How To Smoke A Ham Food

HOW TO SMOKE A HAM

Steps:

• What you put in your spice rub will depend on personal tastes.
• Salt, sugar, onion powder, and paprika are all popular options. Any kind of barbecue spice mix could work, as well.
• Once the rub is assembled and mixed together, take a sharp knife and cut perpendicular lines through just the skin on your ham (it should look like a checker board by the time you're done).
• Coat your ham in the rub and pat it firmly against all sides, making sure the rub gets into the cuts you made.
• Place your ham on a metal baking sheet and cover it with plastic wrap, placing it in the refrigerator for at least four hours and up to fourteen to allow the meat to absorb the flavor.
• Simply light a few chunks of charcoal and your wood chips (or log if you prefer) and allow the smoker to come to temperature, somewhere between 230 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Take the ham out of the fridge and remove the plastic wrap or aluminum foil, letting it warm up slightly for half an hour (to save time, you could do this part right before you start up your smoker).
• After the ham has come up to temperature, place ham directly onto the smoker grate, flat side down.
• You should not place ham too close to the firebox, as this could cause the sugars on the outside of the ham to burn rather than caramelize.
• You'll want to smoke your ham for at least three hours, though you should only go longer at your own peril.
• Keep the heat at a consistent temperature for the entire time.Medium heat is fine.
• If the heat starts to drop down, adjust the temperature as needed and check to see if you need to add more charcoal or wood to keep the firing burning hot and the smoke cloud dense.
• While these steps are optional, they make your meat that much more succulent and delicious and are more than worth the effort.
• Every half hour, thoroughly spritz your ham with apple juice in a spray bottle.
• After around two and half hours of smoking, you can apply barbecue sauce to the outside of the ham, coating liberally.
• You could mix around 1/4 of a cup of honey into your sauce for extra sweetness and to add a marvelous shine to the outside of your ham once it's finished.
• Once you've reached your desired level of smokiness, remove ham from the smoker and serve it however you like.
• As the ham was already cooked before you started the smoking process, you won't need to let it rest before digging in.

HOW TO SMOKE A HAM

Steps:

• To make the brine: Place half of the water and the remaining brine ingredients in a large stockpot that's big enough to fit your ham and deep enough to allow the ham to be fully covered by the brine. Alternatively you can use any clean bucket.Bring the brine to a boil and stir until the sugar and salt is dissolved. Turn off the heat. Pour in the remaining water to cool down the brine and then let it cool completely.Place it in the brine and ensure that it is completely submerged under the brine. If it keeps floating to the top, weigh it down. Cover and refrigerate. Let the ham cure for 7 days. Once the curing period is over, remove the ham from the brine, thoroughly rinse it under water, then blot the ham with paper towels and place on a rack to continue drying in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or overnight.Optional: At this point you can apply the rub to the ham if you wish.
• Prepare your smoker according to manufacturer instructions and get it to a temperature of 250 degrees F.Place the ham in the smoker. Plan on about 4-5 hours but start checking for doneness sooner. Add about one cup of wood chips roughly every 45 minutes throughout the smoking process or less frequently for a milder smoke flavor. Smoke the ham until it reaches an internal temperature between 130-140F (use an instant read thermometer). It's now time to apply the glaze.Once the ham reaches an internal temp between 130-140 degrees, apply some of the glaze.Brush the ham all over with a coating of the glaze.After 20-30 minutes brush the ham all over with some more of the glaze until the internal temperature reaches 165 F.Periodically check the internal temperature towards the end so that you do not exceed 165 F.
• As soon as the internal temperature reaches 165 F, remove the ham from the smoker and wrap it in aluminum foil.Place the wrapped ham in a warm place to let rest until ready to serve. At this point you can also let it cool completely, refrigerate, and then gently reheat in the foil when ready to serve.Slice the ham against the grain in 1/4 inch slices and serve with the remaining glaze.

GLAZED SMOKED HAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Score the ham with a cross hatch pattern through the thick layer of skin and fat. Arrange the onions in the center of a foil lined sheet pan large roasting pan and set the ham on top of them. Bake for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, stir together the apricot jelly, water, thyme leaves, mustard, 3 tablespoons of the vinegar, the molasses, worcestershire, allspice, and cloves in a saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until the jelly has dissolved and sauce is smooth, about 4 minutes. After the ham has been baked for 1 hour, brush with the apricot mixture every 15 minutes for another 45 minutes or until nicely glazed. Transfer the ham to a serving platter, tent with foil and set aside while making the sauce.
• Discard the onions, remove foil and pour the sauce into a skillet. Add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. In a small bowl, mix the butter and flour together until you form a paste. Whisk into the pan juices and let sauce simmer until thickened like gravy. Finish with the remaining tablespoon of vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Thinly slice the ham and serve with the sauce.
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HONEY SMOKED HAM

Steps:

• The night before you smoke, mix together the pepper, paprika, sugar, salt, 1
• teaspoon of dry mustard and cayenne. Rub over the surface of the ham, wrap in
• foil and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.
• In the morning remove the ham from the refrigerator and let it sit for 1 hour. In the
• meantime prepare the smoker. You will be smoking at about 210 degrees F. for 6
• hours. Mix together the chicken stock, 3/4 cups of pineapple juice, vegetable oil,
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, and cloves. Warm over medium heat until completely
• mixed. Place ham in smoker and baste with sauce once every hour. While the ham
• is smoking prepare the glaze by mixing together the honey, 1/4 cup on pineapple
• juice, 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard and a pinch of ground cloves. Brush generously
• with glaze a couple of times during the last hour of smoking.