Rum Injected Double Smoked Ham
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This double smoked ham injected and basted with rum sauce or maple sauce will probably be one of the best thing you'll taste for a long time to come and it is so completely holiday worthy whether it's Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas or any day of the year.
There is no time to waste.. let's get to it!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Smoker Temp: 225°F
- Meat Finish Temp: 140°F
- Recommended Wood: Hickory, Pecan, Cherry (I use a mix but all of these stand alone just as well)
- Bone-in Ham (heat and eat)
- Jeff's original rub
- Rum sauce (or maple sauce) – recipes below
First you'll need to mix up the rum sauce (or maple sauce if you prefer).
Tip: You might want to double the recipe so you'll have enough to brush or drizzle onto the finished ham slices once it's all done.
Rum Sauce for Injecting into Ham
You'll need:
- 1/3 cup of rum
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar (I prefer dark but light will work fine)
- 1/4 lb (1 stick) butter
Pour the rum into a small sauce pan over low heat. Add the butter and let it melt while you stir it around. Add in the brown sugar and let it dissolve while you continue to stir. Once everything is melted and dissolved and warm, remove from the heat.
Do not let the sauce boil or you will end up making candy.
Maple Sauce for Injecting into Ham
Very similar to the rum sauce except you leave out the rum and only use 2 TBS of brown sugar:
- 1/3 cup of Maple syrup (the real stuff)
- 2 TBS brown sugar (I prefer dark but light will work fine)
- 1/4 lb (1 stick) butter
Pour the maple syrup into a small sauce pan over low heat. Add the butter and let it melt while you stir it around. Add in the brown sugar and let it dissolve while you continue to stir. Once everything is melted and dissolved and warm, remove from the heat.
Do not let the sauce boil or you will end up making candy.
Injecting the Sauce into the Ham
Once the rum sauce is finished, it is ready to inject into the ham.
Warning: I highly recommend wrapping the ham in plastic wrap. When you inject it, some of the sauce will squirt out of unsuspected places in a geyser-like fashion and up to 5 feet away– Ask me how I know! ;-)
With the ham wrapped in plastic, fill the injector with the warm sauce and inject as much as you can at 1 inch intervals. Some of it will leak out but much of it stays in there and flavors the inside of the ham.
For those who are not familiar with injecting, push the needle into the meat at a 45 degree angle and slowly pull it out of the meat as you depress the plunger.
The injector that I've been using for years and highly recommend can be found on Amazon..the needle is bigger than most and things like coarse pepper, garlic pieces, etc, will not stop it up. You can check it out HERE.
When the injecting is finished, remove the plastic.
Now that you have flavored up the inside of the ham, you will also want to do something to the outside as well.
Brush a little of the rum or maple sauce onto the ham to make it nice and sticky then sprinkle Jeff's original rub all over the outside of the ham.
You will notice that I placed the injected ham on a Bradley rack to make it easy to transport to and from the smoker. A Weber grill pan or even a cooling rack works equally well.
At the point, the ham is ready for the smoker.
You can use whatever smoker you have or even a grill with an indirect setup.
I love to use the Camp Chef Woodwind for this awesome double-smoked ham recipe but any smoker will work great as long as it can maintain the temperature adequately.
Update 11/2019: The new Camp Chef Woodwind now has a brand new WiFi controller and I am beyond stoked to share it with you.
A few years ago I said, “if Camp Chef ever comes out with a wifi controller they will have the best, most feature-rich pellet grill on the market” and I wasn't wrong! I've been using the new Woodwind with the Wifi controller for a few weeks now and it is blowing me away with every thing that I throw at it.
Read my review | See the price
About the Camp Chef Woodwind WiFi
Pellet smoking is an ALL WOOD method of smoking.. like a big stick burner, the heat comes from burning real wood and the smoke is just something that naturally happens when you burn wood. There is nothing more “real” than using real wood to cook and smoke your food.
Here is just a few of the features that makes the Camp Chef Woodwind a great smoker to own and use for all of your outdoor cooking:
- An ash cup on the bottom of the unit to catch the ashes and make cleanup a lot easier. I am pretty particular and still vacuum out the smoker but you certainly don't have to do that often with this added feature.
