This recipe for home-cured and smoked ham is wet brined, smoked, and glazed until it’s perfect. It’s a great meal to share with family and friends. You will be blown away by the flavors of this homemade ham.
We are big-time ham eaters in this family and eat it often outside of holidays. If you have any extra food, you could use all that ham in my Croque Madame or Ham and Potato Soup.
Cured ham is one of many methods to help preserve pork. I cured the pork in a wet brine to make it taste better and give it that desired “pink ham” look. When purchasing this, you must ask for a “Fresh” bone-in ham. This is sometimes known as a green ham. If you ask the butcher for a regular ham, they will lead you to the aisle with smoked and cured hams.
A traditional salt cure would be dried and packed in salt to preserve. This is done with ham and for certain types of meat like prosciutto and speck. But the kind we get in the US for the holidays is also smoked. A simple wet-brined and cured ham cannot be eaten raw.
To wet brine and cure a ham, you can use a lot of different things, but you need water, salt, and curing salt for it to work. The curing salt is what gives it a pink color and helps to preserve it. With the curing salt, it would be hard to keep raw pork in a wet brine for a week or more. This process is not at all complicated. It does, however, require several days of waiting while the brine takes effect.
Smoked ham is ham that has been wet-cured and smoked until it reaches an internal temperature of 155°. Around the middle of the smoking process, a glaze is often baste on the ham to help the outside pork turn into bark and add flavor.
I like to make small cuts about 1″ square and ¼” deep all around the ham to help the smoke get inside. Smoking the ham will bring some excellent earthy wood flavors to help enhance the taste. Here are my favorite woods to use:
You can use different woods and smoke it in different ways to make it work the way you like it.
Cold smoking ham infuses it with incredible smoky flavor without actually cooking the meat. But getting the timing right is crucial. Smoke it too little, and the flavor won’t fully develop. Smoke it too long and you risk drying out the ham or making it overly salty. Follow this guide to learn exactly how long to cold smoke a ham for optimal flavor and texture.
Why Cold Smoke Ham?
Cold smoking is smoking at under 100°F. This low temperature tenderizes meat while allowing the smoke to deeply penetrate for intense flavor. Hot smoking, on the other hand, cooks the meat while smoking it.
The benefits of cold smoking ham include:
- Intense, smoky flavor without drying out or cooking the ham
- Tenderizing effect from the gentle, extended smoking time
- Long shelf life due to the preserving effect of smoke
- Ability to enjoy both cooked and uncooked
Overall, cold smoking gives you incredibly flavorful and versatile ham to enjoy in endless recipes.
Choosing a Cold Smoker
To achieve proper cold smoking temperatures, you need the right equipment:
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Smoker box – Affordable and easy to use with any grill by placing wood chips in the box. Can struggle to maintain cold smoking temperatures.
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Stovetop smoker – Uses a stovetop burner as a heat source to generate smoke and connects to a covered smoking chamber. Easier temperature control.
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Electric smoker – Precisely controls temperature settings to keep the chamber under 100°F for cold smoking. The best option for beginners.
Whichever you choose, monitor temperatures with a probe thermometer and ventilate properly.
Ideal Cold Smoking Time for Ham
For the best results cold smoke a ham for 12-36 hours. The ideal time depends on
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Ham size – Whole hams need more time than smaller cuts.
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Bone-in or boneless – Bone-in hams take longer to penetrate.
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Desired smokiness – Shorter times impart milder flavor.
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Temperature – Lower temperatures lengthen the process.
Get to know your smoker’s performance and use these general guidelines:
- Small boneless ham steak or chops: 12-18 hours
- Half bone-in ham: 18-24 hours
- Whole bone-in ham: 24-36 hours
Maintain temperatures between 70-90°F for proper cold smoking.
Step-by-Step Guide to Cold Smoking Ham
Follow this simple process for delicious smoked ham:
1. Cure the Raw Ham
- Cure for 7-10 days in the fridge using a dry rub or wet brine for flavor and preservation.
2. Prepare the Ham
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Rinse off cure and pat dry.
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Optional: Apply a spice rub or glaze.
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Chill in the fridge overnight to form a pellicle skin.
3. Cold Smoke the Ham
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Set up smoker to maintain 70-90°F temperatures.
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Add ham, ensuring good airflow around the meat.
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Add wood chips or chunks – go for a fruitwood like apple or cherry.
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Refill wood every hour to keep thin, steady smoke.
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Smoke for estimated time based on ham size and bone.
4. Rest and Store the Ham
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Allow to rest at room temperature 1 hour after smoking.
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Wrap tightly in butcher paper or foil and refrigerate.
