VA, I remember your fridge smoker, bet it works like a charm.
I make my bacon about the same way as VA. Sometimes I use a dry cure, rub it in let it cure in an old fridge for 7 days per inch of slab.
I like to use dry cure and brine for hams......Whole hams can weigh 18 to 25lbs, I like to cut mine into more manageable pieces, for me 3 to 5lb hams work great. The process is quicker too. I do large ones every once in awhile for special occasions, but my family is small and we can not go through a large ham very fast.
I also like to use morton products. Everything you need is included in their dry rub and brine mixture.
Make sure to chill your meat before starting, also cure your meat at a temperature of 36 to 40 degrees. I have outside fridges that I use for this.
When I'm doing a ham I like to brine the smaller ones, and combination cure the larger ones. (rub the outside with dry cure and pump brine into the middle of them) I leave them in the cure for 5 days per inch of meat.
After your ham has cured you need to let it sit for a few days to let the salt equalize...this usually takes around 5 to 14 days, depending on the size of the ham. This is especially important if you are planning on aging your ham, the salt content needs to penetrate the meat all the way to the bone to prevent spoilage.
Soak your meat in cool water for an hour to remove some of the saltiness on the outside, pat dry, place in covered container and put it in the fridge to equalize.
After you have cured, and equalized the salt content you have a choice of smoking or aging your ham. An aged ham is usually called a country ham, they are pretty strong tasting. You can age your ham anywhere from 6 months to 12 months. Ideal temperatures for aging are from 70 to 85 degrees. After you have aged your ham, then you have the option to smoke it.
Do not smoke the ham first if you are going to age it, the enzyme needed to age a ham is destroyed at temperatures above 95 degrees.
I do not like aged hams, so I skip that process and go straight to the smoking process after curing and letting the salt content equalize.
Make sure your meat is dry before smoking, wet meat will not let the smoke penetrate and there will be streaking.
Since bacon and ham cures contain nitrates, they can be cold smoked. You can also smoke them anywhere from hours to days.
You can make bacon and ham with brines that do not contain nitrates, but they can not be cold smoked, you need to use a hot smoke. I smoke my bacons and hams at around 95 degrees. (everyone has their preference)
You can cut off a piece of ham while smoking, fry it in a skillet to check for smoke content. Leave it in your smoker longer if needed. It's better to undersmoke your ham than have it too smoky to eat.
(I like to do that with sausage too.)
I smoke my bacon slabs at least 4 hrs and my hams at least 8 hrs....longer for the large ones. I chill and slice the bacon, wrap and freeze. Also chill and wrap the ham and freeze.
Here is how I make canadian bacon............
http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=160804&highlight=canadian+bacon
When I run out of home made bacon, I make more using pork roasts, I butterfly them to lay flat (1 1/2 inches thick).... brine or dry cure, smoke them, chill and slice.
You can give it a try on a pork roast for a practice run.
I know I probably left some things out.
I use an old home made smoker and have used the barrel method in the past.
I'm now working on a smokehouse.....it's 3/4's of the way finished. I'll let you know how it goes. lol