- A chute opens on the bottom side of the hopper so you can dump the pellets into a container and replace them with a different flavor (nice!).
- A 2nd cooking shelf comes standard. You just can't have too much shelf space in my opinion.
- Wifi controller for remote monitoring and adjusting of the temperature and smoke settings.
- 4 probe inputs on the controller and ships with 4 meat probes. Sweet!!
- Smart Smoke Technology with 10 smoke level settings
- Contains a mechanism that lets you move the flame deflector out of the way while you are cooking so some of that fire can come up through the slotted drip pan and put some direct heat on what you are cooking.
- Bottle opener
- On board cord storage.
- 3 year warranty
- Did I mention that the fire pot where the pellets burn is made from stainless steel.. it will probably outlast me!
- Optional propane powered sear box capable of 900°F attaches to the right side of the unit. This allows you to sear burgers, steaks, chicken, etc. once they are done cooking. You could also just use it to cook steaks or other meats at very high heat.
I only recommend smokers that I love to use and if I love to use it, I just naturally think that you will too.
If you are looking for an easy to use smoker that burns REAL WOOD for heat and smoke, that's versatile enough to smoke, bake, barbecue, grill and even sear (optional searbox), then look no further. This grill is for YOU!
Back to Setting Up the Smoker..
Preheat to about 225°F and when it's holding steady, place the ham directly on the grate.
Apply heat and smoke for about 3 hours or until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 140°F.
If your smoker is having no trouble maintaining the set temperature, consider brushing on rum or maple sauce a couple of times while it smokes.
If it happens to be cold out and your smoker loses heat easily then it is best to leave the door or lid closed as much as possible. In this case, it is fine to brush on some of the rum or maple sauce one time about 30 minutes before the ham is finished.
Let the ham rest for about 15-20 minutes then slice it up into 1/4 inch thick pieces piled onto a nice platter.
If you have extra sauce, consider brushing or drizzling some onto the pieces that are sliced.
Disclaimer: Not all of the alcohol cooks out of the sauce during the brief warming period and during the time in the smoker. Rum adds a lot of nice flavor but there is still trace amounts of alcohol present when it is being served.
The maple sauce is an excellent alternative and contains no alcohol.
Rum Injected Double Smoked Ham
Ingredients
Main
- Bone-in ham (heat and eat)
- Jeff's original rub
Rum Sauce
- ⅓ cup Rum (dark or spiced)
- ⅓ cup Brown sugar
- ¼ lb (1 stick) Butter
Maple Sauce
- ⅓ cup Maple syrup
- 2 TBS Brown sugar
- ¼ lb (1 stick) Butter
Instructions
- Make the rum sauce or the maple sauce by adding the rum or maple syrup and butter to a sauce pan over low heat. Let the butter melt while you stir it around. Add in the brown sugar and let it dissolve while you continue to stir. Once everything is melted and dissolved and warm, remove from the heat. (Note: Do not let the sauce boil or you will end up making candy.)
- With the ham wrapped in plastic (to contain the mess), fill the injector with the warm sauce and inject as much as you can at 1 inch intervals. Some of it will leak out but much of it stays in there and flavors the inside of the ham. When the injecting is finished, remove the plastic.
- Brush a little of the rum or maple sauce onto the ham to make it nice and sticky then sprinkle Jeff's original rub all over the outside of the ham. The ham is now ready for the smoker.
- Preheat your smoker to 225°F (107°C) using indirect heat. If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.
- Once the smoker is ready, lay the pan with the ham on the smoker grate and close the lid/door.
- Smoke cook for 3 hours or until the internal temperature of the ham reaches a good eating temperature or about 140°F (60°C).
- Slice the ham into 1/4 inch thick pieces piled onto a nice platter.
- If you have extra sauce, pour some of that onto the slices just before serving.
I would like to get the recipe and make it
Hello Jeff… I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was fantastic. After injecting the 8 lb. ham, I did score it and appIy the marinade and onto the smoker at 225. After 3 hours it was a solid 130 degrees internal temperature and I brushed it down with the remaining injection marinade and put it in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes and pulled and covered it for 20 minutes. Absolutely phenomenal.
