Foil or not foil a double smoked ham?

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oggg

Fire Starter
Original poster
Sep 21, 2014
30
10
Millbrae, CA
some recipes say to smoke 2.5h at 225-250, then glaze and cook 0.5h more

Some recipes say smoke until good color, then foil with some juice to the 2.5h mark, and then unfoil and glaze and cook 0.5h more.

I was going to do 3 h total. For fun I will check IT and hope for 150F
 
I have double smoked a ham only once and did not foil it.  I was very happy with the results.  It took about 3 hours at 235 to reach 145.
 
I have done many never foil, rub with mustard or VOO and put a rub on it, smoke it 225 for about 3hrs till IT 140* Good luck. Also look at bears step by step double smoked hams he has a good tutorial, or use the search bar above you will learn it is your best friend.

I am going to do Jeffs Double smoked Maple injected ham this yr looks really good

http://www.smoking-meat.com/november-21-2013-rum-injected-double-smoked-ham

A full smoker is a happy smoker

DS
 
No foil for me, I want all the smoke flavor I can get . I  slice it ,to the bone as   a Spiral cut( slice 1/4"to 1/2"cut to the bone on each side). This make smoke easier to get in the meat and a great way for your glazing to get deep in the Ham.
 
8lb safeway ham with bone. Enhanced.
Rubbed with yellow mustard, and mix of b sugar, POG, clove powder and chili powder. Light cross hatches.
Brinkmann electric cheapo
Top rack ~240F for 1.5h, apple hickory
1.5h foiled with pineapple chunks, bottom rack
Unfoiled and glazed with b sugar/pineapple juice for 1.5h, with some extra wood for smoke and heat. IT 140F. Sliced after maybe 10min.

Delicious. Smoky but Not smoky enough. Most ham pieces were slightly on the dry side. Glazed edges were nice. Juice from the foil was the most delicious sauce ever, and it instantly revitalized any dry ham. On the salty side though.

Lessons: Allow for more time, use bottom rack for higher temp to get darker color, smoke longer in beginning phase (so less time non smoking phases) use the stove to reduce the glaze (microwave is dumb), allow lots of time to reduce glaze in time for glazing. Deeper cross hatches. Consider positioning cut end down, so the rest of the ham can be reached with the glaze. Don't serve the cut face slice cuz it might be dry. Serve bland side dishes and starch because it's really really salty. Try better brand of ham?
 
Yeah the foiling seems like a waste of smoker time, but I wanted to try to keep it moist and speed up warming time. If I do this again, I'll try smoking longer, a shorter foil time and shorter glaze time. I think my glaze time was too long because I didn't get the IT up enough during smoking.
 
The only time I ever foil a Ham is when we make it in the oven, to keep it from getting a tough skin on the outside, or to keep it from burning.

Since my Double Smoked Hams are done mostly in a 200* smoker, there's no need to foil it.

Here's the whole deal:

Double Smoked Hams Times 4      

Bear
 
Ahh. I had read your post before but now it makes more sense. 8+ hr at low heat.
 
Ahh. I had read your post before but now it makes more sense. 8+ hr at low heat.
Yeah---That's at mostly 200*.

It wouldn't hurt to use 230* to shorten the smoking time. I use 200* to get as much smoke as I can on it----I'm addicted!!

Bear
 
If you have the means to do so, try a cold smoke (no heat) for 2-4 hours then add heat. That is what I do for double smoked hams and for cured non-cooked hams. If you aren't set up for cold smoking, set your smoker to less than 200° (170°-180° ideally) and smoke it there. Depending on the  size of ham you'll get a 5-8 hours of smoke without drying out the ham or overshooting the temp. For pre-cooked hams i usually pull at 140°. For the non-cooked cured ham you need to go to at least 145° per FDA, I take mine to 150°.
 
Twice smoking a ham (which is already pre-cooked) is to add some more smoke and heat to internal temp for eating.  Simply smoke at the recommended cook temp on the ham label, usually 275 degrees and 15 minutes/pound.  I smoke for half that period of time and foil for the second half to prevent it from drying out.  Everyone is going to have their own way of doing it.  This works for me.
 
Oh, yes
icon_exclaim.gif
 When you do a double smoke , make sure you get the smoke blue and clean:

your Ham will be bitter...
 
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