them (thus brine), but for HAM, you take out a small portion and put in No1 pink curing salt (for 6 legs I used 1 tbsp).... gotta be careful with it, the nitrates in it are what turn meat pink for ham.
But after you soak it, you kind of draw a little out by using fresh water for 15-30 minutes. Then, I dry them off, and let them sit in the fridge for 30 minutes (or in cold air at 35F (4C)). Finally, I use mustard, rub it on the leg, then sprinkle a solid coating of rub over the leg until it's fully covered.
Then it's onto the grill in the smoker, I guess you could hang em with hooks if you want, but I got my results on the grill plate.
For something like turning a pig ham into a real Christmas ham, same process, just more pink salt based on weight, a lot of people will INJECT the brine deep down into the meat so it disperses evenly and you don't get any 'white meat' (which is jsut unbrined meat and is good, but it will go bad faster than a ham, that you can keep a couple weeks in a fridge).