I did modify your injection marinade because of the alcohol. So I made the maple syrup version but added one tablespoon of Captain Morgan. To compensate, I drank several Captain Morgan and Coke while watching the smoke rolling from my Camp Chef smoker in honor of our great nation.
Hey bud, I smoked a ham tonight and it was delicious…The only difference is that i didnt have the bark like you do in your picture so I had to finish it off under the broiler for 10 min to get the bark…Is there something you do different that you didnt specify?
Every smoker handles heat, air and humidity differently and this makes a difference in how bark is formed on the outside under certain cooking conditions. It is possible that your smoker holds humidity than the one I used and the bark did not form in the same way because of this.
I had done a few hams like this and every one has come out great, so now I take the same rum mixture and have started injecting my Boston Butts, with awesome results. We prefer them carved and not pulled, and the flavor in the meat and the juices, has produced but raves for the various folks that I smoked them for.
I meant nothing but raves
Came out perfect. Nuff said
I have to say the injection mix on this ham is great! I don’t inject my ham because my Kamodo really removes the need for injecting, the ham is beyond moist without injecting. The addition of the maple mix with my own rub was incredible. I love to try the recipes that are on your website. Good job from one okie to another.
I made this ham today for Easter..turned out very good, the whole family commented on how good it was. I just found your website and signed up for the newsletter…I will be ordering your spices and bbq sauce….your website is amazing!
Jeff,
Love your website and go to it often, have also purchased your rub recipe’s. But I’m curious as to why you are calling this a double smoked ham? It’s smoked for 3 hours one time, I’m just a little confused.
Bart, these are called “double smoked” because most hams claim to be smoked already. Maybe they are or maybe it’s smoke flavoring but the job you can do at home is far superior. The process they get in the factory makes them single smoked, the 2nd smoke you do in your own smoker at home makes it “double smoked”.
would be nice if Jeff would answer the multiple requests for which type of rum was suggested, clear or dark
I’ve answered this many times via email however, I definitely need to answer it here in the comments as well– my apologies for waiting so long. I use dark rum but I have had many people tell me they use the spiced rum like Captain Morgan’s with great results.
Jeff, This ham sounds great will try it soon, but my question is how can I print the recipe without the sales pitch on a smoker or the testimonials. You have the best web site on smoking and gets opened first.
Thanks,
Ron
Ron, all of my recipes since about 2013 have a summarized recipe at the bottom of the page. The ones older than that are being worked on but it is slow going. The rum injected double smoked ham recipe is one of those that has not been completed yet but we hope to get this done soon.
This recipe (with the maple syrup because of the kids) has become a Christmas dinner favorite. I’m getting ready to smoke this year’s ham now.
I did the rum injected double smoked ham yesterday. A couple of comments. 140* is too warm, it dries it out and I don’t think the rub adds anything to it. It’s good on everything else but I think it takes away from the sweetness of the rum and brown sugar.
JMHO
I noticed that the recipe is “double smoked”. Why is that? is that because the warm and serve pork is already smoked? If not, will using an already smoked ham be ok? I’m concerned about an oversmoked flavor. Sounds delicious!
Jeff any reason for a bone in ham vs a boneless ham? Seems like the boneless ham would yield more useable meat,and easier to slice.
Boneless hams work just fine as long as they are have minimal added water.
I made the Maple injected ham over last weekend for a group of friends. Several commented “best ham they’ve had”. Worked well in the Camp Chef SGX with mesquite pellets. Doing it again for Thanksgiving with the family. Thanks Jeff!
I was wondering what Rum Brand you used. I do not drink, but my family likes rum cake and the lady that makes it for them, uses Malibu Rum with Coconut. This did not sound like the thing for a ham. Any advice?
Jeff,
I want to do the rum or maple ham, but can’t find any hams at local grocery store/butcher shops that are not 23% water. Any suggestions ? What about a pork butt for the rum/maple recipe if not watered ?
