- March 16, 2021
- Grilling
How To Smoke A Ham On The Big Green Egg
Love a good “kiss of smoke” and want to try your hand at grilling a ham and freeing up your oven? Learn everything you need to know to recreate this double smoked ham recipe made on the Big Green Egg grill.
Whether it’s for a special occasion or you found a good deal on ham at your local grocery store, smoking it up on your grill is a fun way to add some serious flavor and impress your guests.
I am sharing how I made this on my large ceramic Big Green Egg, you can replicate this recipe at home on any standard smoker (or even a gas grill if that’s all you have).
This recipe is specifically meant for double smoking and then slicing the ham to serve. I also highly recommend you check out my smoked pulled ham recipe (it’s an incredibly delicious alternative) or this brown sugar and coke glazed ham as well.
Why This Recipe Works:
Doublesmoking ham can enhance its flavor and texture in several ways, making it a great technique to use in cooking.
- 1. Intensified Smoky Flavor: Double smoking a ham deepens the rich, smoky taste that is beloved in smoked meats. This technique involves smoking the ham a second time, which allows it to absorb more of the wood smoke’s complex aromatics. This results in a more pronounced and layered smoky flavor, perfect for those who appreciate the depth of taste in their smoked meats.
- 2. Improved Texture and Moistness: The process of double smoking can also enhance the texture of the ham, making it exceptionally tender and moist. The slow and low cooking method used in smoking allows the ham’s natural juices to be retained, preventing it from drying out. This ensures that the ham remains succulent and tender, with every bite bursting with juiciness.
- 3. Customizable Flavor Profiles: Double smoking a ham offers the opportunity to experiment with different wood types and smoking techniques to create unique flavor profiles. By varying the wood chips used in the smoking process, such as hickory, applewood, or cherry, cooks can impart different subtle flavors to the ham. This customization makes double smoking an ideal method for culinary enthusiasts looking to tailor their dishes to specific tastes and occasions.
Supplies Needed:
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Roasting Pan or Foil Pan
- Insertable Probe Thermometer
- Foil
- Small Pot
- Measuring cups/ spoons
- Whisk
- Basting Brush
What Does “Double Smoked” Ham Mean?
If you’re new to this concept or maybe you’re just not even sure, that’s ok! Let’s talk briefly about what it means to make something “double smoked”.
The majority of hams you will ever find available in your local butcher or grocery store are already considered to be cooked.
They process the meat through smoking, baking, or more commonly curing the ham before it hits the grocery store shelves.
So when you bring home a ham and cook it, all you’re doing is reheating the ham (whether it’s in your oven or on a smoker).
In fact, it’s really hard to find a fresh and fully raw ham in a standard store setting. If you did, you would want to do a dry or wet cure before smoking anyway.
Therefore, double smoking is just a fancy way of adding a delicious second layer of smoke flavor to the final product.
What Ham Should I Buy If I Plan On Smoking It On The Grill?
There are two main cuts of ham you can purchase in the grocery store. The most common ham is a spiral ham (if you’re looking to cook a spiral ham, I recommend trying this recipe for slow cooker spiral ham as well).
Spiral-cut hams are pre-cut, making it a popular purchasing choice because it’s very convenient for heating and slicing.
The other type is a bone-in ham that has not been cut. This style cut of ham often has a fat cap and allows for more of the natural juices in the ham to be retained (those precut slices in spiral ham can dry it out a little faster). Either one will work here (I have done this recipe with both, though the pictures are of a spiral ham).
Preparation Methods For A Smoked Ham:
Here are some major tips and takeaways for prepping your ham for the smoker –
- Remove the ham from the fridge for at least two hours before grilling and let it warm up slightly. This is still food-safe and can help reduce your overall cooking time.
- If your ham has a fat cap (a layer of fat covering a portion of the meat), I would recommend scoring it. This typically works better on bone in hams that are not pre-sliced.
- Lightly cut into the fat cap on an angle to pierce through the fat and create a checkerboard or diamond-like pattern across the top. Cross-hatching will help render the fat, hold more seasoning, and allow the flavors to penetrate through to the ham a little better.
- Season the ham before placing it on the grill, but avoid anything with sugar (it will burn and caramelize if on too long). Save anything sugar based for the end with your glaze!
- Use a binder like mustard, BBQ sauce, or olive oil to allow your dry rub to adhere to the outside.
- Cover the whole ham in a nice even light layer of the rub of choice. I like this all purpose BBQ rub recipe.
