How to Cook a Ham on a Weber Grill

Smoked ham ready for serving

A delicious way to cook a tender, flavorful ham on a Weber grill involves the ancient culinary art of smoking meat. The technique involves indirect heat, which means placing the ham on an area of the grill away from the coals, sealing the lid on the grill and allowing the smoke to cook the ham over several hours. Adding different types of wood chips to the coals will impart an intriguing smoky flavor and aroma that your guests will enjoy. The unique dome design of the Weber grill allows plenty of headroom for smoking large cuts of meat.

Things You'll Need

• Half ham 5 cups of wood chips 20 pounds of charcoal Lighter fluid Weber grill Barbecue tongs Stove mitts Basting brush Apple cider vinegar Brown sugar Pineapple juice Honey Whole cloves

Instructions

1. Arrange 8-10 pounds of charcoal in a circle inside the Weber grill, leaving the center area open, like a doughnut. The ham will be smoked over the center area. This is the indirect heat method of grilling.

2. Light the grill.

3. Soak 5 cups of wood chips in a large, stainless steel bowl. Cover the chips with water and let them soak for about 20 minutes while the coals are getting ready. There are different types of wood chips available. Hickory wood is a time-tested favorite for smoking pork, and the sweetness of apple wood adds a unique flavor as well. For a southwestern sizzle, some people prefer to use mesquite chips.

4. Prepare the ham. Boneless, precooked hams weighing up to 10 pounds can be smoked in less than three hours. Bone-in hams that have not been fully cooked will require smoking time of about 40 minutes per pound. A 10 pound ham would therefore take about six and a half hours to grill.

5. Use steel or bamboo skewers to secure the slices of a spiral pre-cut ham. While the ham is smoking, the slices will flop apart and the ham will dry out unless you insert skewers to hold them together. Insert the skewers all the way to the narrow end of the ham to hold the slices in place. Use two skewers to prevent the slices from rotating or twisting.

6. If you want to add cloves for flavoring, use a knife tip or steel skewer to make pinpricks over the surface of the ham. Insert whole cloves into the holes.

7. Toss a few handfuls of the soaked chips onto the white coals and set the grill in place.

8. Place the ham fat side up on the center of the grill when the chips begin smoking.

9. Close the grill, and open the top and side vents to allow smoke to circulate around the ham.

10. Leave the grill closed, and do not peek inside for at least one and a half hours. Every time you open the grill, you add to the smoking time.

11. Check the grill after an hour and a half, and add more coals if necessary. Remove the ham and the grill from the fire with barbecue tongs or stove mitts, and set aside when adding more charcoal.

12. Add more soaked wood chips to the white coals, and replace the grill and the ham.

13. Baste the ham with a mixture of equal parts brown sugar and apple cider vinegar. This will impart a sweet and tangy flavor while tenderizing and preventing the meat from drying out during the smoking process. As an alternative, baste the ham with one part pineapple juice to three parts honey. Baste thoroughly every one and a half hours.

14. Continue smoking the ham another one and a half hours.

15. Repeat steps 11-15 until the ham reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

16. Remove the ham from the grill, baste it one final time, and let it sit for 20 minutes before slicing and serving. This rest period allows the ham's natural juices to flow throughout the meat, making it moist and delicious. Heat causes juices to retreat to the center of meat during the long hours of smoking.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with different kinds of wood chips to bring out different flavors.

• Don't add coals or lighter fluid without first removing the ham and setting it aside. Let the coals burn white before replacing the ham.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish