Double smoked ham (or twice smoked ham) is a great way to add wood fire smoke flavor to your favorite cured ham. This Cherry Bourbon Glaze takes a Smoked Ham to the next level giving it that extra wow factor!
Find out how to make an incredible double-smoked ham and impress your guests for your next holiday season.
If you are looking for a brown sugar glazed smoked ham we have you covered too.
Jump to:
- Vindulge Recipe Highlights
- What is Smoked Ham?
- Double Smoked Ham and Glaze Ingredients
- Preparing the Double Smoked Ham
- How to make a Cherry Bourbon Glaze for Smoked Ham
- How to Cook a Fully Cooked Ham on a Smoker
- Wine Pairing for Holiday Ham
- Side dishes for your Holiday Ham
- Useful Products for this Recipe
- Double Smoked Ham Recipe with Cherry Bourbon Glaze
Vindulge Recipe Highlights
- This recipe can be used for a whole ham, spiral-cut ham, or boneless ham.
- Cured ham is precooked ham usually smoked after a salt brine.
- Smoking the ham over indirect heat is reheating an already cured and smoked ham giving additional flavor.
- The simple cherry bourbon glaze is applied at the end of the cook to add a sweet glaze with a nice citrus, jam, and Bourbon flavor.
I wasn’t much of a ham person growing up. We had a generic spiral cut ham every year for Easter and often Christmas, but it just wasn’t my thing. It always ended up dry and boring when cooked in the oven.
But cooking it in the smoker gives it so much added flavor, and when you ditch the packaged glaze that comes with your grocery store ham and replace it with your own it’s off the charts! I’m more than happy to reintroduce ham back into my holiday lineup with this double smoked ham.
What is Smoked Ham?
When learning how to cook a smoked ham, I think it helps to start with what type of ham this works best on. The ham comes from the rear portion of the pig versus the pork shoulder. If you simply buy a ham and smoke it, you will get a very similar characteristic to a shoulder.
In this post, we are referring to the same cut, but one that has been wet cured. This is what you are likely to get when you buy a ham at the store or butcher. One that is already cured and pre-cooked. Thus why it is called double smoked ham.
What is “wet cured” you may be asking?
Well there is dry cured, which is in a salt or salt and sugar combo. Think prosciutto as an example. And there is a wet brine. This is what you will see often in the US which is when the ham is injected or immersed in a liquid brine and often smoked.
We like to buy a ham that is wet brined or cured and is a pre-cooked ham. If sliced already for a spiral ham, it will allow glaze and rub to get into the meat and makes for an easy cut when done. But they don’t have to be pre-sliced. You can do this with a ham not already sliced. One of our favorite hams is from Snake River Farms (these are not pre-sliced).
In addition to the wet brining, what you will see in the store is often smoked once and precooked. So by smoking to reheat a second time, we get the double smoked ham component we want for flavor.
Double Smoked Ham and Glaze Ingredients
- Pre-Cured Ham
- Dijon Mustard – Helps the seasoning stick to the ham and acidity to the glaze.
- Seasoning – We prefer our sweet seasoning, which is a mix of brown sugar and savory spices.
- Cherry Jam – Base for the glaze.
- Brown Sugar – Sweetens and helps jam thicken.
- Bourbon or Whiskey – Adds the base flavor while still cooking out the alcohol.
- Orange Juice – Adds a nice citrus note and complexity.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – Adds acidity to prevent it tasting like jam.
- Kosher Salt and Allspice
Preparing the Double Smoked Ham
We’re adding big flavors to our ham, so we start by adding Dijon mustard to the outside of the ham to provide something for the rub to stick to. We then coat with a dry rub to the top of the ham to give it some bark as we smoke it. This will also add great outside flavors and a slight crunch.
Finally we will finish with our sweet and savory cherry bourbon glaze, which will slightly caramelize and give that nice added flavor to the finished ham.
