Smoked Ham w/Sweet Apricot Glaze

Ingredients

Everything you need can be found at your local grocery store for this smoked ham. Buy a fully cooked spiral ham and let's make it 10x better.

• Spiral cooked/smoked bone-in ham (10-14lb)
• Pineapple juice
• Star anise
• Cloves
• Apricot preserve
• Brown sugar
• Riesling wine
• Dijon Mustard
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg

Video - How to smoke ham (1 minute)

Prepping for smoke

Take the ham out of the plastic or foil it comes in when purchased and place in an aluminum pan. Pour 2 cups of pineapple juice over the ham and add the star anise, cloves, and cinnamon sticks to the bottom of the pan.

I like to place the ham on it's side when I pour the pineapple juice so it seeps down into the middle of the ham. Leaving the ham on it's side for the first 30 minutes to an hour of smoking before placing cut side down for the remaining of the cook.

Apricot glaze

The perfect fruity and sweet glaze for this ham starts with a great tasting apricot preserve. Add some sugar, wine, and spices and we have our spiral ham glaze.

Glaze ingredients

• Apricot preserves
• Brown sugar
• Riesling wine
• Dijon mustard
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg

Add all the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until it begins to boil. Make sure to stir occasionally while heating. Once the sugar has dissolved and the ingredients are well mixed, remove from heat and set aside.

Smoking the ham

This recipe is for an already pre-cooked ham, we are adding more flavor and smoke to it rather than just simply reheating. First we need choose the best wood and pre-heat the smoker.

Best wood for ham

Pick a nice mild fruit wood when smoking ham, applewood and cherry wood work great. The goal is not to overpower the ham with a strong wood such as mesquite or hickory. I like to use applewood when making my smoked pork butt as well.

Applewood pellets / chips are going to be the best bet when making this smoked ham recipe. The nice subtle fruit flavor goes great with the sweet apricot glaze.

Initial smoke

Pre-heat smoker to 225°F with applewood chips / pellets while getting the ham ready. Place the aluminum pan with ham, pineapple juice, and spices directly on the grill racks.

Start basting the ham with the pineapple juice from the pan every 30-45 minutes to keep the outside nice and moist. If you have the ham on it's side, place cut side down after 30 minutes to 1 hour of smoking to prevent sliced ham from separating and drying out.

Smoke for about 3-4 hours until the internal temperature reaches 115° Fahrenheit.

Slather with apricot glaze

Once the ham hits 115°F when measured with a meat thermometer, using a basting brush, generously glaze the ham with the apricot glaze. Continue smoking at 225°F - 250°F until the ham reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.

While smoking, re-apply glaze every hour until the ham is finished. You might not use all the glaze, that's okay.

It took about 5 hours to finish this smoked ham recipe. The ham was heated to 145° and the glaze was perfectly coated on the outside.

Serving the Ham

Remove the ham from the aluminum pan and place on a serving platter when serving. Calculate about ½ pound of ham per person. A 10lb ham should serve 16-20 people depending on your guests.

There are unlimited ways and side dishes to serve with this smoked ham. Simply slice the ham off the bone and serve with your favorite sides. Mashed potatoes and buttermilk biscuits with jam and honey are my favorite.

This ham has such an incredible flavor. The double smoke flavor combined with the sweet apricot glaze of this smoked ham recipe turns a normal ham into a masterpiece!

Smoking a ham or smoked turkey during the holidays creates the perfect dinner that everyone can enjoy and remember for years to come. You will not be dissapointed serving this recipe at your next big gathering.

Side dishes

• Green bean casserole - Dude that cookz
• Buttermilk biscuits - Always eat dessert
• Mashed potatoes - Preppy kitchen
• Smoked mac and cheese - Jerkyholic
• Creamed spinach - Mighty Mrs.

The smoker / Pellet grill

I'm smoking this spiral ham on my pellet smoker, just like the Camp Chef 36 smoker or my Traeger 780. Pellet smokers are an easy and great way to impart fantastic smoke flavor on the ham, and other meats for that matter, without having to babysit a firebox all day.

As I mentioned above, using applewood chips or pellets with these smokers are my go to when smoking ham.

FAQ

Old Pro Tips

• Keep about 1-2" of pineapple juice in bottom of roasting pan. Remove any excess juice if needed.
• Use applewood pellets / chips for the best smoke flavor
• Don't skip boiling the glaze ingredients, it's important to dissolve the sugar in the glaze.

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