The Ultimate Smoked Ham Recipe And Video

Step 1

Prep. You can do this step well in advance. Make 1 cup (236.6 ml) of Chris Lilly's Spicy Apricot Glaze. Put the chicken broth in a pan and whisk in 4 tablespoons of the glaze over medium heat until it is dissolved. Put both the glaze and the broth in the fridge.

Step 2

Fire up. Prepare your grill for 2-zone cooking and preheat it to about 225°F (107.2°C) on the indirect side. 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 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.

Step 3

Cook. Place the meat on the indirect side of the grill 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, the Best Setup for a Bullet Smoker, and the Best Setup for an Offset Smoker. You do not need much smoke since the meat has been smoked once already. Close the lid, and smoke for about 30 minutes.

Step 4

Tear off about 5' (1.5 m) of aluminum foil, if you have double strength, that's better. Fold it in half to make it about 2 1/2' (76.2 cm) in length. Take the ham off the grill, place the flat side on the foil making sure you don't puncture the foil with the bone, pour 1/2 of the broth/glaze mix over the meat and seal the meat and broth/glaze mix 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 on the indirect side at about 225°F (107.2°C). 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" (2.5 cm) away from the bone. Watch the oven temp and try to keep it around 225°F (107.2°C).

Step 5

When the meat temp hits about 130°F (54.4°C), open the foil, paint on the full strength glaze, leave the foil open to catch drips, close the grill, and roast for about 10 minutes until the glaze gets thick. 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.

Step 6

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.

Step 7

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. 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 140°F (60°C). Go ahead and check if you want, but trust me, it's there.

Step 8

Serve. Pour the sauce into a gravy boat for serving, and move the ham to a cutting board, flat side down. Carve it by slicing inward from the sides towards the bone parallel to the table top. Then slice down along the bone to release the slices. Serve, and spoon a little sauce over the meat. Here's great photo of a skin on ham by a reader Roman Matla.