Smoked Fresh Ham Recipe + Brine
Looking to smoke something extraordinary? This special-order cut (a raw, uncured leg of pork) transforms through brining and slow smoking into a showstopping centerpiece with incredible flavor. While it requires advance planning, this multi-day process rewards you with pork unlike anything you've tasted before.
Servings: 40 servings
Calories: 626kcal
Ingredients
- 2 gallons water
- 2 cups kosher salt
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 head garlic cut in half
- 2 tbs mustard seeds
- 2 tbs coriander seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 bone-in skin on fresh ham about 20 pounds
- Apple-wood chips for smoking
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup Dijon mustard
- 2 tbs fresh rosemary chopped
Instructions
- Please read all the notes before starting this recipe. We've included important tips and info that shouldn't be skipped.
Brine the fresh ham
- In a large pot, bring the water, salt, brown sugar, garlic, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, and bay leaves to a simmer.
- Whisk until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- When the brining liquid has cooled, find a large container, big enough to hold your ham.
- Submerge the ham in the brining liquid and weigh down the ham to keep submerged, if needed.
- Brine in the refrigerator for 7 days, turning once in a while.
Air dry
- Remove the ham from the liquid and discard the brine.
- Pat the ham completely dry with paper towels.
- Place the ham on a wire rack set inside a large roasting pan and place in the refrigerator, uncovered, overnight to air dry.
Prep the Smoker
- Prep your wood for your smoker.
- Prep your smoker for a temp of 200 - 225 degrees F.
- We recommend setting up a drip pan filled with a mixture of apple juice or cider and water and making sure it stays filled while cooking to keep the environment moist.
Smoke the Ham
- Place the ham in the smoker and smoke for 4 hours. Add new wood chips after 2 hours.
Make the Glaze and Continue to Smoke
- Meanwhile, whisk the honey, Dijon, and rosemary together in a bowl.
- Brush over the ham. Close the smoker and smoke for another 3 to 4 hours. Check the temp on the ham. You are looking for 165 degrees F - this is more important than cooking times.
Rest, Slice and Serve
- Remove the ham from the smoker and allow to cool. Brush with the remaining glaze.
- After the ham has cooled for 1 hour, slice off what you need to serve. See our notes about cooking ahead and reheating for better flavor.
Notes
Going into this recipe, you need to make sure you have everything lined up. Time, space, and patience - and lots of it - for at least 8 days.
Special Tools & Equipment You'll Need:
- A large cooler that you can keep cold works great. I used a spare fridge, removed the shelves and placed a cleaned cooler in it to brine the ham.
- A huge roasting pan. The ham requires an overnight air dry. Make sure you have a pan big enough to hold it.
- A smoker. Make sure your smoker can handle the size of a 20 pound am. If not, scale the recipe as needed.
- Order ahead of time: Most importantly, make sure your ham is NOT pre-cooked or cured. Uncured ham isn't typical in markets. Give yourself ample time to talk to your butcher, order ahead of time to get in, and work through the bringing process.
- Dry the ham: After the ham is brined, you’ll want to let it dry completely overnight. The dryer the ham, the crispier the exterior.
- Check the temp: The internal temperature of the ham should be 165ºF. Once it’s reached that with an instant-read thermometer inserted to the thickest point , it’s good to go.
- Play with seasonings. The coriander, mustard seeds, and bay leaves in the brine are classic, but go ahead and add peppercorns, juniper berries, or even a piece of a cinnamon stick.
- Use maple syrup. If you want a real maple-flavored ham, swap the brown sugar in the brine out for real maple syrup.
- This recipe works on a pellet grill, classic offset smoker, or an electric smoker. The biggest key is making sure your grill space is big enough for the pork.
- Cooking ahead of time: We recommend cooking this ahead of time, a day before, and using a steamer to warm it up. To reheat: place the smoked ham in a steamer pan to gently bring it back to temperature. This method helps retain moisture as you work through the enormous cut.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 626kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 190mg | Sodium: 6177mg | Potassium: 667mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 3.1mg