Baked Smoked Ham

Hams are a quintessential part of Thanksgiving dinners. With the numerous side dishes that accompany hams or even turkey we prefer to keep this one simple. In my opinion starting with a fresh ham is just too much work. Pre-cooked and pre-sliced hams are readily available and can be purchased frozen and kept until about a week before use. I prefer a bone in, sugar cured and smoked ham. These require minimum preparation and basically only need to be heated up and sliced. You can get these from a myriad of suppliers but just check the label for "Sugar Cured and Smoked" We like to use local providers for our sources such as Conecuh Sausage Co. in Evergreen Al. They provide a fabulous product that is super easy to fix. Yes it does take several hours in the oven but thats it. You can and should follow the recipe on the package that makes a glaze. I dont care for the traditional pineapple, cloves and cherries but you can certainly do that if you want. This recipe simplifies the task of dishing up a simply delicious and moist ham to go with all the side dishes.

Ingredients

10 Pound Cooked and Smoked Ham (See Note)

APPLE CIDER GLAZE

1 1/2 Cup Apple Cider
1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the smoker to 225°F, if your ham is already sliced then simply place it directly on the grates. (If ham is not pre-cut, then make a crisscross pattern on the ham to separate it.)
If you have a probe with your grill, go ahead and insert it to monitor the temperature.
Close the lid and cook for about 3 hours or until the internal temperature is 120°F-130°F.
Meantime in a small saucepan on medium-heat, bring the apple cider to a boil, adding in the brown sugar and whisking until it dissolves.
Set aside.
Carefully remove the ham from the smoker and place it in an aluminum pan.
Place the ham back on the smoker and evenly pour the apple cider glaze over the ham. Wrap the ham with the foil or tent it if it is an aluminum pan.
Let the ham continue cooking for an additional hour, and baste the ham with the apple cider mixture every 15 minutes during that hour until the ham reaches 140°F, then remove. This is best done with a baster, but can be done with a spoon too.
If your smoker is taking longer to cook, boost the temperature to 275°F.
Carefully remove and serve.

NOTES

Use a pre-cooked and smoked ham, this can be any size ham but cooking time will be less for a smaller ham, it’s typically about 10 minutes a pound.
It’s very important to use a probe or meat thermometer in order to get the ham to the right temperature. Remember it’s already cooked, this is heating it back up.

Adapted from one or more recipes - Urban Cowgill April 2024