Smoked Maple Glazed Ham
Are ham sammiches your thing? Then you’ve got to try this Smoked Maple Glazed Ham!
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If it’s a Saturday in September or October, then you can count on finding me outside. Chances are the smoker will be smoking away, and I’ll be outside enjoying the cooler Fall weather. It seems strange to talk of cooler Fall air while we’re still in August, but it can start getting cool early up here in New York. (In the South, it’d be early November before the weather turned nice and crisp.) Since Saturdays are also college football days, I often rig up a tv outdoors. I just haul a small tv out to the porch along with an extension cord and long cable cord, and *bada-bing-bada-boom* I’m watching college football outside.
If the game is boring, I might wander off to rake leaves…or more likely I’ll just read a book. But that smoker is always going. We smoke all sorts of delicious meats in the Fall, and then we just vacuum-seal them into smaller dinner-size portions. By the time the first snow arrives (usually late November or early December), we’ve got a freezer full of little packs of pulled pork and smoked brisket. Hello, weeknight dinners on cold, winter nights!
But this year I decided to expand the menu of smoked meats. I still plan on smoking plenty of pulled pork and brisket, but I’ve added ham to the lineup, too. After all, it’s really hard to beat a good ham sammich for lunch!
My initial thought was to get an uncooked ham (aka “green ham”), but then I realized it’s kinda hard to find green hams. I’m sure I could have placed a special order at the meat counter of our local store, but eh. I also realized that it would take a lot longer to smoke an uncooked ham. So I cheated a little bit.
I started with a fully-cooked ham. Bonus: The fully-cooked ham came spiral-cut, so I didn’t have to mess with slicing it. Most of the hams in the store came with some sort of glaze or seasoning packet. I just ditched that packet and made my own. And I put a nice rub on that ham overnight, too. All in all, this one didn’t require much work, and the flavor of this Smoked Maple Glazed Ham was out of sight!
In case you’re wondering, smoking a fully-cooked, sliced ham would indeed dry it out. I countered this by putting a tray of apple juice on top of the coals. The apple juice slowly evaporated creating a nice, humid smoker. Between the juice and the glaze, this Smoked Maple Glazed Ham turned out quite well. I suspect I’ll be making at least one or two more hams like this over the next couple of months.
After all, I gotta fill that freezer up before the winter snow arrives! ( I recognize that this statement makes me sound like a bear getting ready to hibernate…but, well, we kinda do hibernate up here in the winter. Hibernate and curl.)
Smoked Maple Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- 10-12 pound cooked spiral-cut ham (bone-in or shank), unflavored
- apple wood chunks
- lump charcoal
- 8 cups apple juice
- large disposable aluminum pan
For the Rub
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp black pepper
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp brown mustard
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
For the Glaze
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- The day before, whisk together the Rub ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the mixture over entire ham. Cover and refrigerate ham overnight.
- Preheat the smoker to 250°F.
- Once the smoker has reached a stable temperature, add the wood chunks directly to the coals. Place the disposable aluminum pan on top of the wood chunks. (If your smoker has a platesetter, place pan directly on platesetter). Fill pan with apple juice and 4 cups of water.
- Put the grate in place (over aluminum pan) and place the ham on grate flat-side down. Close smoker lid and allow ham to cook for 2 hours. (Tip: Periodically check the smoker temperature to ensure it’s close to 250°F target.)
- Meanwhile, whisk all Glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- After the first two hours, brush the ham generously with Glaze. Close lid and cook for 1-1½ more hours; generously brush ham with Glaze again.
This looks amazing! I love the sound of this and cooking outside with the TV too!
Haha! Nothing beats the chance to cook outside and watch tv at the same time…especially once the Fall weather starts to roll in. Thanks, Caroline! 🙂
This maple glazed ham looks heavenly! What a wonderful idea to fill the freezer with little packs of delight for the colder winter days … I have never smoked meat – maybe I have to have a discussion with my husband to buy a smoker 🙂 It looks divine!
