Honey Baked Ham Beef Brisket Cooking Instructions

Smoke A Honeybaked Ham

Everyone knows the turkey is the star of the show on Thanksgiving, but you can't have a Holiday Feast without a Smoked Ham to go right along with the bird. (you can get my recipe for smoking a turkey here >>) Instead of spending nearly $80 on an overpriced ham, fire up your smoker and Smoke A Honeybaked Ham. I came up with my version of a Smoke A Honeybaked Ham and it's even better than the original.

I call it the Smoked Honeybaked Ham. The ham I use for this recipe is a Spiral Sliced Smoked Ham. You can find these everywhere during the Holidays, and they cost around $1.50 per lb. I buy the shank portion because the bone is great for making a big pot of beans after the holidays; but the butt portion is just as good for serving. These hams are precooked; if you notice the directions it simply says to reheat the ham in an oven for several hours until it reaches an internal temp of 140 degrees. It is perfectly fine to reheat it this way, but if you want to turn the ham into something special, use your smoker and this recipe.
Honey Baked Hams are spiral sliced hams that have a sugar coating caramelized on the outside. Once the ham is smoked, they cover it with sugar and use a blow torch to melt it. I wanted to create this style of Ham by using the smoker instead of a torch. To create the "Honey Baked" effect on the outside of the ham I use two things: a Honey glaze and a seasoned sugar blend. Here's the recipe for the Smoke A Honeybaked Ham Glaze:

½ cup Orange Juice
½ cup Apple Juice
¼ cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Honey

Whisk these ingredients together over Med. High heat until it reaches a low boil. Reduce the mixture for 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally. The first step in the process is to baste the outside of the ham with the glaze. I use a squirt bottle but you can simply brush it on the outside with a pastry brush. This step can get a little messy, so it's best to have the ham in a shallow dish or aluminum pan. I also use one of my pork racks to keep the ham off the bottom on the pan.(plus it makes moving the ham to and from the smoker much easier). Now it's ready for the Sugar Blend. Here's the recipe: Sugar Blend to Smoke A Honeybaked Ham

½ cup Brown Sugar
½ cup Natural Sugar in the Raw (Turbinado Sugar)
½ tsp Ground Ginger
½ tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Fresh Ground Nutmeg
½ tsp Spanish Paprika

Combine these ingredients in a ziplock bag and pour into an airtight shaker bottle for storage. Apply the sugar blend to the outside of the ham. If you're using a shaker bottle, make sure that the holes in the lid are large enough for the sugar particles to pass through. A parmesan cheese shaker lid works great for this (they'll usually fit on a standard size pint jar). Once the outside of the ham is covered with the sugar mixture, it's ready for the smoker. To cook the ham the smoker needs to be between 275-300 degrees. I use a mild fruit wood like cherry or apple for the smoke. Since we're essentially "double-smoking" the ham you want to stay away from stronger woods like Hickory or Oak. These will easily overpower the flavor. Place the ham on the smoker and check it every hour. If the outside starts to look a little dry, use some of the glaze for basting. The entire cook is only going to take about 2 ½ – 3 hours.
The ham needs to reach an internal temp of 140 degrees before serving, but you don't want it to get much hotter than that or it will dry out. You can use a meat thermometer to monitor the internal temp if needed. I strongly suggest a Thermapen… To make your life a lot easier – every BBQ'er and griller needs a Thermapen – an instant-read thermometer. You can tell when the ham is ready because the slices will start to separate slightly and the outside will have that caramelized look. When it reaches this point, remove the ham from the smoker and loosely tent with aluminum foil. It's ready to serve after a short rest, but you can keep it warm for a couple hours by placing it in a dry cooler with a few old towels. Carving a spiral sliced ham is easy. They've done all the work for you, just make a cut along the bone and free all the slices. Be sure not to throw that bone away because it will flavor a pot of beans or can even be used for making pork stock. Instead of spending money on an expensive ham this Thanksgiving, give this recipe a try. Malcom Reed Connect on Facebook Follow me on Twitter Subscribe to my YouTube Channel Find me on Google+ Follow me on Instagram