No luck with hams

[bamajon]

I have never had any luck smoking hams and my mother-in-law bought a fresh ham that she want me to smoke for mothers day.  Any suggestins would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jirodriguez]

I did a ham on Easter that turned out great. I injected the ham with a mix of apple juice and maple syrup the night before, then right before I put it on the smoker I smeared it with a thin coat of yellow mustard and put a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, jerk seasoning, and Old Bay Seasoning on it. I put only a thin layer of the rub on because I knew it was going to be in the smoker for about 10 hrs. and did not want the sugar to burn. I took the left over rub, some apple juice, maple syrup, and a half stick of butter and made a thin glaze - starting around hour 5 I would baste it with a layer of glaze 1x per hr. My smoker was running at about 250° and I used apple wood as my flavor wood.

I ended up with a ham that was so tender you could cut it with a fork, and it tasted awesome!

 

[bamajon]

I did a ham on Easter that turned out great. I injected the ham with a mix of apple juice and maple syrup the night before, then right before I put it on the smoker I smeared it with a thin coat of yellow mustard and put a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, jerk seasoning, and Old Bay Seasoning on it. I put only a thin layer of the rub on because I knew it was going to be in the smoker for about 10 hrs. and did not want the sugar to burn. I took the left over rub, some apple juice, maple syrup, and a half stick of butter and made a thin glaze - starting around hour 5 I would baste it with a layer of glaze 1x per hr. My smoker was running at about 250° and I used apple wood as my flavor wood.

I ended up with a ham that was so tender you could cut it with a fork, and it tasted awesome!

Thanks that sounds great.  I'll have to try it out.  The last one i tried just wasnt jucy and had no flavor.  just tasted like smoke.

 

[Bearcarver]

I have never had any luck smoking hams and my mother-in-law bought a fresh ham that she want me to smoke for mothers day.  Any suggestins would be greatly appreciated.

You do know that a fresh Ham is not really a Ham, unless it's cured properly & smoked.

If you just smoke a "fresh ham", without curing it first, you will have pulled pork, not ham.

Also, curing a fresh ham, especially a medium to large one, is not something for a beginner to do.

If you want to make a great smoked Ham, get one that is already smoked, and you can double smoke it (see "Double Smoked Ham", below in my signature).

Or you can get one that has been cured, but not yet smoked, like SmokinAl gets from Smithfield. Then you can follow his instructions, and make a Great Smoked Ham.

Bear

 

[adiochiro3]

Some description of your process would be helpful in diagnosing your trouble.  Make sure all of your thermometers are accurate (boil test them).  Also, make sure your smoke is of the Thin Blue variety rather than billowing and white.  Can you keep your smoker at a steady temp?

I just did a great one for Easter.  Rubbed with a bit of brown sugar, and stuck some pineapple rings all over the outside (held in place by toothpicks).  Smoked at 250* until the bone-in ham hit 165* internal temp.  Smoked using hardwood lump charcoal.  I've done many hams using this method.

BTW, made some awesome split pea soup with that ham bone a few days later!  The gift that keeps on giving!

 

[SmokinAl]

Bamajon, The key questions here are: Do you have an uncured, uncooked fresh ham, or do you have a cured, uncooked ham, or do you have a cured, cooked ready to eat ham? When we know this for sure then we can better help you.

 

[bamajon]

took your advice and took the ham back and got a cured ham.  It turned out delicious.  That was my mistake the time i did it.  i useed an uncured ham.  i wish i had my camera with me when i did it.  next time I'll be sure to get some pics.  Thanks again for ya'll advice and tips.  ya'll saved the family get together ;)

 

[Bearcarver]

took your advice and took the ham back and got a cured ham.  It turned out delicious.  That was my mistake the time i did it.  i useed an uncured ham.  i wish i had my camera with me when i did it.  next time I'll be sure to get some pics.  Thanks again for ya'll advice and tips.  ya'll saved the family get together ;)

That's great Bama! Glad it was a big success!

Bear