How to make a Cherry Bourbon Glaze for Smoked Ham
Simply add black cherry jam, brown sugar, bourbon, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, and allspice into a small saucepan and bring it to a simmer, whisking often to let everything combine. The cherry jam will have small chunks of cherries in it, which will show up on the glaze. If you wish for a smoother glaze feel free to use a food processor to mix up the glaze so it’s smooth, not chunky. The glaze can be made in advance, then warmed up before applying to the ham.
How to Cook a Fully Cooked Ham on a Smoker
We use fruit wood (cherry wood preferred) and smoke at a temperature between 225 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit. After coating the ham with your Dijon and dry rub, you can place the ham on a tray, like in the photo below, or directly on your grill grates. For ease of transferring we like to use a sheet tray.
If you have one, place a temperature probe alongside the bone, but not touching to monitor the internal temperature of the ham. We like using the Smoke unit by Thermoworks for a ham this size.
What is important when cooking a smoked ham is keeping temps low and cooking it until the ham reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees F, and then glaze it. Glaze the ham once, then close the lid and continue cooking until the ham reaches 140 degrees, and then pull the ham from the smoker. If you add the glaze too soon it runs the risk of burning.
When you add it towards the end you get that nice bark from the dry rub, and then finish with that satisfying bourbon and cherry flavor. We find this is the best way to smoke a ham for ultimate flavor.
Once you remove the ham from the smoker immediately apply one more coating of the glaze and let it set for 15 – 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Wine Pairing for Holiday Ham
Most folks are usually enjoying a twice-smoked ham for a holiday meal with family and friends. There’s likely going to be a lot of different flavors in the mix, much like Thanksgiving, so we don’t need to freak out about something perfect for just the ham.
But when focusing just on the flavors of double smoking, we’ve got a lot of flavors going on here: smoky, sweet, savory. The meat itself is salty and sweet, and the glaze is bold. We’re looking to wines to stand up to this. One of my go-to wines for smoked ham is a bolder style Rosé. It truly fits the bill for all categories. But if you’re looking for something else, consider the following:
White wine can be great with ham, but a bit trickier with this glaze and dry rub. But those that fit the bill include a dry-ish Riesling or Chenin Blanc.
For reds shoot for something fruity, like Beaujolais or new world Pinot Noir. With the bold flavors of the glaze you can even reach for a Zinfandel. It would be great with this!
Explore holiday wine from the Vindulge Wine Marketplace.
Side dishes for your Holiday Ham
- Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey Leg
- Smoked Sausage, Caramelized Onion, and Cornbread Stuffing
- Grilled Brussels Sprouts
- Grilled and Glazed Carrots
- Smoked Honey Butter (for your dinner rolls)
Leftover ham is also amazing as a ham hash recipe or as a base to a Cuban Sandwich. Or use the ham slices for any ham sandwich.
Useful Products for this Recipe
*This post contains affiliate links for Amazon and the ThermoWorks Mk4 Digital Thermometer. We only recommend products we use and love! And all of the products mentioned above are those we use regularly.
This recipe was originally published in April of 2019 and updated in October 2022 with additional information and photos. The original recipe remains the same.
If you like this recipe we’d truly appreciate it if you would give this recipe a star review! And if you share any of your pics on Instagram use the hashtag #vindulge. We LOVE to see it when you cook our recipes.
Katy M. says
Just made this for Thanksgiving dinner today and it was a hit! We couldn’t find cherry jam so we used raspberry. Added some chopped fresh rosemary to the glaze also, because we love a raspberry-rosemary combo and rosemary ham is delicious. It was so tasty! And so easy to make on our Traeger. Thanks!
Daniel Meek says
What type of rub?
Sean Martin says
We use our sweet rub which is a mix of brown sugar and savory spices plus kosher salt.