How to prepare your Big Green Egg (or other smoker):
Setting up your grill is simple. Make sure you are using enough coals for about 3 hours of total cooking time give or take. Light your fire and set your smoker for indirect heat around 250 F.
Be sure to plan ahead and get a disposable foil pan or use another type of roasting pan to cook the ham in when it’s on the grill.
A decent amount of fat and juices will render and you do not want that going down into your grill.
You can see in the photos that I have mine sitting on a secondary rack to also make it easier to move on and off the grill without disturbing the spiral layers of the ham.
What Wood Should You Use To Double Smoke A Ham?
When choosing a wood for adding smoke, go with a lighter fruit tree for this recipe. You do not want to over power it with a more intense smoke. I like apple, peach, or cherry woods best.
How To Smoke A Ham:
When it comes time to smoke your ham, start by placing it cut side down onto your grill grates.
Place it in the center of your smoker (uncovered), close the lid, and let it do its thing for about an hour or so.
You can insert a thermometer probe into the thickest part before you hit the bone to track the temperature.
Spraying the ham-
I like to spray the outside of my ham with either orange juice or apple juice after the first hour of cooking.
This helps more of the smoke to adhere to the outside and a slight bark to build up on the edges of the ham slices.
You can do this every 45 minutes or so before you add a glaze or do this entirely in place of a glaze if you prefer.
Glazing your ham-
When you see your ham reaching a temperature of 125-130 F. you can begin to glaze it. I like to typically do two light coats of my apricot BBQ sauce recipe.
Brush the sauce mixture over the ham on all sides every 15 minutes or until the ham reaches a final temperature of 140-145 F. internally.
Cover the ham at this point with foil to help prevent the glaze from caramelizing too much and insert a thermometer into the center of the ham as well.
Remove from the heat and use any remaining glaze to coat it for the final presentation.
How long will a ham take to smoke on the Big Green Egg?
Most standard storebought hams are around 8-10 lbs. If you’re smoking your ham between 225 F.- 250 F. you should plan on your ham taking around 20-25 minutes to cook per pound.
For example, the ham I have pictured was just over 9 lbs. It took around 3 hours total to cook. Always give yourself extra time for resting too!
What To Serve With Double Smoked Ham:
If you’re making a ham this amazing, don’t forget to bring it all together with some delicious side dishes. I love these smoked scalloped potatoes, this grilled broccoli salad, and a nice helping of these maple balsamic carrots.
Cutting and serving smoked ham:
There are some great tutorials on YouTube you can check out:
Cutting a Spiral Ham VIDEO
Cutting a Bone in Ham VIDEO
How To Smoke A Ham On The Big Green Egg
Ingredients
- 1 Spiral Cut or Bone In Ham 8-10 lbs.
- 2 tbsp Mustard or Dijon
- 1/4 cup BBQ Dry Rub of choice
- 1/2 cup Apricot BBQ Sauce
Instructions
- Remove your ham from the fridge about 2 hours before wanting to prep it before putting it on your big green egg smoker. This is food safe and will also help reduce the cooking time and keep your ham juicy!
- Preheat your smoker to 250 F. and set it for indirect heat. Add lighter woods for smoking (apple, peach, cherry).
- If using a bone in ham, crosshatch the fat cap. If using a spiral ham, skip this step.
- Coat your entire ham in the mustard binder then in an even layer of the BBQ dry rub. You can see the notes below to make a homemade version of a rub or use a store bought rub of your choice.
- Place your ham, uncovered onto the Big Green Egg smoker (insert a thermometer probe) and let it cook for about an hour. You can spray the outside of the ham with a apple juice or orange juice. Spray every 45-60 minutes to keep the outside moist and to help more of the smoke adhere to the ham.
- While the ham begins to double smoke, make and prep your apricot BBQ sauce. It can be room temperature when added to the ham.
- When the ham looks to reach an internal temperature between 125 F. -130 F. you can begin glazing the outside in a thin layer of the apricot BBQ sauce (or another BBQ sauce of your choice).
- Repeat the glazing process a second time after about 15 minutes and let it cook to a final internal temperature of 140 F.
- Remove the ham from the smoke and let it rest 10-15 minutes, tented lightly with foil. It should hit a final resting temperature of of 145 F. Slice the meat off the bone and serve it on a platter with your favorite sides!
Whoa!!! This was amazing. I served it for our weekly Sunday Family Dinner and there was not a slice left. This will be my go-to smoked ham recipe from now on. Thank you
I made this recently when my parents were visiting and my Dad was SHOCKED!!! now he wants a Big Green Egg! Thank you for this perfect recipe!