Sweet And Smoky Ham Recipes

From fall to winter, the holiday cheer is abundant but the calories aren’t always the best for one’s waistline. There are few things better, however than a feast-like spread as the leaves turn into brilliant reds and yellows before fluttering to the ground in sheets. Every year our family likes to fine-tune a holiday classic - the spiral ham.

It’s not nearly as onerous to prepare and monitor as a big turkey, so after Thanksgiving, we tend to default to a spiral ham as our main protein of choice. We’ve prepared it several ways - depending on your tastebuds, you may want it smoked, or if you like a little acidity to go along with your sweet tooth, a maple glaze with pineapple may be the perfect recipe for you.

Two Ham Recipes: Smoky, Sweet And Tangy

If you prefer a country-classic ham taste, we might suggest the following smoked ham recipe, but one of my personal favorites includes a sweet-and-tangy recipe with a brown sugar glaze and pineapple slices. Depending on your loved ones' preferred style, we’ve included two different recipes that aim to please everyone at the dinner table -- and not to mention the delicious leftovers.

Recipe 1: Smoked Ham With Cherry Glaze

This was the recipe we made this year, and it was lip-smackingly delicious. Usually, if I’m offered a choice between turkey and ham, I always lean towards turkey, but this is going into our recipe rotation moving forward.

Ingredients:

• Precooked smoked spiral-sliced ham (8-10 pounds)
• Chicken stock (2 cups)
• Pork Perfect Pork Rub (Fire And Smoke)
• Olive oil
• Western Premium Mesquite BBQ Smoking Chips or Cowboy Brand Apple Smoking Wood Chips

We choose the precooked spiral-sliced ham to cut down on preparation time - if you choose to purchase a whole ham, you’ll need to add time to score the ham. I highly recommend the Pork Perfect Pork Rub (available at most grocery stores), but you can also make your own if you prefer your spice blend. This particular blend includes sugar, salt, paprika, other assorted spices, and mustard seed. As for olive oil, you can use your preferred brand, it’s used as a binder to hold the rub on the ham.

Cherry Glaze Ingredients:

• ½ cup cherry preserves
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Instructions:

Step 1:

Heat your grill or smoker to 250°F, and add wood chunks or chips.

Step 2:

Remove the ham from its packaging and discard any excess liquid. Place the ham on a cutting board and pat it dry with a paper towel.

Step 3:

Drizzle the meat with a light coating of olive oil to help the seasoning adhere to the ham, and evenly season each side with your favorite pork rub.

Step 4:

Place the ham cut side down directly on the smoker or grill grates and smoke at 250°F for 1.5 hours.

Step 5:

Remove it from the smoker and place it in an aluminum pan.

Step 6:

Pour 2 cups of chicken stock into the pan and tightly cover the ham with a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Step 7:

Increase the temperature on the grill or smoker to 325°F return the covered ham to the smoker and continue cooking for an additional 1.5 hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of 140°F.

Remove the ham from the smoker and let rest while making the glaze.

Step 9:

To make the glaze, whisk all of the ingredients together in a pot over medium-low heat. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes and then remove it from the heat. Let it cool slightly before applying it to the ham.

Sometimes we use a brush to coat the ham while it is still hot, so you may prefer to keep the ham in the smoker until the glaze is almost finished simmering.

Recipe 2: Oven Baked Ham with Pineapple

If you prefer a sweet, fruity, and tangy ham, we’ve got the perfect recipe that will satisfy those particular taste buds. In this recipe, the ham can be baked in the oven rather than a smoker or grill.

Ingredients:

• Precooked smoked spiral-sliced ham (6-9 pounds)
• 20 ounces crushed pineapple (1 large can)

Pineapple Ham Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
• 12 ounces Dr. Pepper
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Step 1:

Heat oven to 325°F.

Step 2:

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.

Step 3:

To make the glaze, combine all glaze ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often for 20-30 minutes or until the glaze is the consistency of syrup.

Remove from heat and set aside until the ham is ready.

Step 4:

Brush half the glaze over the ham, being sure to spread some down into each cut. Spread the crushed pineapple over the ham, pressing down into the spirals, and then pour half the remaining glaze over the surface.

Step 5:

Bake the ham, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Step 6:

Repeat glazing every 10 minutes until the internal temperature registers 140°F on a thermometer (roughly 50 minutes).