William, That’s a lot of water added! You can definitely do a pork butt if you have the time. These usually take 12-14 hours to reach a tender state if you maintain 225-240°F in your smoker.. an internal temperature of about 180-185°F for sliceable or 205°F for pulled. An uncooked ham may also be an option however they tend to have less fat than a butt and you probably only want to cook it until it’s sliceable.. 180-185°F or so internal temperature and of course you can baste it every hour or so while it cooks. I would wrap the butt or the fresh ham in foil once it reaches 155-160°F for a couple of hours and then finish unwrapped with more basting.
Jeff,
Decided to go ahead and use the 23% water ham (Cook’s Shank Portion Ham), used the maple injections, smoked on Davy Crockett GMG grill with hickory for 4 hrs @ 230*…..result was outstanding !!
Thoughts on a 20lb turkey, with the back cut out and smoking both halves on separate racks?
Hi im going to try this on the weekend . I was just wondering what type of rum you use was is white or brown? Would it matter? Thanks
How big was the ham you used?
About 10 lbs
I killed a hog yesterday and want to smoke the hams. Will this ham recipe work or is there anything special I need to do to the ham. I am curious at what temp to smoke and how long. I am going to use your rub recipe.
Looking for Jeff rub recipe. I bought your book but can not find it in there. Am I just missing it
Holm, The recipes that I sell here on the website are not included in the book since so many people purchased the recipes prior to the book being published.
If you are wanting to use a rub in the book that is similar to the original rub, go for the Big Bald BBQ Rub.
Not much good if you are muslim and not allowed alcohol. …. do you have some alternative vegan festive recipes?
Seriously? His website is called smoking meat…
This recipe is one of our family favorites. Last week we were camping in our motorhome and decided to try to double smoke the ham on a propane grill. I used a small smoker box and some apple wood chips, set the box over one burner and left the other off. I placed the ham over the off burner and closed the lid. It was a little hard to monitor the temp, but after a couple of hours everything came out great!
I have to recommend the best flavor injector on the market, sold by Cabela’s: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Food-Marinade-Injector/1400646.uts?productVariantId=3291207&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=42-18304218-2&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=03541559&rid=20
I made an injection mix combining Rum, Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar, Apple Cider, Apple Pie Spice, and Butter and injected and glazed. Awesome!
can i form a liquid with your rub and inject it into the meat ?
On that heat and eat ham would you pick a shank or a butt?
Just finished making your Maple injected double smoked ham. WOW!! I used hickory wood with some cherry wood chuncks. WOW it turned out awesome!! Thank you.
Help ! For the rum injected ham … What size Ham is best for the 3 hour smoke. . ???? My local butcher can only get 18 lb ham and he said it would take. 8-10 hours to smoke . I really only have 3-5 hours to smoke it . Just need to no if the ham should be fresh and what size to get ?
Yeah I’m with you. I ruined my family Easter. I bought an 11.5lb ham and didn’t allow myself enough time to cook before Easter dinner. Sitting here with a bunch of hungry family members. I know it’s my fault for not doing more research! But, I wish Jeff would have said what size ham he used.
smoking deer meat
Jeff –
I want to try the rum glaze and rub on a pork shoulder…do you think it would work?
Appreicate all the great tips. Your site is my go to when I smoke anything!
Im interested in learning more about smoking meats
Jeff,
Where do I start? I am new to smoking meat (preparing it, not eating it!). Your website and recipes have made this a very rewarding (and tasty) experience. I have done a Boston butt, a chicken, the ABTs (my wife absolutely loves these things), and most recently, a brisket.Your rub and sauce recipes do give it a little zing, which we enjoy very much. I did reserve the juice from the brisket to use for reheating…wow…my mouth has begun watering all over again! The most incredible thing about this is that I never thought I could ever produce anything like this. You made it easy and my family thinks I'm some kind of BBQ Pitmaster now!
Thanks!
Jeff,
Am enjoying your tips about smoking various foods. They are great. My question is a little off to side. I have purchased the Black Forest" type hams, and think they can be improved a bit by smoking them, so I am going to try that. I would like to know if I can "brine out" some of the salt in the ham as they seem quite salty.
Any thoughts on this?