Oh, you definitely need to chat with your husband about getting a smoker, Miriam. There’s a bunch of styles out there from charcoal to electric depending on what you like. Nothing beats a good pulled pork or smoked brisket (or now smoked ham) sandwich in the dead of winter! 🙂
The ham looks nice and juicy. I bet the flavor is wonderful. This sounds like a great way to spend your Saturday.
It was an excellent way to spend a Saturday, Dawn! Sitting outside in the cool Fall weather, smoker smoking away and college football on tv…that’s pretty much my idea of perfection! I’ll definitely need to do that again this Fall! 🙂
Wow! This looks delicious, David! Your pics are just fantastic too 🙂 That rub sounds perfect and really wishing I had a slice right now, despite it being only around 10am!
What a freaking awesome idea with the tv outside! It’s getting colder around here now too. You can just feel it in the evenings and, of course, the days are getting colder. Fall is definitely my favourite season, but I don’t care for the snow the follow, lol.
Thanks for a great recipe. Pinning!
Have a lovely week 🙂
Yeah, I keep hoping the Fall weather is coming here soon, Dawn. We have a nice weekend ahead of us weather-wise, but then I saw that it gets back up to 90°F next week. That’s WAY too hot for September in upstate New York! But that won’t keep me from getting that smoker going. 🙂 Thanks!!
I don’t own a green egg, but I did just buy a new smoker this week so I’m going to have to give this a go. Maple smoked ham sounds very Moreish.
Definitely give this smoked ham a shot, Matt! Using the pre-cooked ham was a bit of a cheater way to do this…but it made it much easier. And these sandwiches…I think we’re down to just a little bit of ham and I’ve been thinking about another round of this one. Oh, and definitely (definitely!!) make pulled pork and smoked brisket in that new smoker, too! 🙂
I must remember to plan a trip to visit you in September or October then 😉
We usually have something like this at Christmas time, but it’s bought from the butcher. I am going to have to try making it myself as this looks incredible. I bet it smells amazing too.
Oh, you are more than welcome to visit anytime of the year, Dannii! But in my opinion, September and October are the best months of the year here in New York. 🙂 I know ham is usually a Christmas thing, but this smoky ham made for some excellent ham sandwiches! That, and we used the rest to make ham and cheese omelets for lunch on several days…yum!
Duuuude – what a great tip about putting that apple juice in – not only to keep that cooked ham juicy but to add some awesome flavor too!
And I agree with Danii, looks like Lil Shashi and I need to come visit y’all in the fall next time 🙂
Happy Monday my Upstate NYC friend!
Thanks, Shashi! Laura nabs me little bottles of apple juice whenever she has work events, and then I use those when I’m smoking meat outside. 🙂 Come on up next Fall…the leaves will be gorgeous! In fact, Parent’s Day is usually in the Fall…so you can visit lil Shashi at college up here then, too. (See what I did there??)
Hi David! I can almost smell how good this ham is! Some of this should end up in scalloped potatoes and maybe mac n’ cheese don’t you think? Let’s not forget about breakfast possibilities!
Ohhhh…great idea, Dorothy! We had a bunch of ham cubes leftover after we took out the slices, and we were a little confused what to do with them. Scalloped potatoes or mac + cheese would have been good options for sure! We ended up making some killer omelets with some of the extra sandwich bread buttered on the side. I think I need you to come up and be my foodie muse!
Hi David! Watch what you wish for…Gary’s sister is a vet in Burlington VT and her husband is a Justice of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in NY so if we visit them we just might show up at your house! 🙂 Are we allowed to bring our dogs?
Oh wow, Burlington is one of my favorite places up here…I absolutely love that town!! And a judge in the area, too? Hmmm…that might be good to know about. Just in case. 🙂 And of course you can bring the dogs…we have a nice big fenced in yard for them to romp while we eat cake! Haha!
You sure know how to do a Saturday right! Outside, smoker going and the tv hooked up? Sounds perfect to me! I wish Pennsylvania would start getting cooler on August. I’m ready for those cool crisp Fall days. This ham recipe would go perfectly 😊
Yeah, we had a little burst of cool Fall air, but it looks like the heat and humidity is coming back soon. Ugh…just enough to tease us! But that’s ok, I don’t need winter getting here too soon! Thanks, Amanda!
