By Kent Whitaker
Ham is a natural when it comes to springtime pellet grill cooking and smoking! And, if you’re like my family, the coming of spring means Easter and a big family meal. That meal will most likely feature a large ham with plenty of sides.
There are plenty of ways to prepare a ham before tossing it on your pellet grill. To me, a combination of sweet and smoky is the way to go. For sweetness, I love pineapple juice and a ginger ale soak! More on that below.
Why Ham for Easter?
But, have you ever wondered why so many people eat Ham on Easter? I have, so I decided to do some research and found out that the reason is very simple. It essentially boils down to the fact that in Europe, back in the day, pigs were slaughtered in the fall and early winter, then cured/smoked, and ready to eat when Spring came. Plus, the big spring tradition of a family Easter dinner, which some religious scholars relate back to the Last Supper, needs to include a decent amount of food. You can’t feed the family, in-laws, nieces, and nephews with chicken tenders. Chances are that if meat was served at the Last Super it was probably lamb. But, in much of Europe and the new world, pigs were more popular.
Identify Your Ham before Cooking!
How long do you cook a ham and at what temperature? That question always comes up twice a year. Once at Easter and again at Christmas. The main thing to start out with is knowing what type of ham you are cooking? Do you have a bone in ham, picnic ham, dry cured ham, wet-cured ham, partially cooked ham, or a fully cooked ham? Odds are the basic cooking directions and weight is on the packaging, so look for that before tossing the wrapper in the garbage.
For many of us, a fully cooked wet-cured ham picked up at a local grocery store is what ends up being served. In that instance, all you are really doing is completely reheating the ham with your bonus flavor added. Wet-cured means the ham has water and “natural flavoring” added in. The rule of thumb for this particular ham is cooking at 350 degrees for 10 minutes per pound or at 325 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes per pound. Regardless of the oven or pellet grill temp and if you have a partially or fully cooked ham, your goal is achieving an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
All that being said – it’s time for Ham!
The Deck Chef’s Pineapple Apricot Pellet Smoked Ham!
Combine the flavor of pineapple and apricot for perfect Easter ham!
1 large can pineapple slices, reserve the juice
1 jar apricot preserves
1 can ginger ale
2 -3 tablespoons Teriyaki sauce
1 fully cooked ham
Start your pellet grill on the smoke setting with your choice of wood pellets until your smoker starts to smoke, I prefer maple, but competition blend pellets also work well. If you are looking for more smoky flavor, you can place your ham on the smoker without the foil pan for 20 – 30 minutes and let the smoke penetrate the meat. Then pre-heat to 325 degrees. Drain the pineapple juice into a saucepan and add the apricot preserves, or apricot jelly, and the Teriyaki sauce. Warm over medium heat while stirring until preserves are liquefied. Remove the ham from the smoker and place it face/open slice down in a heavy-duty foil pan, then return to the grill and brush evenly with the mixture, you can add additional spices or even brown sugar if desired. Reserve remaining mixture.
Now, stick as many of the slices of pineapple as you can on the ham securing with toothpicks. Take any remaining slices, dice them up, and toss them in the remaining sauce. Add some of the ginger ale and allow the mix to simmer slightly while the ham is cooking. Cover lightly with foil if needed.
If needed, add some of the ginger ale to the pan for moisture. Baste the ham with the remaining mixture saving some for final basting about 20 minutes before removing it. Look for an internal temperature of 135 to 140 degrees. Remove, allow to rest for a few minutes as the internal temp will continue to rise slightly. Serve hot and enjoy your ham and time with your family and friends.
Author Bio: Kent Whitaker, also known as “The Deck Chef,” is an award-winning culinary writer and cookbook author. He’s also penned Young Reader, NASCAR and History titles. The former winner of the Emeril Live Food Network Barbecue Contest also covers football, Motorsports, and bass fishing. Kent currently lives in East Tennessee with his wife, son, and a couple of dogs that love when he fires up the smoker or grill. You can reach out to Kent at www.thedeckchef.com, Facebook, Instagram, and twitter. Also checkout the cookbook section of www.pelletsmokerhq.com to find Kent’s other great cookbooks.