Learn how to smoke a ham on a pellet grill in just 3 hours! This is a double-smoked ham, using an already-cooked ham.
Just in time for your holiday dinner, it’s time to learn how easy it is to smoke a ham on a pellet grill. Remember to make this right alongside your Pellet Grill Smoked Turkey!
What type of ham should you use?
This perfect ham recipe is going to be made with pre-cooked ham, specifically, spiral-cut ham.
This recipe is basically going to be a twice smoked ham, which is going to provide an incredible flavor that your family will love for their holiday dinner.
We used a bone-in ham on our pellet grill, but a boneless ham can also be used.
What about the internal temperature of the ham?
The key to cooking this ham will be monitoring the internal temperature of the ham. This can be monitored with the meat probe that comes with your grill or with a meat thermometer.
The internal temperature of the ham will need to reach 140 degrees F in the thickest part of the ham.
Remember that the ham is already cooked, so this is simply to fully heat up the ham.
How long does it take to smoke a ham on a pellet grill?
It can take anywhere from a couple of hours to up to 4 hours. The final cooking time will depend on a few factors including the size of ham that you use, plus how your pellet grill heats.
If it evenly heats and gets up to temperature quickly then it may not take as long as one that may not heat evenly.
The general rule of thumb is that it takes about 10 minutes per pound to smoke a ham.
This is a good way to gauge how long it will take you. If needed, you can also increase the heat in the final hour of cooking time to get it to the desired temperature quicker.
What pellets should you use for a wood-pellet grill?
A variety of pellets can be used based on your preference.
Our personal favorite for smoked ham is cherry wood pellets, but hickory wood pellets are a good choice as well.
The grocery store typically sells a variety blend of pellets as well that we use regularly for many of our pellet grill recipes.
What glaze should you use for the outside of the ham?
A variety of glaze options can be done with this Pellet Grill Ham. We used an Apple Cider Glaze, it combined apple cider and brown sugar that was heated up in a small saucepan on the stove.
Once it had lightly cooled, we simply poured it over the ham in the final hour of cooking.
After pouring it over the ham, it is a good idea to baste the ham with the glaze every 15 minutes. It makes the ham nice and juicy paired with that smoky flavor, which turns into a wonderful holiday ham.
A few other options, you can also do a glaze with pineapple juice or maple syrup instead of apple cider. These will give the ham a sweet and savory flavor as well.
Lastly, if you want to have fewer glaze ingredients to use, you could also simply use the packet that comes with your ham. This will work well, just follow the package instructions.
Tips for smoking a ham on a pellet grill:
When starting out, you can simply place the ham directly on the grill grates. It is best to place it with the narrow side up and the thicker side down on the grates or you can also lay it flat on the side.
Once you have done this, go ahead and get your probe ready if using the probe that comes with the grill or have an instant read meat thermometer ready to check the ham throughout the cooking time.
The cook time is going to vary as mentioned above based on how large the ham is.
After about 3 hours or when it reaches 120°F, it will be time to use aluminum foil to carefully wrap the ham and then pour the glaze over the ham. At this point either a large aluminum pan or foil will need to be used to hold the glaze so that it is not all over your grill.
The ham will then be covered with foil and continue to cook on low heat for another hour or so until it reaches that optimal temperature of 140°F.
If your pellet grill is taking longer to cook, this would be when you boost the temperature up a bit to speed up the cooking time.
After it’s fully cooked or in this case warmed up, carefully move it to a cutting board and serve!
This holiday ham recipe is easy to adapt and make your own with your choice of glaze, but the entire family is going to love that delicious ham all made on your pellet grill.
Check out the side dishes you can make as well with these Pellet Grill Thanksgiving Recipes!
Plus, be sure to use this Gluten-Free Gravy or Ham Gravy to top your ham!
Pellet Grill Ham with Apple Cider Glaze
Ingredients
- 10 Pound Cooked and Smoked Ham (See Note)
Apple Cider Glaze
- 1 1/2 Cup Apple Cider
- 1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker or pellet grill to 225°F, if your ham is already sliced then simply place it directly on the grates. (If ham is not pre-cut, then make a crisscross pattern on the ham to separate it.)
- If you have a probe with your pellet grill, go ahead and insert it to monitor the temperature.
- Close the lid and cook for about 3 hours or until the internal tempearture is 120°F-130°F.
- Nearing the 3-hour mark in a small saucepan on medium-heat, bring the apple cider to a boil, adding in the brown sugar and whisking until it dissolves.
- Set aside.
- Carefully remove the ham from the pellet grill and place it on foil or in an aluminum pan.
- Place the ham back on the pellet grill and evenly pour the apple cider glaze over the ham. Wrap the ham with the foil or tent it if it is an aluminum pan.
- Let the ham continue cooking for an additional hour, and baste the ham with the apple cider mixture every 15 minutes during that hour until the ham reaches 140°F, then remove. This is best done with a baster, but can be done with a spoon too. This means you are pouring some of the mixture back over the ham to avoid it drying out.
- If your pellet grill is taking longer to cook, boost the temperature to 275°F.
- Carefully remove and serve.
Notes
- Use a pre-cooked and smoked ham, this can be any size ham but cooking time will be less for a smaller ham, it’s typically about 10 minutes a pound.
- Nutritional values will depend on size of ham and size of servings.
- It’s very important to use a probe or meat thermometer in order to get the ham to the right temperature. Remember it’s already cooked, this is heating it back up.
Nutrition
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