Bill says
My family loves this recipe. I’ve always made it with a half bone in ham but this year I got a whole bone in ham from SRF. It’s 17 lbs.. Any suggestions on cook time or.increasing ingredients.as this ham.is bigger than the ones I’ve previously smoked.
Sean Martin says
17 pounds!!!! Amazing, we want to join you! So yes, on cooking time, assume a 20% increase in the cooking time to the center of the ham. And I would double the cherry glazer recipe. With one that size, it is better to have leftover sauce. If your ham is done early, wrap it and store in a cooler to keep it warm.
Christy @ Feasting Not Fasting says
This was absolutely amazing! I had never heard of a twice smoked ham but we always use our smoker for thanksgiving to free the oven up and this was pretty much the easiest meat I’ve ever smoked and so phenomenal!! Next year we’re making this again and the tried and true smoked Turkey from this site (the best turkey recipe we’ve ever made and that’s saying something!). Try this ham, you won’t regret it! Plus you can dice and freeze the leftovers for quiches, fried rice, whatever.
Michael says
Curious on reheating instructions. For example, I smoke this for someone the day ahead. What instructions would you give for them to reheat in an oven?
Sean Martin says
Michael – for reheating I would do it in an oven at 250. Ideally if you have a sheet tray and a cookie rack, place the cookie rack on the sheet tray. Pour some liquid (water) in the sheet tray. On the cookie rack place the ham and then cover in foil. Place in the oven. The steam will keep the tenderness. Pull when you hit the internal temperature you like.
Casey says
Amazing, so much flavor hugh hit this year
Johnathan says
Can I use any juices on the bottom of the tray? Like apple juice and water or any other juice you recommend?
Sean Martin says
You certainly can! The issue with smoking is that you are running at over boiling temperature (212), so liquid will boil away and reduce. So if you add a juice, or liquid of any kind it adds moisture to the cooking chamber. Some grills/smokers need that like a pellet or offset smoker. On a Kamado grill like our Big Green Egg we don’t use one because the cooker is so efficient and keeps moisture in.
Keith says
I made this ham for Christmas dinner and it is unbelievably delicious. I smoked with cherry pellets on my Traeger for 4 hours then turned it up to 250 till it got to 130 then applied the glaze and followed the rest of the instructions. Will definitely make this again.
Sean Martin says
Awesome and thanks so much for sharing!!!
Michael marek says
Can’t find blackcherry, only cherry any way I can sub it or fix the difference?
Mary says
Totally fine using the cherry!!!
Pat says
Can the ham be baked in the oven instead? I don’t have a smoker.
Sean Martin says
Absolutely, I would still go low so you don’t dry out the ham. Maybe 275, it won’t take as long. Then add glaze at the end.
Pat says
Thanks Sean! I’m going to make this for dinner on Sunday, looking forward to tasting it. Have a great Easter weekend.
Sean Martin says
Tag us in the photos you will share!!! Have a great Easter!
JOSEPH GAZELEY says
can you make this with a shank half ham and would you pre slice any recommedations
Sean Martin says
Absolutely you can do this with a half ham shank. Consider cutting the total cooking time. Pre-slicing isn’t required, but makes a much easier serving when done.
Erin says
I love the suggestion of pairing a hearty Rosé with this smoked ham – Sounds absolutely delicious! PS – I can only look at this ham in one way after the Facebook posts 🙂
Catherine @ To & Fro Fam says
Well, you did it again: Developed yet another awesome recipe! I just shared your blog with a friend who got a smoker last weekend. She’s so excited to try your recipes!
jana seitzer says
You had me at bourbon…
time to learn how to smoke!
Meg says
This is a fascinating post – there are so many little details I was oblivious to. I also have not been a big ham person, and have found it dry and tolerable the handful of times I’ve encountered a spiraled ham at a family dinner. And what is it about smoked meats and cherry that is such a successful marriage? I love all your suggestions and will keep them in mind. Thank you!
Sean Martin says
It is true that cherry and smoked meats is a divine combo!