Home-Cured and Smoked Ham Recipe

This home-cured and smoked ham recipe is wet brined and then smoked and glazed to perfection for an incredible meal to serve to friends and family. 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 happen to have any leftovers, then consider using up all that ham in my Croque Madame or Ham and Potato Soup.

Cured Ham

Cured ham is one of many methods to help preserve pork. I used a wet brine to cure the pork to enhance the flavor and give it that coveted “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 your butcher for a regular ham, they will take you to the section with cured and smoked hams.

A traditional salt cure would be dried and packed in salt to preserve. You would see this for ham and specifically for things like prosciutto or speck, but the typical kind we get here for the holidays in the United States is additionally smoked. A simple wet-brined and cured ham cannot be eaten raw.

There are many different ingredients one can use to wet brine and cure a ham, but water, salt, and curing salt are must-haves for it to take place. The curing salt is what gives it a pink color and helps to preserve it. You would be hard-pressed to keep raw pork in a wet brine for a week or more with the curing salt. This process is not at all complicated. It does, however, require several days of waiting while the brine takes effect.  

Smoked Ham

Smoked ham is ham that has been wet-cured and smoked until it reaches an internal temperature of 155°. Halfway through the process of smoking, the ham is typically basted with a glaze to help caramelize the outside pork to form bark and help flavor it up.

I like to score them with small 1” square ¼” deep incisions all around the ham to help the smoke penetrate it. Smoking the ham will bring some excellent earthy wood flavors to help enhance the taste. Here are my favorite woods to use:

• Apple
• Cherry
• Hickory
• Oak
• Pecan
• Mesquite

Feel free to get creative with smoking it and using different woods to make it work to your liking.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Pork – You will need fresh bone-in ham for this recipe.
• Water – This is the base liquid for the brine cure.
• Cider – I like to add a little bit of apple cider to complement the pork flavor.
• Ice – After boiling it quickly, you will need some ice to chill the brine.
• Spices – I add some whole cloves and pickling spice to the brine.
• Curing Salt – You will need #1 curing salt, also known as Prague powder.
• Salt – I always use coarse sea salt in my cooking and baking.
• Molasses – Some dark molasses is an excellent addition to the brine.
• Sugar – I like to use light brown sugar, but regular granulated sugar will also work.
• Glaze – You will need a glaze for this recipe during the smoking of the ham. You can use a favorite recipe of yours, or feel free to try my Pineapple Ham Glaze, Honey Ham Glaze, or Brown Sugar Ham Glaze.

How to Cure a Ham

Start by adding the water, cider, molasses, salt, curing salt, sugar, pickling spice, cloves, and brown sugar to a large pot.

Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and ensure the salts and sugar are completely dissolved.

Remove the pot from the burner and immediately add in ice and cool it down to room temperature, which takes about 30 minutes or so.

In the meantime, remove the skin from the ham, leaving the top 3-4 inches covering the bone at the top. 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.

Transfer the injected ham to a sizeable 5-gallon container or sanitized bucket and cover it entirely at room temperature or chilled brine. The pork should be completely submerged. If you need to add a few cups of cold water to the brine to cover it, no problem.

Place the pork in the refrigerator and brine it for 7 days or 2 pounds daily.

After 3 days, come back and remove the pork from the brine and place it in a pan, and reinject it in the same manner as the first time. You do this to ensure the brine is all throughout the ham, or you will have gray spots instead of pink.

After the 7^th day, remove the ham from the brine and rinse it well for several minutes under cold water while rubbing it down to remove the brine and spices.

How to Smoke a Ham

Transfer the pork to a rack over a sheet tray and pat it on all sides with paper towels.

This part is optional, but using a very sharp knife, score 1” squares all over the ham. This is to help the smoke penetrate the meat and give it a superb ham aesthetic. Pat dry again with paper towels. Watch the video on how I do this.

Place the ham uncovered in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours to form a pellicle to help the smoke stick to the pork. You do not have to do this, but it is advised for bark and flavor.

After this time, set the ham at room temperature for 1 hour. In the meantime, begin heating your smoker to 250°.

Once the smoker is up to temperature, place the ham directly on the grates, place in a thermometer to the thickest part of the pork, and smoke until it reaches 115° internally.

Once it reaches 115°, you will need to start making your ham glaze, which should only take 10 to 15 minutes.

When the ham reaches 120° internally, generously base it with the glaze on all sides every 30 minutes until it reaches 140°. Baste the ham one last time and at this point, turn the smoker up to 325° and cook it until it reaches 155° internally.

Let the ham rest for 30 minutes.

Slice it and serve.

