ga.prime":38tcd8n7 said:
Nice spread. I'm sure interested in knowing the honey baked brine composition and how long you soak the meat in it. Have you tried a butt that way?
There are several ways of doing it depending on your taste so I'm a little torn on what to give you so I'll give you two that are really good.
The first one is really sweet and will taste as good if not better than the honey baked hams you buy at the store.
Sweet Molasses Ham
Bone out an 8 lb boston butt and you should have about 6 lbs of meat.
In a bowl add
1 cup of molasses
3/4 cup kosher salt
2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
3 Tbs of garlic powder
3 Tbs of onion powder
3 tsp of Instacure or Cure #2
Mix all this together good and stick the meat in a plastic bag and pour this all over it and work it over the meat good. I double seal the bag. Stick this in the refrigerator for 2 weeks being sure to rotate and work it every day or so to be sure everything is covered well. Take it out of the refrigerator and rinse the meat off good and let it soak in clean water for 2 hours. Take it out and tie it into a tight ham roll then hang it till its dry. (you can pat it with towels to speed this up) Once dry put this in a smoker at 200 degrees and apply a heavy smoke to it and pull the meat when the internal temp reaches 140. Let it rest good before slicing.
GP, if you like honey baked hams this is the one.
The other one is a little milder and less sweet with a mild hint of garlic in it. Here is the recipe for 2.5 gallons of brine which is enough to do three 8 lb butts.
Bone out 2 - 3 butts.
Add boil 2.5 gallons of water and let cool. (this is for safety sake and if you trust your water don't worry about it)
In a clean 5 gallon food grade bucket pour the water then mix 4.6 lbs of salt to the water.
In a sauce pan add 2 cups of water and add 1.3 ounces of salt peter you could adjust and use cure #1 if you wish. When cool add this to the bucket.
Add 2 lbs of sugar of your choice. (molasses, brown sugar or whatever your taste)
Add 8 cloves of minced garlic.
Mix well. This should yield a 70 degree brine if tested with a salinometer.
Once mixed add the butts to the bucket and put a plate on top of them along with a weight to be sure they are submerged. Put in fridge for a day per pound. Ie, if you put in 3 8 lb butts just submerge them for 8 days. (10 won't hurt)
Take them out and rinse them and soak them for 30 minutes. Tie them in a roll doing a better job than I did in the photo and smoke them like the other cool and rest.
This one is mildly sweet with a hint of garlic it tastes a bit more like a sugar cured bacon rather than a ham. Sliced and cooked like country ham or bacon its pretty good.
Both are good eating just depends on what you're craving.
AC, you have a standing invitation for anytime. :tiphat: