This smoked ham is coated in a homemade spice rub, cooked in a smoker, then brushed with a homemade brown sugar and maple glaze. The ultimate holiday ham recipe that doesn’t require any oven space!
I love a good holiday ham, some of my favorites include pineapple ham and Coca Cola ham. This smoked ham is tender and full of flavor from the sweet and savory spice rub and glaze. It’s become a must-have at all of our family celebrations.
My biggest problem with cooking for the holidays is that I run out of oven space. You can only fit a few things into the oven at one time, and I find that sometimes things don’t cook properly if the oven is too full. I solve this problem by relying on other cooking methods. I make Crock Pot ham, Instant Pot ham or this smoked ham. Smoked ham cooks outside on the smoker, leaving you plenty of oven space. It also happens to taste absolutely amazing!
Enjoy this ham with Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner favorites like Southern cornbread dressing, candied yams and homemade dinner rolls.
Table of Contents
Smoked Ham Ingredients
To make this smoked ham with brown sugar glaze you will need a bone in ham, BBQ rub, butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, apple cider (not apple cider vinegar) and fresh fruit and herbs to garnish your plate. See the recipe card below for amounts and details.
How Do You Make Smoked Ham?
The first step in the process is to load your smoker with wood, preheat it and spray a disposable aluminum pan with cooking spray. Next, coat your ham in a BBQ spice rub. Place the ham cut side down in your pan and place it in the smoker. After the ham smokes for about an hour you’ll want to start basting it every 30-45 minutes with apple cider. This keeps the ham from drying out. If you feel like your ham is looking a little dry, you can always cover it with foil inside the smoker after that initial hour.
Once the ham temperature reaches around 135 degrees F, start preparing your brown sugar glaze. Place butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and apple cider in a pan. Cook everything on the stove for a few minutes at medium heat until the glaze thickens. Remove the pork from the smoker. Brush the glaze all over the cooked ham and dinner is ready!
What Temperature Do You Smoke A Ham?
I smoke my ham at a temperature of 250 degrees F. You can also run your smoker at a higher or lower temperature, just be aware that the cook time will change accordingly.
Tips For The Perfect Smoked Ham
- I use a pre-cooked, spiral cut ham for this recipe that is around 7 pounds.
- I really feel like it’s worth it to take a few minutes to make my homemade BBQ rub which has the perfect amount of sweet and savory seasonings. If you’re short on time, store bought will work too.
- You can rub your ham right before smoking it, or season it the night before to let the spices fully permeate the meat.
- I recommend that you smoke your ham in a disposable aluminum pan to keep the mess to a minimum.
- Be sure to place the cut side of the ham face down in the pan as shown in the photos.
- Garnish your ham with an assortment of herbs and fruit such as grapes for a beautiful presentation.
Quick Tip
Use a meat thermometer to make sure the thickest part of your ham reaches 140 degrees F.
Recipe FAQs
Smoked hams are typically already cooked through. When you cook them you are actually just heating them up. If you cook your pre-prepared hams with a smoker, you actually end up with a twice smoked ham. Despite being twice smoked, the smoke flavor is not overwhelming at all and is absolutely perfect when paired with a homemade glaze.
For a bone in ham, you’ll want to estimate about 3/4 pound per person that you’re planning to serve.
It typically takes about 20 minutes per pound to smoke a pre-cooked ham. The internal temperature of the thickest part of the ham should register 140 degrees F when completely warmed through. I find it works best to use a remote thermometer so that I can leave the probe in the ham inside the smoker, yet still monitor the temperature of the ham from inside the house.
I use apple wood chips for this recipe, it compliments the apple flavor in the glaze and doesn’t impart an overly smoky flavor. Other good choices would be hickory or cherry wood.
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Flavor Variations
While this recipe is delicious, you can adjust the ingredients to suit your own taste.
- Spices: For a classic holiday flavor you can add to your glaze warm spices like a pinch of ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground all spice or ground cinnamon. Mix and match your favorite spices.
- Pineapple: Feel free to attached pineapple rings to the outside of your ham with toothpicks. Just remove the toothpicks before you eat the ham.
- Mustard: You can add a tablespoon of Dijon mustard to make a tangy glaze.
- Sweet: Feel free to add a little honey, molasses or apple juice to your glaze for extra sweetness.
Brown sugar smoked ham is the ultimate main course for a special occasion. It’s so incredibly flavorful and is very unique compared to your typical ham offerings!
Smoked Ham Side Dishes
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
1 hr 50 mins
Butterflake Rolls
2 hrs 20 mins
Candied Carrots
25 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Smoked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze
Ingredients
- 7 lbs bone in ham you can go larger or smaller, just adjust the cook time accordingly
- 1/3 cup BBQ rub
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 1/4 cups apple cider divided use (not apple cider vinegar)
- fresh herbs and fruit for garnish
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat a smoker to 250 degrees F. Load the smoker with cherry wood chips.
- Coat a disposable aluminum pan with cooking spray. Place the ham cut side down in the pan.
- Sprinkle the spice rub all over the exterior of the ham.
- Place the pan in the smoker and cook for one hour.
- Continue to cook the ham for another 2-3 hours, basting every 30-45 minutes with the 2 cups of apple cider.
- The ham is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the ham reads 140 degrees F.
- While the ham is smoking, make the glaze.
- Place the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and remaining 1/4 cup of apple cider in a pan over medium heat.
- Bring the pan to a simmer. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until glaze has just thickened.
- Brush the glaze all over the ham. Transfer the ham to a platter. Garnish the ham with herbs and fruit if desired, then serve.
Notes
- I use a pre-cooked, spiral cut ham for this recipe that is around 7 pounds.
- I recommend that you smoke your ham in a disposable aluminum pan to keep the mess to a minimum.
- Be sure to place the cut side of the ham face down in the pan as shown in the photos.
Hi there, does it matter if I use a Leg ham or shoulder?
Either should work!
I LOVE your site and the recipe is easy to find at the bottom of the page. Going to try your smoke ham recipe this weekend.
How long would you cook this if itโs not spiral cut?
You can score the top and it should cook in about the same time period.
THE BEST!!! So yummy! My whole family loves it.
If you apply the rub the night before do you cover with foil in the fridge or no?
Yes I’d cover it!
I have finally gotten around to leaving you a comment. I have been using this recipe with the rub for the last three years. It has been requested by my family at every holiday meal since the first time. The family loves it as do I. Just wanted to say thank you and leave a 5 star review!
Hello, I haven’t made this yet, but I am going to do so today. I’m confused about the “place ham cut side down” part. If it’s spiral cut, the cuts go all the way around, no? Or are you referring to not placing it flat side down? Also, when applying the glaze, would you then put it flat size down, so it gets a chance to caramelize around the entire cut portion? I don’t normally do hams, but my wife wants one, so…. Thanks!
Cut side down is the flat side!
Do you cover ham while smocking?
It does not need to be covered!
I am glad I tried this my family loved it. From now on my wife want ham this way from now on.
Apple cider vinegar our apple cider the drink
The drink!
Can I use a boneless spiral ham?
Yes that’s fine, you may need to reduce the cook time!
I am trying to get the timing of this right for a meal. The text above says there is a cook time of 20 minutes per pound – 20 minutes x 7 lbs = 2 hours 20 minutes. In the “instructions” it shows that it is a 4 hour cook time for a 7 lbs of ham. Just wondering which cook time I should follow. Thanks!
I give a range because I’ve found that not all hams are the same, and not all smokers are the same. This recipe was initially tested with a spiral cut ham in an electric smoker, which is where the 20 minutes per pound estimate comes from. There are so many other variables, for example a charcoal grill may not hold a constant temperature the way an electric smoker will, the size of the bone in the ham varies, a bone-in ham that’s not spiral cut will take longer to cook. The most important thing is to use a thermometer so you can keep an eye on the temperature, and I’d plan for somewhere in the 2-3 hour range for a standard spiral ham.
Can I make gravy from this recipe? Ideas?
The gravy would just be the glaze at the bottom of the pot which you can thicken on the stove with a little corn starch!
Perfect ham recipe! it came out so smokey and delicious!
Would this recipe work in the oven
This one has a similar flavor profile and is designed for the oven! https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/glazed-ham-for-the-holidays/
I did this one in the oven without the smoke flavor and it was amazing
Can u use apple juice instead of apple cider
Yes that’s fine!
Where do I get your BBQ rub
Here is the recipe! https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/bbq-rub-recipe/
Thanks. For the cider do you pour the full 2 cups in it and baste with that or spread it out over bastings?
Just to clarify you put the Glaze on after it comes out the smoker?
Yes that’s correct!
Do you buy ham that is already spiraled?
Yes I do!
How far open do you keep the smoke vent? (Sorry I don’t know the name for it). just barely cracked?
Thank you!
Yes that’s correct, just keep it cracked open!