How to Smoke a Ham With Hickory Smoke in a Gas Grill

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Things You'll Need

  • 2-burner gas grill

  • Cast-iron smoker box

  • Hickory wood chips

  • Cured, uncooked ham

  • Full tank of propane

  • Saucepan

  • Silicon brush

  • Apple cider vinegar

  • Brown sugar

  • Oven thermometer

  • Meat thermometer

Smoking a ham imparts a rich flavor and aroma. Smoking with hickory wood on a gas grill presents special challenges unique to cooking with propane, rather than traditional fuel sources such as hardwood and charcoal. Proper ham smoking takes hours, with regular basting to prevent the meat from drying out, so a full tank of propane and a free afternoon are essentials. You need a grill with two separate inside burners. A single-burner grill will cook the ham faster than the smoke can adequately absorb into the meat. This will produce a broiled ham, but it won't be smoked in the traditional sense.

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Step 1

Soak 3 pounds of hickory wood chips in a large metal bowl for at least two hours.

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Step 2

Remove the cooking grates from the grill and place the cast-iron smoker box to the side over one of the burners.

Step 3

Ignite the grill and turn the burners to high with the cover closed for 10 minutes of preheating.

Step 4

Open the grill cover and fill the smoker box with drained hickory chips.

Step 5

Set the cooking grates back on the grill and dial down the heat to low on the burner below the smoker box. Turn off the other burner.

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Step 6

Place the ham over the burner that has been turned off. The other burner will provide heat and burn the hickory wood to produce smoke.

Step 7

Close the grill and open the vents halfway to promote smoke circulation.

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Step 8

Adjust the burner control knob to reach an internal grill temperature of 200 F, using the oven thermometer.

Step 9

Smoke the ham for 30 minutes per pound with the grill cover closed, checking once an hour to add more hickory chips to the smoker box and to baste the ham using equal parts brown sugar dissolved into apple cider vinegar.

Step 10

Remove the ham from the grill when the thickest part is 165 F on a meat thermometer.

Tip

For precooked hams, smoking in a gas grill over low heat for 15 minutes per pound using hickory in a smoker box will produce a flavorful ham, though the smoky taste and aroma will not be as rich as smoking an uncooked ham to completion.

Be sure to start smoking with a full tank of propane.

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