Smoked ham is good, but double smoked ham is better! This recipe for smoked ham will get it done.
Holidays at my house wouldn’t be the same without this smoked ham recipe. Store-bought ham (either whole or spiral) is okay, but this double smoked ham recipe made on the grill brings a whole other level of flavor. You think that smoking a precooked ham is overkill? That may be, but the depth of flavor you get is totally worth the effort!
The problem with most wet-cured hams is that they are dry when you cook them according to the instructions on the package, and the smoke flavor is barely noticeable. So for our double smoked ham recipe, we cook the ham a lot lower and slower to keep the moisture in, add just a little fresh smoke, wrap it in foil to hold in moisture, sizzle on a glaze, and make a thin sauce that will penetrate the meat and add back moisture.
The science of smoked ham
By far the most popular hams in the US are wet-cured hams, which are injected with a brine and then pre-cooked. The brine usually has salt, sugar, and spice and lots of stuff nice, and the cooking often includes smoking. This method was developed for preserving large hunks of meat like hog rumps long before refrigeration was invented.
Wet-cured hams are pinkish purple in color, often have a sweet glaze baked on, and are frequently put on a lathe where a blade can spiral cut them while they are turned. This makes carving them at the table a snap during Easter dinner and other holidays. They usually come in a plastic shrink wrap. If it says “cooked” on the package, you can eat it cold right out of the bag. But cured hams are better served warm with a sweet glaze to counterbalance the saltiness from the brine that was injected into it.
Since wet cured hams are precooked, in theory all you need to do is warm yours throughout, avoid high heat, and avoid cooking too long to keep it from drying. Standard cooking technique on the package and in all the cookbooks says to heat it at 325°F (162.8°C) until it reaches 140°F (60°C). But that is a “how to” for dry meat. If you take a little care with our smoked ham recipe you can really amp up the flavor to 11 on the grill, although the same method works fine indoors.
If your head is starting to spin, my article, The Science Of Ham, explains almost all of the different types of ham. It is worth a read if you ever hope to become a master hamster.
Recipe Overview: Double Smoked Ham Success Formula
- Buy: an 8-pound bone-in smoked ham, properly trimmed. You don’t want skin or a thick fat layer. You want the smoke and the glaze on the meat, not on the skin or fat.
- Prep the glaze and smoker: You can do the glaze well ahead of time. You want to make Chris Lilly’s spiced apricot sauce recipe. Preheat the smoker to about 225°F or a grill for the same temperature, setting it up for 2-zone cooking.
- Prep the meat: Remove the skin if it hasn’t been, and trim off almost all the fat. Rinse off the meat if there’s a glaze on it.
- Cook: the meat on a smoker where it will absorb the most smoke.
- Smoke: at 225°F with hardwood smoke for about an hour. Your choice of smoking wood is not critical.
- Remove: the ham and transfer to a large piece of foil with glaze in the middle, and pour half of the glaze over the meat. Seal it up in the foil and return to cooker.
- Glaze again: when the internal temp hits 130°F, open up the foil and paint on more glaze. Leave it open to catch more drips.
- Make sauce: using the drippings in the foil, baste and glaze again, about 10 minutes later. Transfer liquid from the foil into a small saucepan to make the sauce.
- Finish: the meat off by moving it to the hot side of the grill.
- Slice: the meat on a cutting board, inward, toward the bone.
- Serve: pour any remaining glaze into a gravy boat and serve alongside the sliced and now double smoked ham.
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Ingredients and substutions for smoked ham
Bone-in ham: There are so many pork cuts, and the world of hams is confusing, too. That’s an understatement, but it is worth getting a handle on things. Hams are cut from the top of the rear legs of hogs, from the knee to the hip, including the big meaty rump muscles. They can be divided into four broad categories: Fresh hams, dry cured hams, wet cured hams, and injected hams. They all make up the wide world of hams. But the one you’ll buy is likely going to be a wet-cured ham, with the bone in.
Chris Lilly’s Spiced Apricot Glaze: Chuck the glaze that comes with the ham and use the recipe inspired by the great pitmaster, Chris Lilly, executive chef at the famous Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur, AL, and author of Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint. His glaze is a balanced blend of sweet and savory with apricot preserves, honey, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire, soy sauce, as well as herbs and spices. It blows store-bought glaze out of the water.
Double smoked ham recipe, step by step
- Prepare your grill for 2-zone cooking and preheat it to 225°F (107.2°C)or fire up your smoker to the same temperature.
- Make 1 1/4 cups of Chris Lilly’s Spicy Apricot Glaze.
- Remove the skin and trim off almost all of the fat, leaving only a thin layer. If there’s a glaze on there already, rinse it off. For spiral-sliced ham, let some water get in between the slices to help reduce moisture loss.
- Smoke it on a smoker where it will get the most smoke. On a grill, place it on the flat-side down and add some wood for smoking. Close the lid and smoke for about an hour.
- Tear off a very long piece of heavy duty aluminum foil (preferred) and fold it in half to 3 feet in length. Add a little bit of glaze to the middle, add the ham, and pour half the glaze over the top and brush it around to coat evenly. Seal up the ham. Cook it until it hits 130°F (54.4°C).
- After about 10 minutes, open the grill and using a basting brush, baste the ham using hte pools of glaze in the foil. Add more full-strength glaze if you want. Transfer this liquified glaze to a sauce pan; this will be your sauce base. Taste as you go, adding more glaze or sauce as needed. Keep warm on the grill or indoors over low heat.
