Smoked ham at home

8 servings
3 hours

Prepare meat first - it's our main ingredient! Take meat with veins of fat so that it does not turn out dry. Not only ham is suitable, it is quite possible to take both a pig's neck and a brisket. In addition, beef and veal can be prepared in a similar way.

Wash the meat well, dry with paper wipes.

Salt the meat on all sides. I use ordinary white salt, but you can also take salt with additives: Swan or Adyghe.

Also pepper the meat from all sides. I use a mixture of hot peppers, but you can take some one kind: red or black. You can also take some of your favorite seasonings: garlic powder, suneli hops, fenugreek - all this will work in dried form and just rub the meat with these spices. You can also take pieces of fresh garlic and insert it into a piece of ham, making cuts with a knife. Leave the meat to marinate for 1-2 hours.

For smoking, we need special chips for smoking, it can be alder, apple and other trees. I have apple chips. Soak the chips in water for 2-3 hours.

Then drain the water, and squeeze the chips.

In a smokehouse or in a barbecue with a lid, heat the coals. If you are preparing food, it is recommended to use embers from high-quality firewood, best of all birch. It is also quite possible to take ready-made embers of factory production, you just need to heat them well.

Scatter chips on coals, put a grill.

Lay out the marinated meat.

Cover. Periodically open the hole in the cover so that the coals do not go out. It is necessary to maintain the temperature of coals and smoke from chips. Count the cooking time as follows: it will take 1 an hour to prepare 1 kg of meat. It took me 2 hours for my piece. Pierce the meat with a sharp knife - clear juice should flow out, not blood, which means the meat is ready.

Tasty both hot and cold. Enjoy your meal!