Want to smoke a ham for Easter

Jasong812

Going to have about 12 total people over for Easter. I want to smoke a ham for the first time.  Any feedback on what type of ham, how big, or great recipes would be greatly appreciated. I have seen some people say get  fresh ham, some already smoked.  Thanks! 

tonyled

bone in. score it and baste it with a reduced cherry coke and brown sugar (just a touch of brown sugar) mixture.  i did this for xmas and it was fan tastic!  i think i went 325 degrees but dont quote me on that

edit:  missed the last question, i would get smoked

Biggreenpharmacist

A fresh ham isnt cured or smoked. It will taste like a smoked pork roast. A cured ham will taste like what most people think of as "ham". 

Darby_Crenshaw

Pretty much all commercial hams are already cooked and smoked

a fresh ham is a roast, and unless you order one special, or live in a part of the countty where they are common, you can't readily buy one (though some stores carry a few around easter)

any ham you just "pick up at a store" is going to be cured, smoked, precooked

you can cook them however you want really. All you are doing is reheating, and there are numerous options for glazes, coatings, etc. 

Jasong812

Thanks. Just picked up a ham from the store and will but together something delicious for it Saturday night.  Will let ya know what I do and how it turns out.  

Theophan

Jasong812 said:

Going to have about 12 total people over for Easter. I want to smoke a ham for the first time.  Any feedback on what type of ham, how big, or great recipes would be greatly appreciated. I have seen some people say get  fresh ham, some already smoked.  Thanks! 

Be aware that a "fresh ham" won't taste like ham, but a pork roast.  The curing (with nitrites, etc.) is a big part of what makes ham taste like ham.  If you smoke a fresh ham, it'll taste like smoked pork, a lot like a pork butt, not ham.  So if you want smoked pork (i.e. NOT ham), you could smoke a fresh ham but I'd probably go with the pork butt because I've heard fresh ham is leaner and less forgiving than pork butt.

But if you want it to taste like ham, then it needs to be cured, NOT fresh.  Either way could be delicious, but completely different from each other.

SmokeyPitt

I am going to try a simple naked ham a la @Mickey.  Just put it on the egg and smoke it until it reaches 140 or so. 

This is another recipe that is killer from @egret.  

INGREDIENTS:
Maple-Bourbon Paste (recipe follows)
10-12 Lbs. Cooked, ready to eat ham (bone-in Butt or Shank section)
1/2-1 cup Maple Syrup (the real stuff)
Cherry and Apple Chunks
Maple-Bourbon Paste
2 Tbs Pure Maple Syrup
2 Tbs Freshly ground Black Pepper
2 Tbs Dijon or Honey-Dijon Mustard
1 Tbs Bourbon
1 Tbs Vegetable Oil
1 Tbs Paprika
1 Tbs Onion Powder
2 Tsp. coarse Salt, either kosher or sea salt


Procedure :
1 The day before smoking, place ham in a pan flat side down. Inject in multiple
2 locations with maple syrup (use more than 1 cup if it will take it).
3 Smear the Maple-Bourbon Paste all over the exposed surfaces (except flat side).
4 Cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator until ready to smoke (You
5 can remove ham from refrigerator up to one hour before cooking).
Cooking
1 Stabilize egg at 250° with plate setter (legs up) regular grid with raised grid
2 attached. Put 3 or 4 good size chunks of wood on coals, then place ham on raised
3 grid. Cook until internal temperature reaches 140° (this should take about 5 hours).
4 I, sometimes, inject with more maple syrup about one hour before ham is done.

Jasong812

SmokeyPitt said:

I am going to try a simple naked ham a la @Mickey.  Just put it on the egg and smoke it until it reaches 140 or so. 

This is another recipe that is killer from @egret.  

INGREDIENTS:
Maple-Bourbon Paste (recipe follows)
10-12 Lbs. Cooked, ready to eat ham (bone-in Butt or Shank section)
1/2-1 cup Maple Syrup (the real stuff)
Cherry and Apple Chunks
Maple-Bourbon Paste
2 Tbs Pure Maple Syrup
2 Tbs Freshly ground Black Pepper
2 Tbs Dijon or Honey-Dijon Mustard
1 Tbs Bourbon
1 Tbs Vegetable Oil
1 Tbs Paprika
1 Tbs Onion Powder
2 Tsp. coarse Salt, either kosher or sea salt


Procedure :
1 The day before smoking, place ham in a pan flat side down. Inject in multiple
2 locations with maple syrup (use more than 1 cup if it will take it).
3 Smear the Maple-Bourbon Paste all over the exposed surfaces (except flat side).
4 Cover loosely with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator until ready to smoke (You
5 can remove ham from refrigerator up to one hour before cooking).
Cooking
1 Stabilize egg at 250° with plate setter (legs up) regular grid with raised grid
2 attached. Put 3 or 4 good size chunks of wood on coals, then place ham on raised
3 grid. Cook until internal temperature reaches 140° (this should take about 5 hours).
4 I, sometimes, inject with more maple syrup about one hour before ham is done.

I saw this yesterday. I think this is what I will be doing.  

Mickey

NAKED HAM / SMOKE ONLY

Let me start that for the first 6 years i have only cooked Egerts Ham (this is an outstanding ham Egged on the BGE). 

 

 Several years ago went looking for (did not know this at the time) a naked ham / smoke only.  Looking at other ways to do a ham w/o the burbon, maple syrup, brown sugar, NO ANYTHING. Guys this was outstanding ham. It tasted like ham. It was a 7 lb Cooks ham (shank) and NOTHING was put on it (Nothing). Just smoke: lots of Sugar Maple. Cooked at 300 till 135. I did score the ham deep. Cooked indirect.

New item: just did spiral and worked out fine  

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

Presuming you start with a cooked ham...

And that is most often associated as a "City Ham" meaning:
A “city ham” is still a ham. It's the general name for a very mild and not very salty ham. It has been cured, most often smoked and is fully cooked. Your standard grocery store hams are mostly all city hams.
 
A country ham on the other hand is one that is salt cured for a very long time and develops a strong flavor. It can be salty if not “soaked out” in water before cooking. It also may not have been cooked/smoked at all, but perhaps.

So, with a City Ham I do absolutely nothing to it, other than double smoke it with either and/or a combination of Hickory and Maple smoke-wood. Actually a little Apple or Cherry is a good addition too.

Yes! This is a low and slow smoking over a drip pan with either hard or soft apple cider. I keep a dome temp of about 250 F. and add cider if needed. It's done and ready when it makes 140 F. Rest it for a bit and slice it up.

I use a whole ham, bone in, to assure that the juices are trapped. I may be off on this, but it seems to me that not adulterating a whole ham really keeps a wonderful flavor and moistness.

 I do NOT score. I do NOT add anything. I do NOT rub. Let the Double Smoked Ham (providing it is a GOOD quality ham in the first place) shine on it's own. It will be moist, have a great smoke flavor and will be the center piece to complement all your other fixings.

Not to mention...You will have a great "bone" left to do any number of other cooks (soups, gumbo, beans & rice...) to do down the road!