Honey Smoked Ham

Honey smoked ham is one of those things we typically think of at Christmas, but there's really no reason why you couldn't smoke your own ham any other time of the year. Now I'm not saying it is easy. It requires quite a bit of work and forward planning, but if you're into outdoor cooking, you're used to putting time and effort in for amazing results anyway. 

Ingredients:

• Leg of Ham
• Honeybaked ham glaze
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • ½ cup apple juice
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup honey
• Sugar Blend
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup Natural Sugar in the Raw (Turbinado Sugar)
  • ½ tsp Ground Ginger
  • ½ tsp Cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp Fresh Ground Nutmeg
  • ½ tsp Spanish Paprika

Procedure:

• The first step is to make the glaze.
  • Whisk all the ingredients for the glaze over medium-high heat until reaches a low boil. 
  • Reduce the mixture for 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally.
  • Baste the outside of the ham with the glaze
• The second step is to make the sugar blend
  • Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and then coat the outside of the ham. Store excess mixture in a shaker jar to use next time.
• The final step is to smoke the ham
  • Get the smoker to between 135-150 degrees
  • Use mild fruit woods such as cherry or apple as stronger woods like hickory or oak will overpower the ham.
  • Check the ham hourly and baste it with the honey glaze to keep it moist
  • Continue to smoke the ham until it reaches an internal temperature of 60 degrees.

HOT TIP:

Have an instant-read cooking thermometer handy so you can test the internal temperature of the ham regularly.

by: Rhiannon Peterson