Love your grill set up with TV, smart man. I was wondering if it would dry out and there you go with the apple juice! This sounds fantastic, love all the crispy bits and edges. I’m assuming you used real maple syrup unlike us poor folk out West. Nice job, I’m hungry now… 🙂
Oh yes, I definitely used the real deal maple syrup on this one, Kevin! In fact, I don’t think I’ve used anything but the real deal since we moved up here. #Spoiled Also, those crispy bits of ham were the best! Packed with smoked maple flavor. Laura and I kinda fought over those…haha! 🙂
That ham is making my mouth water.
Shall I get you a bib, Jeff? We have plenty laying around the house thanks to a certain 9-month-old baby.
This looks delicious with amazing flavors. Lovely share!
Thank you so much, Kushi! 🙂
That’s it, I’m moving to Upstate New York. TV with a side of delicious smoked ham….oh man, I can already envision the meat sweats after polishing it off.
Hahaha…you only get the meat sweats if you eat an insane amount of meat! But if you want to move to upstate NY, then I will make an entire ham just for you…as long as you promise to eat it all in one sitting. 🙂 Thanks, Arman!
Now that’s quite the setup. A t.v…..a smoker…..outside…. You know how to do things right! 🙂 Ham is one of my favorites. I love the flavor but then I really love that there are lots of leftovers. Your maple glaze looks fabulous!
Haha! It’s hard to beat sitting outdoors on a gorgeous Fall day watching tv while the smoker does its thing. I guess I wouldn’t even be required to sit out there…but it’s a good excuse! 🙂 This ham made for amazing leftovers…we made plenty of sandwiches and also some amazing ham and cheese omelettes. Cheers to delicious leftovers! Thanks, Kathy!
I bet that freezer you’ve mentioned is really a great thing during the cold seasons. I wish I could just take a look at it (And perhaps, in inside too). Can we arrange a tour, David? I promise I won’t touch any of the edible artifacts:) This ham looks fantastic – so luscious and tender. I have 2 favorite culinary books – both are the Christmas recipes. And this ham reminds me the pictures from those books. And there’s the thing (Which you don’t hear often from me): that’s the perfect combo even without lavender:)
Haha…why yes, Ben. We can absolutely arrange for a tour of the freezer for you. I’ll keep the price of admission low…you know, the ‘friend discount’. 🙂 And as sad as I am to leave the lavender out, I think this is one recipe where lavender just might not work. Haha! Thanks!
OMG! This ham looks AMAZING! I am sitting here imaging an epic ham sandwich or a slice of ham and a side of southern potato salad. You have a winner here. I need to show this to my dad so he can try smoking a ham on his smoker. Yes!
Oh that definitely happened here recently, Tamara! We had some of this ham leftover along with some potato salad…and they totally landed next to each other for lunch. And maybe for dinner, too! Definitely give this one a shot…it’s packed with awesome flavor. And it makes for some epic sammiches! 🙂 Thank you!
This delicious goodness would be a show stopper for sure!! Looks so delish!!
Thank you so much, Sharmila! This was definitely one of my favorites! 🙂
I’m smoking a fully cooked 11lb ham tomorrow. I have it in the rub now but really want to know how long in total it takes to cook once in the smoker. I have an electric masterbuilt smoker. I’ve only ever done turkeys and pork shoulder it is so far.
Hey Amanda! My apologies for not getting back to you sooner…I’m guessing you already have that ham in the smoker today. The good news is the ham is already fully-cooked, so that gives you a bunch of flexibility with the smoking process. I typically smoked 10-12 pound hams (already fully cooked like yours), and I smoke them for 3.5-4 hours total. As I noted in the recipe above, I use a glaze that I brush on the ham halfway through smoking and then again at the end. I hope this helps! I love smoked ham, and I hope yours turns out well. 🙂 Cheers!
Thank you so much for the info!!! The Ham has been in there for about 45 minutes (we’re having a late dinner party haha) seems to be heating up on target for 4 hours!!! Thanks so much!!!!