Description
This smoked honey baked ham copycat recipe is the perfect dish for any occasion. Sweetly spiced crackled edges make an ordinary ham something to celebrate. Try serving this amazing ham recipe for your Easter dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 half spiral-cut ham, (7–8 pounds)
Honey Butter Smear
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup Honey
Sugar Dry Rub
- 1–1/2 cup turbinado sugar
- 1–1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch of allspice
- 12 ounces apple cider or apple juice
Instructions
- Unwrap the ham and remove all the plastic, including the little disk often found on the bone end. Throw away the glaze packet.
- Using a couple of paper towels, pat the ham dry on all sides.
- Preheat the smoker or oven to 225°F. Arrange a low-sided roasting pan with a flat rack inside to elevate the ham from the bottom of the pan, and set it aside.
- In a small bowl combine the butter, mustard and honey until well combined.
- Ease the slices of ham open so the honey butter smear can get deep into the meat. Be gentle so the ham stays intact, but tease open the slices all the way around the bone.
- Generously brush the honey butter smear into the slices and all over every side of the ham.
- Place the ham cut side down on the rack.
- In a small bowl, stir together all the sugar rub ingredients until well combined.
- Generously sprinkle the sugar rub over all of ham. Use your hands to press the sugar into the sides of the meat. You will have about 1 cup of sugar rub left over which you will use in the glaze.
- Pour the apple juice into the roasting pan being careful to not splash the ham.
- Cook the ham in the smoker or oven for 2 to 2-1/2 hours until the internal temperature reaches 128°F.
- Remove the roasting pan from the smoker or oven.
- Heat the oven to 450°F.
- Remove the ham to a board and transfer 1 cup of the ham juices to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat.
- Add the reserved sugar rub to the ham juices bring to a rolling boil. Cook the glaze until it turns carmel brown and thickens, about 3-5 minutes.
- Carefully rotate the ham so it is on its side and place it back in the roasting pan
- Carefully drizzle the hot glaze all over the ham so it covers all the slices.
- Place the roasting pan in the preheated 450°F oven for about 5-8 minutes. Watch the ham carefully as it cooks in the hot oven so the glaze doesn’t burn. You may need to rotate the pan halfway through the broiling to keep it from getting too dark.
- Remove the ham from the oven and let rest for 12-15 minutes.
- After the ham has rested, use a sharp knife to cut around the exposed bone. This will make it easier to remove and arrange the ham slices on a serving platter.
Notes
The glaze is what makes the crackled crust on the edges of the ham so you want to be generous with the glaze.
You make need to add a little more turbinado sugar if you don’t have enough reserved sugar rub.
If you need to hold the ham, tent it loosely with foil so it doesn’t steam and ruin the crusty edges.
Spoon any reserved ham juices and glaze over the ham to keep it moist.
