Un-Ham Recipe

    Hello all!

  My daughter just had her 10th birthday.  So some days ago last week I needed to come up with a birthday meal for her, and the family that was coming over.  My kids will usually eat most everything, even if it's not their favorite.  But my kids do love pork, go figure. 

   My wife had suggested ham, but I just wasn't wanting that cured/salty flavor.  I'm not against it at all, just not something my palette had a taste for.  So I decided on pork roast, garden vegetables, skillet cornbread, and bread pudding w/bourbon sauce for dessert.

   When I went to the store I noticed that the pork shoulders had a real nice layer of fat left on top, I had to get them.  I've cooked pulled pork a variety of ways this spring summer already and didn't have a taste for pulled pork either (I'm usually not this picky).  Then I remembered my wife mentioning she wanted ham.  This is when I started putting things together...

   I will make Un-Ham a gonefishin original

  I brined the pork shoulder in a solution with spices that would give you the flavors of ham, without the overly "hammy" flavors.

  Brine
gallon water
cup of salt
1/2 cup sugar (I used brown)
peppercorns
cinnamon sticks
juniper berries
whole cloves
a little bit of anise seeds
I let it set for roughly 24 hours, then rinsed it with cold water.  Dried it and set in fridge uncovered for  roughly 12 hours.

  Since I wanted this to remind me of ham, I didn't want to take it to a pull.  I cooked it low and slow, then let it rest to come to a temperature around 175.  I had thought about if I should go lower or higher (to the 190 slicing area)...but the meat was glistening with the fat breaking down and the texture was really what I wanted around 170ish, so I pulled it and rested long.

   For the smoke I used some lump charcoal, white oak and cherry as my finishing wood.

   It turned out really well.  Although it was funny as people were trying some "samples" as I was slicing it.  They had a confused look on their face, then continued to say that it taste like ham...but it doesn't.


   Take care all!

Dan

TasunkaWitko wrote: sounds REALLY good dan - and i also am impressed with the creativity and innovation!   if i'm reading you right, it sounds like you did just fine with the 170/175 internal; as i recall, one can go up to 180 or possibly 185 to slice, but any more than that, and you're pulling. having said that, if the meat, fat and everything else looked the way you wanted it, then THAT was the time, and it sounds like it was a resounding success for the party!   excellent job on a gonefishin original!

  Hi Tas!

   I was expecting to come to the 180-185 area as well, but I remember checking it and everything looked right, then I shrugged my shoulders...and pulled it out of the smoker.  It does still bewilder me a little bit.   Pulling it at 170, I gave it time to rest up to 175-178 area (which is still lower than the 185ish I was planning on taking it). 

   Oh, it had such a nice fat cap left on it too.  That was the whole reason I picked them up in the first place.  I couldn't just walk on by, they looked too good.

   Speaking of cracklin'
   I recently got back from a Memphis/NoLa/Swamp vacation and we stopped at Billy's Boudin & Cracklin' Shop on the way home.  Oh my were they good!  Full belly thickness pieces of dripping goodness.  After my first bite I just sat there with a smile on my face.