Texas BBQ Rub Glazed Smoked Ham

Here is a fantastic recipe for a glazed smoked ham. Just in time for your holiday meal.

This is a great way to take one of those ready-to-eat store-bought cooked hams and make a really special ham for the Easter dinner. The combination of our Rib Rub and Rib Candy™ (texaspepperjelly.com) makes this one a special treat. By the way, you can cook this great meal for about $25 and feed the family and not have to fight all of the crowds at the restaurants on Easter Sunday.

What you will need to make a glazed ham:

• 1 fully cooked ham
• 1 cup of honey
• ¼ cup of Craig’ Rib Rub
• 1 cup of pineapple juice
• 6 oz of Coke or Dr. Pepper soda (do not use the diet versions)
• Optional for glaze – 4 oz of Pineapple Habanero Rib Candy

Preparation for this ham is so easy.

Make the ham on the Smoker

Prepare your smoker and get your fire hot. Total cooking time will be approximately 4 1/2 hours at 200 to 220 degrees.

Place the ham in an aluminum pan so it can sit in it while it is cooking. Take the store-bought ready-to-eat ham and score the ham with a criss-cross pattern down into the ham about 1 inch. (If you are using one of the spiral cut hams you can skip this cutting of the ham.) Mix together the 1/2 cup of the pineapple juice, ½ cup of honey, and 1/8 of a cup of Craig’s Rib Rub and pour over the top of the ham. Place the ham on the smoker uncovered and cook for about 3 hours.

After 3 hours, pour the 6 oz of Coke or Dr. Pepper over the ham and cover the ham in foil and cook for another hour to 1½ hours.

For the final glaze, mix ½ cup of pineapple juice 1/8 cup of Craig’s Rib Rub, ½ cup of honey, and pour over the ham for the last hour of the cook.

As an alternate for the final glaze, you can use 4 oz of Pineapple Rib Candy over the top of the ham and cook for 1 hour.

You can also use the Rib Candy on the table as a sauce to put directly on the ham for those that want to really take the ham to the next level. Just put a tablespoon on your plate and dip the bite-size pieces of ham directly into the candy for a great taste addition.

If you are smoking the ham the day before and just want to heat it up for Easter Sunday you can prepare the ham up to the last glaze part of the recipe and the next morning you can take the ham out of the refrigerator, place it in the oven at 225° F and heat the ham for about 2 to 3 hours. During this time add the final glaze and you will have the ham ready when you are ready to eat.

In the Oven

You can do this same ham in the oven and the only thing you will be missing is the smoke flavor added by the smoking process but this is some great ham. If you would like to add some smoke flavor to the oven-cooked ham you can do so by adding about ¼ cup of liquid smoke to the first mix and this will add some smoke flavor to the ham. Not as good as cooking on the smoker but it will work if you are cooking this in the oven.

Bonus recipe

Bill’s Surprise Potatoes

Nothing goes better with a great smoked ham like Bill’s Surprise Potatoes. This recipe was developed at the Houston Rodeo BBQ Cookoff a few years ago and has been served to thousands of people and they are just blown away with this potato dish. It is easy to do and will be great with your ham, brisket, pulled pork, or whatever you are cooking this Easter. This recipe is for a full aluminum-serving pan of potatoes so if you want to cook a half-pan then cut the recipe down to half these amounts.

What you will need:

• 1 full-size aluminum-serving pan – this will serve about 30 to 35 people
• 10 pounds of whole potatoes
• 1 family size can (27oz) of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 family size can (27oz) of cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups of sour cream
• 1 cup of diced green onion
• ¼ cup of diced jalapenos (optional)
• ½ cup of Craig’s Rib Rub
• ¼ cup of paprika
• 3 cups of shredded cheese (use cheddar or a blend of Monterey jack and cheddar)
• ¼ cup of granulated garlic (use this to your flavor liking)
• Alt. Ingredient – your choice of chopped meat (brisket, pork butt, sausage)

First, cut the potatoes in half (this will speed up the cooking time) and leave the skin on the potatoes. In a large pot, boil the potatoes. Cooking time on the potatoes is about 30 to 45 minutes. When the potatoes are done, drain off the water and pour them into the serving pan. While the potatoes are still hot, crumble the potatoes into pieces. Add both cans of soup, the sour cream, Craig’s Rib Rub, the granulated garlic, onions, and jalapenos, and mix into the potatoes. Now add about ½ of the cheese and mix that into the potato mix. Spread this out in the pan and top with a large portion of cheese and then sprinkle with the paprika. Cover with aluminum foil and you can heat this in the oven at 225° F for about 1 to 1 1/2  hours (till all the cheese melts) or stick on the pit and melt the cheese on the pit. Note: it is best to work with the potatoes when they are hot so you need to wear some thick heat-protective gloves.

If you would like to make it a total meal in itself add about 3 cups of chopped meat to the mix and you have a total meal. The kids and grown-ups love this stuff. They will go thru it quickly so make plenty to have the next day.

Feel better about yourself and forget the woes of the economy by going out to the BBQ pit and doing some cooking. There is nothing like the feeling you get by simply going outside and putting something on the BBQ pit. The flavors of the smoke are just so relaxing and good for your mental health. Forget the economy and cook something that makes the whole family feel great.