty little boat girl to do your laundry and give you you nightly massages.

i've made some really good stuff for a lot less. the R2D2 smoker cost me 30$ at wally-world. this new SnP (on the orginal post) was 138 the day before i bought it and 158 the day i bought it. i was a little pissed about that, but learned to survive.