Preheat the grill or smoker to 300 to 325 degrees F.
David uses his Weber Performer kettle-style grill, lighting only about 10 to 16 pieces of charcoal set up for an indirect Three-Zone Split-Fire. To do this separate the coals into two equal piles on opposite sides of the grill grate.
While the grill or smoker is warming up, prepare the ham for smoke.
Prepare the Ham for Smoking:
Remove the ham from the package. Rinse it under cool running water. Pat it dry and place it on a rack inside of a sheet pan rind side up.
Season the outside of the ham with a modest amount of pork rub. (You may not need all of the pork rubfrom this recipe. Reserve any remaining rub for another time.)
Smoke the Ham:
Throw a chunk or two of cherry wood into both piles of coals on each side. Put on the lid and bring the temperature back up to 300 to 325 degrees, using the vents to regulate the temperature.
Smoke the ham until the ham has a nice rich color and the internal temperature reaches about 125 F, about 2 hours. Add charcoal and wood to maintain temperature and smoke as needed.
Glazing the Ham:
Meanwhile, combine all glaze ingredients and mix well.
At 125 degrees F, the ham is double smoked. Stop adding wood to the coal bed. Now it’s time to add more flavor, color, and texture! Transfer the ham to a foil pan. Return it to the grill or smoker. Baste the ham every 30 minutes for the rest of the cook while maintaining a consistent “pit” temperature.
The goal temperature is an internal temperature of between 140-155 degrees F. Let the overall visual appearance of the ham determine how long you baste and warm it through. There should be a nice mahogany bark with the glaze tacked up on the outside. The spiral slices of the ham will start to separate and draw away from the bone.We felt our 11-pound ham was big enough to handle the warmer internal temperature and deserved to be glazed for as long as possible.
Remove from grill or smoker and rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
Carving and Slicing:
Using a sharp knife, locate the bone, and cut the meat from around the bone. Then cut the slices from the bottom portion first, because they are the easiest. Then cut the larger chunks from the top of the ham into smaller pieces with that nice bark smoky glazed bark intact. Some of the meat next to the bone may be tender enough to shred.
Serving:
Add some foil to the bottom of the pan from the smoker to give it a clean bottom and serve directly from the pan. But, for a real show-stopping presentation, run the slices, chunks, and shreds through the juices at the bottom of the pan and serve them on a platter. Then pour the remaining juices from the ham and glaze directly over the double smoked ham. It’s like liquid gold!
Notes
Cherry Wood: If you use wood chips instead of chunks, consider soaking a few handfuls in water for about 30 minutes before placing them on top of the coals. This will keep them from burning up too fast and will provide more smoke.Charcoal baskets are great for holding clusters of charcoal together. The baskets also help them burn longer. Combing the Glaze: In the video, you will notice that David uses a mason jar to shake the mixture together to combine. However, he found this difficult to use when basting and recommends combining the glaze mixture in a bowl with a whisk.
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