Sliced home-cured and smoked ham

Ham has gotten a bad name. The slimy, formless, skinless meat-like substance fills the lunch bags of kids, the buffet tables of your grandmother, and nearly every sandwich at the airport. It does not have to be this way. There are great American ham producers. Bentons makes a great ham (and the top rated bacon on this site). There are tons of great (and some bad) Virginia country hams. Unfortunately for some, Oscar Meyer makes a ton of terrible wet ham that is much easier and cheaper to get.

An additional issue with getting great ham is that you will likely need to buy a 12 to 15 pound ham. I know that my small family would not be able to take that much ham down in months and storing that much ham, so what to do? You could start a ham share, which is not a bad idea, but the alternative is to make your own. You do not need to cure and smoke an entire hog’s leg to make ham. You can make ham with the pork shoulder or in my case half of a pork shoulder, this is differentiated from regular ham by calling it a picnic ham. The result is something slightly less tender and with more sub-muscles, but no less delicious. Continue reading »