Can I use store bought ham to make Kielbasa ?

[CanuckAM]

I am wondering if I could use a store bought smoked and cured ham to make kielbasa.

I would like to smoke the kielbasa and have it shelf stable instead of having to freeze.

Any recipe and suggestions would be appreciated.

[Nutczak]

Using a cured, pre-cooked ham, grind it, and then stuffed into casings?

I do not think it would give you the flavor or the texture you are looking for or that would be palatable at all. there would be no binding of the ground ham, it would be salty, crumbly, and quite nasty in my opinion.

Now if you were to purchase a fresh raw green ham (the hind leg of a pig that has been skinned and still raw with no seasoning, curing or smoking) you would still need to add some backfat to get a proper texture and moistness.

You would be much better off getting a "Boston Butt" or a pork shoulder in it's raw natural state.

I make a cured & smoked kielbasa with pork shoulder that has an excellent flavor, texture, and shelf life if packaged correctly and kept refrigerated.

here is the recipe;
10 pounds of pork butt, you want at least 20% fat for this one
5 Tbs kosher salt
1Tbs Sugar
2 tsp granulated Garlic
2 tsp Cure #1
2 Tbs coarse ground Black pepper
1.5 cups ice-cold water
You can also add 1.5 tsp of marjoram if you like, but it is not needed.

separate fat from meat, cut fat in cubes and place in freezer until stiff
Grind you meat through a coarse disk, grind fat separately and get it in the fridge to keep it cold.
re-grind the meat through fine disk
mix all seasoning and cure with ice-cold water, add the slurry to the meat and mix, when fully mixed add the ground fat, mix quickly so it stays cold and does not smear. refrigerate uncovered overnight. (it is a wet sticky mix, so it helps to dry it a little before stuffing)
Stuff into 38-42mm hog casings. Hang sausages on smoke sticks to dry the casings at room temperature for up to one hour.
preheat smoker to 120 degrees, vents open 100%.
Add sausages and run the smoker at 120 for 2 hours with no smoke, then 140 with heavy smoke for 2 hours, then increase temps to 180 degrees and cook until sausages reach 160 degrees internal. Immediately spray or soak sausages with cold water until down to 110 internal. refrigerate.