- If using a grill, leave the lid of the grill open and remove the thermometer. Lay the ham on a curved side so the glaze faces the heat.
- On a smoker, if you have a gas grill, fire it up and move the ham over direect heat. Stay and watch so the glaze does not burn. Do not walk away.
- Let the glaze sizzle, the sugars caramelize and develop more flavor. After 3 minutes roll the ham a bit, and keep doing so, rotating so all sides have sizzled, except the flat side. Leave it uncovered.
- Transfer to a cutting board and slice the ham inwards toward the bone, not parallel. Pour the remaining glaze into a gravy boat and serve alongside the sliced ham.
Double smoked ham FAQs
Yes! Almost all precooked ham you buy in the supermarket has been smoked.
Yes, you can smoke a ham without curing it first; it’s often called “fresh ham” or “ham leg.” When you smoke it, it’s going to taste more like roast pork than typical deli ham. You can brine it or treat it with a rub before smoking if you like, to keep it moist and add flavor.
Oh, there are a few. Overcooking it is one of them. Most ham you’ll buy in the grocery store is cooked and cured already. It really doesn’t need high heat. Just warm it up gently. Other mistakes come from leaving it in the oven uncovered (wrap it in foil, please), and not making or using your own glaze. It’s much more flavorful.
What to do with leftover double smoked ham
When your ham feast is all done and dusted, remember to save the bone for split pea soup, and if you play it right, there will be leftover ham. You can make ham salad, use it on Hawaiian pizza or eggs Benedict, but here are some of our favorite things to eat with or make with leftover double smoked ham.
- South Carolina Mustard Sauce
- Hoppin John Beans and Rice
- Smoked Cuban Sandwich
- Grilled Cheese and Ham Sandwich
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The Ultimate Smoked Ham Recipe And Video
Makes
About 6 1/2 pounds (2.9 kg) meatIngredients
Method
- Fire up. Prepare your grill for 2-zone cooking and preheat it to about 225°F (107.2°C) on the indirect side. Or fire up your smoker to 225°F (107.2°C).
- Prep the glaze. You can do this step well in advance. Make 1 1/4 cups of Chris Lilly's Spicy Apricot Glaze.
- Prep the meat. If the skin has not been removed, remove it, and trim off almost all the fat leaving no more than a thin layer. The fat does not penetrate the meat (fat is oil, meat is 75% water) and people will just trim it off at the table and there goes your glaze. If it came with a prepackaged glaze, throw it out. If there is a glaze already on the meat, rinse it off. Chris' glaze is better. If it is spiral-sliced, let some water get into the sliced areas to help reduce moisture loss.
- Cook. On a smoker place the meat where it will get the most smoke. On a grill, place the meat on the indirect side flat side down, add a handful or two of wood for smoking as described in my articles on the Best Setup for a Charcoal Grill, the Best Setup for a Gas Grill. Close the lid, and smoke for about 60 minutes.
- Tear off about 6 feet (2 m) of aluminum foil, if you have double strength, that's better. Fold it in half to make it about 3 feet (1 meter) in length. Pour about 4 tablespoons of the glaze into the center of the foil. Take the ham off the cooker, place the flat side on the glaze on the foil making sure you don't puncture the foil with the bone, pour 1/2 of the glaze mix over the meat and spread it all over with a brush. Seal the meat and glaze in the foil making it look like a giant candy kiss. Crimp the seams tight. We don't want any steam escaping or broth leaking. This technique helps it cook faster by generating a little steam, which penetrates faster than dry heat, and keeps the meat moist. If it is leaking, use another layer of foil or place it in a pan. Place it back in the cooker. If you have a leave-in meat thermometer, insert it now through the foil into the fat end above the liquid level, so the tip is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) away from the bone. Watch the oven temp and try to keep it around 225°F (107.2°C). Although if you are in a hurry you can crank it up a bit.
- When the meat temp hits about 130°F (54.4°C), open the foil, paint on more glaze, leave the foil open to catch drips and close the lid. How long will it take to hit 130°F (54.4°C)? That depends on the thickness of the meat and the accuracy of your oven thermometer. As I tend to repeat in every recipe, you cannot trust your grill thermometer no matter how much you spent on your grill, and you need a meat thermometer to tell when the meat is done. Please read my article on thermometers and take action. That said, it could take 3 to 4 hours to hit 130°F.
- Glaze the ham. After about 10 minutes, open the grill, dip your basting brush in the pools of broth/glaze on the foil and paint the meat again. Add more full strength glaze if you wish. Now remove the foil, and pour it into a sauce pan. That's the basis for your sauce. Taste it. Add more glaze or broth as you wish. The thinner it is the easier it soaks into the meat. Don't get too sweet. Keep it warm on the grill or indoors.
- Finish. On a grill, leave the lid open, remove the thermometer and move the ham over to the hot side of the grill and lay it on a curved side so the glaze is facing the heat and the bare meat is not. On a smoker, if you have a gas grill, fire it up na move the ham over the direct heat. Stand right there and watch so the glaze does not burn. Don't walk away even to get a beer. Let the glaze sizzle, but not blacken. You are just trying to caramelize the sugars and develop more flavor. After about 3 or 4 minutes, roll it a bit and keep rolling it until all sides have sizzled except the flat side. Leave it bare. By now the temp should have risen to safe temp of 140°F (60°C). Go ahead and check if you want, but trust me, it's there.
- Serve. Place the meat on a cutting board and slice inward towards the bone, not parallel to the bone as in the illustration. Pour the remaining glaze into a gravy boat and serve it alongside the sliced ham.
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