Make Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: This recipe is meant to be served as soon as it is done resting after cooking in the oven. It can be kept warm for up to 1 hour before serving by keeping it covered in foil in the oven at 200°.

How to Store: Once the smoked ham is cool, cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Ham does freeze well wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 2 days or until thawed before reheating.

How to Reheat: Add the ham to a casserole dish or roasting pan and add your favorite glaze to the top of the ham and pour in 2 cups of chicken stock in the roasting pan to help provide moisture. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes or until warmed.

Chef Notes + Tips

• While ham traditionally comes from the butt end, a shoulder will also work for this. In addition, you can use deboned ham as well.
• The pellicle is the top layer created during drying to help seal the ham. It creates an almost sticky-like protein coating on top that maximizes the smoke adhering to the pork.

More Ham Recipes

• Ham and Lentil Soup
• Ham and Bean Soup
• Red Beans and Rice
• Croque Monsieur
• Chef Salad

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Home-Cured and Smoked Ham Recipe

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5 from 2 votes

This cured and smoked ham recipe is wet-brined and then smoked and glazed to perfection for an incredible meal for friends and family.

Servings: 20

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 6 hours hours

Curing Time: 8 days days

Total Time: 8 days days 7 hours hours

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 gallon water
• ½ gallon apple cider
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons pickling spice
• 2 1/2 tbsp #1 curing salt
• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups sea salt
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1 gallon ice
• 12-15 pound fresh ham
• 2 cups glaze

Instructions

• Start by adding the water, cider, molasses, salt, curing salt, sugar, pickling spice, and brown sugar to a large pot.
• Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and ensure the salts and sugar are completely dissolved.
• Remove the pot from the burner, immediately add in ice and cool it down to room temperature, which takes about 30 minutes or so.
• In the meantime, remove the skin from the ham leaving the top 3-4 inches covering the bone at the top. 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 is 1” to 1.5” away from each jab going in 2 to 4 inches while pressing the brine into the ham on all sides.
• Transfer the injected ham to a sizeable 5-gallon container or sanitized bucket and completely cover it with the chilled brine. The pork should be completely submerged. If you need to add a few cups of cold water to the brine to cover it, no problem.
• Place the pork in the refrigerator and brine it for 7 days or 2 pounds per day.
• After 3 days come back and remove the pork from the brine and place it in a pan and reinject it in the same manner as the first time. You do this to ensure the brine is all throughout the ham, or else you will have gray spots. Instead of pink.
• After the 7th day, remove the ham from the brine and rinse it well for several minutes under cold water while rubbing it down to remove the brine and spices.
• Transfer the pork to a rack over a sheet tray and pat it down on all sides with paper towels.
• This part is optional but using a very sharp knife, score 1” squares all over the ham. This is to help the smoke penetrate the meat as well as give it a superb ham aesthetic. Watch the video on how I do this.
• Place the ham uncovered in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours to form a pellicle to help the smoke stick to the pork. You do not have to do this, but it is advised for bark and flavor.
• After this time, set the ham at room temperature for 1 hour. In the meantime, begin heating your smoker to 250°.
• Once the smoker is up to temperature, place the ham directly on the grates, place in a thermometer to the thickest part of the pork, and smoke until it reaches 115° internally.
• Once it reaches 115°, you will need to start making your ham glaze, which should only take 10 to 15 minutes.
• When the ham reaches 120° internally, generously baste it with the glaze on all sides every 30 minutes until it reaches 140°.
• Baste the ham one last time and at this point, turn the smoker up to 325° and cook it until it reaches 155° internally.
• Let the ham rest for 30 minutes. Carve and slice it around the bone and serve. Keep the bone for soup.

Notes

Make-Ahead: This recipe is meant to be served as soon as it rests after cooking in the oven. It can be kept warm for up to 1 hour before serving by keeping it covered in foil in the oven at 200°.

How to Store: Once the smoked ham is cool, cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Ham does freeze well wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 2 days or until thawed before reheating.

How to Reheat: Add the ham to a casserole dish or roasting pan and add your favorite glaze to the top of the ham and pour in 2 cups of chicken stock in the roasting pan to help provide moisture. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes or until warmed.

While ham traditionally comes from the butt end, a shoulder will also work for this. In addition, you can use deboned ham as well.

The pellicle is the top layer created during drying to help seal the ham. It creates an almost sticky-like protein coating on top that maximizes the smoke adhering to the pork.

Nutrition

Calories: 687kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 59gFat: 46gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 169mgSodium: 4695mgPotassium: 834mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 4IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 3mg

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Author: Chef Billy Parisi