Worthy goals, indeed - and ones that we at Ochef.com share. Technically, there is no such thing as an uncured ham; it is the curing that makes a pork roast (cut from the hind leg of the pig) a ham.

(continued from home page) As with grilling a turkey or any other large meat, the challenge is getting the inside cooked fully before the outside is scorched. This calls for indirect heat, which means your grill must be large enough to have the coals or other heat source on one side and the ham on the other. What is important is that you get the internal temperature to 160°F (71°C). It will probably take 15 to 18 minutes per pound, depending on the temperature of your grill.

If you’re cooking with charcoal briquettes, you may want to add soaked wood chips to the fire to impart more flavor. Hickory and mesquite are the most common choices, although apple or other fruit woods would work especially well with ham.

A.D. Livingston, the prolific cookbook author, offers the following recipe for Smoked Fresh Ham in his book On the Grill (Canada, UK).

He wants you to make a cooking sauce with a small can of crushed pineapple, a diced onion, a cup of dry white wine, 1/2 cup of lemon juice, and 1/2-teaspoon of cayenne pepper, all pureed in a food processor. Trim the ham and rub it with salt in advance. When you’re ready to cook, wipe the salt off, put it in a roasting pan, baste the ham with all of the sauce, and stick a half-dozen cloves into it here and there.Then pop it into the grill and close the hood. After an hour, turn the ham over, baste again with the pan drippings, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to baste periodically until the ham is done. Check it with an instant-read thermometer (avoiding the bone) to make sure it is cooked through.

You may need to add wood chips periodically. You’re also likely to need more charcoal for the fire, which, Livingston suggests, you light in another container and let burn for a half-hour or so to get up to temperature, before adding to your grill.