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Use within 2-3 weeks. Freeze for longer storage.
The ham can now be enjoyed cooked or uncooked in recipes, sandwiches, charcuterie boards and more!
Tips for Maximizing Flavor
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Use fruitwoods like apple, peach, or cherry for milder sweetness that pairs nicely with ham.
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Keep smoker vents open to allow proper airflow and prevent bitter creosote taste.
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Maintain a thin stream of smoke. Thick smoke leads to a sooty flavor.
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Use natural wood chips rather than chemically treated options.
Preventing Dryness and Preserving Meat
To keep smoked ham moist and safe for consumption:
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Smoke at proper cold smoking temperatures only.
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Use a cured ham through brining or dry rub – never raw pork.
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Smoke for no longer than 36 hours maximum or the ham may dry out.
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Store properly refrigerated or frozen after smoking.
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Discard if any odor or sliminess develops.
Serving Ideas for Smoked Ham
The possibilities are endless for enjoying deliciously smoky ham:
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Slice thinly for sandwiches, wraps, and charcuterie boards.
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Dice and add to omelets, pizza, pasta dishes, and more.
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Bake, grill, or pan fry for entrees. The smoke flavor will intensify.
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Use in soups, chilis, casseroles, and other one-pot meals.
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Pair with cheeses, fruits, pickled vegetables, and specialty mustards.
With the proper cold smoking guidelines provided here, you can achieve incredibly tender and flavorful artisan-quality ham at home. Experiment with different woods, seasonings, and serving ideas for endless enjoyment of your smoked masterpiece.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make Ahead: This recipe should be served as soon as it’s cools down from cooking in the oven. Covering it in foil and putting it in the oven at 200° will keep it warm for up to an hour before you serve it.
Put the smoked ham in the fridge for up to 5 days after it’s cool. Cover it and store it that way. Ham does freeze well wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 2 days or until thawed before reheating.
To reheat, put the ham in a casserole dish or roasting pan and cover it with your favorite glaze. Then, pour 2 cups of chicken stock into the roasting pan to help keep the meat moist. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes or until warmed.
How to Cure a Ham
In a large pot, mix the water, cider, molasses, salt, curing salt, sugar, pickling spice, cloves, and brown sugar.
Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and ensure the salts and sugar are completely dissolved.
Take the pot off the heat right away and add ice. Let it cool to room temperature, which should take about 30 minutes.
While you wait, take off the skin from the ham, leaving about 3 to 4 inches on top to cover the bone. You do this by holding the skin with one ham and gently removing it from the meat. Please watch the video on how I do this.
Place the ham in a large pan and, using an injector, suck up the brine and inject it in the meat 1” to 1.5” away from each jab going in 2 to 4 inches while pressing the brine into the ham on all sides.
Move the injected ham to a large 5-gallon container or clean bucket, and cover it completely with chilled brine or at room temperature. The pork should be completely submerged. Nothing wrong with adding a few cups of cold water to cover the brine.
Place the pork in the refrigerator and brine it for 7 days or 2 pounds daily.
On the third day, take the pork out of the brine and put it in a pan. Then, inject it again in the same way you did the first time. This is done to make sure the brine covers the whole ham. If it doesn’t, the ham will have gray spots instead of pink ones.
After seven days, take the ham out of the brine and rub it down with cold water for a few minutes to get rid of the brine and spices.
Beginners Introduction to Cold Smoking Meat & Food
FAQ
How long to smoke a fully cooked ham at 225 degrees?
Is ham cold smoked or hot smoked?
How long to cold smoke pork shoulder?
How long to smoke a spiral ham?
How long do you smoke a ham?
Add about one cup of wood chips roughly every 45 minutes throughout the smoking process or less frequently for a milder smoke flavor. Smoke the ham until it reaches an internal temperature between 130-140 F (use an instant read thermometer) .
How long does cold smoked ham last?
Cured and dried meat lasts much longer. In addition, before you use the dried meat, it will need to be cooked. You probably don’t want to wait half a year to eat your cold smoked ham, but it should definitely last one or two months. At the website askkaren, we found the following answer
What temperature should a ham be smoked?
Instead you will only smoke the ham until it reaches an internal temperature of 130-140 degrees to warm the ham through and infuse it with smoke. Keep in mind that the ham is already pre-cooked so be careful not to exceed 140 F or your ham will be dry.
How do you smoke a Ham in a smoker?
Hang or place your ham in the smoker and cold smoke at 100°F for no longer than 12 hours. After 12 hours, set up your smoker for hot smoking. Preheat your smoker to between 225 & 250°F and add your preferred woods. I like a mix of hickory & apple for this recipe.