Honey-Glazed Smoked Ham Recipe

By
Derrick Riches
Derrick Riches
Derrick Riches
Derrick Riches is a grilling and barbecue expert. He has written two cookbooks.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 01/2/23
Tested by
Colleen Graham
Photo of Colleen Graham
Tested by Colleen Graham
Writer and cocktail book author Colleen Graham is a seasoned mixologist who loves sharing her knowledge of spirits and passion for preparing drinks.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 6 hrs
Marinate: 10 hrs
Total: 16 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Yield: 1 10-pound ham

A precooked ham is a great main course for family gatherings. While you can serve it as is after warming it up a bit or bake it with a simple glaze, this honey-glazed smoked ham recipe is far more interesting. Cooking it in the smoker after using a sweet and spicy dry rub, then adding a flavorful basting sauce and honey glaze creates spectacular layers of flavor. It's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser and ideal for holidays or special occasions.

The recipe does take time and requires several steps, but it's easy and the result is worth the effort. It begins the night before with a dry rub of cayenne, mustard, paprika, and sugar. The ham is then slowly smoked for several hours, during which you'll regularly baste it with a sauce featuring cloves, mustard, and pineapple juice. Just before it's done, you'll add the honey and pineapple glaze for the perfect finishing touch.

Over all that time, your ham will develop a crisp crust and pick up aromatic smokey flavors that are accented wonderfully with sweet and spicy hints of the rub and the pineapple glaze. It's the ideal foundation for any dinner. Serve it with your favorite sides, such as macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans, or corn on the cob. Complete the meal with homemade southern-style biscuits.

To make sure you get plenty of ham for the whole family, look for a boneless ham allowing for 1/2 pound per person. With an adjustment to the cooking time, the recipe will work for a smaller boneless ham (less time) or bone-in ham (more time). Just keep checking the internal temperature with your thermometer.

Honey-glazed smoked ham recipe

The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

"This is a new favorite ham recipe in our house! The flavors are wonderfully layered and perfectly balanced. A full teaspoon of cayenne adds a great spice to the crust. It may be too much for milder palates, but it doesn’t get far into the meat; 1/2 teaspoon should be ideal for everyone." —Colleen Graham

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Ingredients

  • 1 (10-pound) fully-cooked ham

For the Rub:

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste

For the Basting Sauce:

  • 1 cup chicken stock

  • 3/4 cup pineapple juice

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

For the Glaze:

  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup honey, to taste

  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

  • Pinch ground cloves

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ham and dry rub ingredients.

    Dry rub ingredients for honey-glazed ham

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  2. The night before smoking the ham, mix together the pepper, paprika, sugar, salt, dry mustard, and cayenne in a small bowl.

    Pepper, paprika, sugar, salt, dry mustard, and cayenne in a small bowl and a ham

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

  3. Rub the spice mixture over the surface of the ham.

    Ham covered with dry rub on a wooden cutting board

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  4. Wrap the ham in foil and refrigerate overnight to soak up all the flavors.

    Ham covered in dry rub and wrapped with aluminum foil

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  5. The next day, remove the ham from the refrigerator and let it sit for 1 hour.

    Ham with dry rub after it was refrigerated

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  6. Gather the basting sauce ingredients and the ham.

    Ingredients to baste the ham

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  7. Prepare the smoker. You will be smoking at about 210 F (100 C) for 5 to 6 hours, or until the ham reaches 140 F. (If you use a digital meat thermometer, you can set the temperature to 140 F, and you'll be notified once the ham reaches the desired temperature.)

    Coals added to a smoker for the ham

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  8. In a saucepan, mix together the chicken stock, pineapple juice, vegetable oil, dry mustard, and cloves. Warm the basting sauce over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

    Chicken stock, pineapple juice, vegetable oil, dry mustard, and ground cloves in a pot

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  9. Score the ham with a sharp knife, cutting a diamond pattern about 1/4-inch deep.

    Ham covered in dry rub being scored with a knife

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  10. Tent the scored ham with foil to prevent it from drying out, and place ham in the smoker.

    Ham tented with aluminum foil in a smoker

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  11. Brush the ham with the basting sauce once every hour. Cover the ham with the foil between bastings.

    Baste the ham with the glaze

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  12. Gather the glaze ingredients.

    glaze ingredients for honey-glazed smoked ham

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

  13. In a small bowl, mix together the honey, pineapple juice, dry mustard, and a pinch of ground cloves.

    Glaze ingredients mixed together in a bowl

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  14. Brush the ham generously with the glaze a couple of times during the last hour of smoking. Cover with the foil to prevent drying out. Serve with your favorite sides, and enjoy.

    Smoked ham brushed with glaze
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Tips


  • There are plenty of wood varieties that work well when smoking pork, including hickory, oak, and mesquite.
  • When cooking meat, the internal temperature is the best way to tell doneness since smoker temperatures vary. Although the ham is already fully cooked in this case, a meat thermometer is still the best way to achieve a consistent internal temperature before serving.
  • When using a smoker in cold weather, you'll need to monitor the smoker's temperature more closely and possibly lengthen the smoking time. For holiday meals, it may even be a good idea to smoke the ham the day before and reheat it (tented with foil) to 140 F in the oven before serving.

Recipe Variations

  • For extra flavor, insert a whole clove into each cut intersection or in the centers of the diamonds of the scored ham.
  • Switch to a brown sugar glaze: Combine 1/2 cup orange or pineapple juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch in a small bowl.
  • Try the ham with a balsamic glaze: Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard in a small bowl.

Oven Method

If you do not have a smoker, this recipe can be made in the oven, though it will not have the same smoked flavor. If you're using an already fully cooked ham, place it in a preheated 350 F oven for 10 minutes per pound, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 140 F. If it's only a partially cooked ham, heat it for 25 minutes per pound, or to an internal temperature of 160 F.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
656 Calories
23g Fat
28g Carbs
85g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 656
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 23g 30%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Cholesterol 243mg 81%
Sodium 4253mg 185%
Total Carbohydrate 28g 10%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 26g
Protein 85g
Vitamin C 12mg 59%
Calcium 29mg 2%
Iron 4mg 21%
Potassium 1410mg 30%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)