How to Smoke a Raw Ham Roast

A ham roast is made from an uncured or unpreserved leg of pork. Although it can be cooked in a variety of ways, smoking is an efficient way to cook a large cut of meat, such as a ham roast. Smoking, the process in which meat is slowly cooked over an indirect fire, will not only cook your ham roast fully, it will help impart juiciness and a smoky flavor to the meat.

Mix pepper, paprika, sugar, salt, dry mustard and cayenne pepper in a large bowl or baggie. Place the ham roast in the baggie or bowl and soak it in the mixture overnight in the refrigerator.

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Remove the roast from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature while you soak a few handfuls of hardwood chips in a bowl of water.

Prepare your smoker or grill by lighting about 50 briquettes in the middle of the heating grate. Add the wood chips and push the briquettes into two piles after the charcoal has become covered with ash. Position an aluminum pan containing 1 inch of water between the piles.

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Position the ham in the smoker over the drip pan.

Combine chicken stock, 3/4 cup pineapple juice, vegetable oil, 1/2 tsp. dry mustard and a pinch of dry cloves in a bowl. Heat the mixture in a saucepan until it is warm. Baste the ham with sauce once every hour.

Check the temperature of the roast with a meat thermometer. The roast is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F.

Tips

The Food Network recommends keeping a bag of charcoal nearby while you are smoking your ham roast. You may need to add additional briquettes to keep the temperature steady while your ham roast smokes.

Warnings

Undercooked ham roast can harbor dangerous bacteria. The United States Department of Agriculture warns that you must check the temperature of your ham with a food thermometer as soon as you remove it from the smoker. It is safe to consume when the internal temperature reaches at least 145 degrees F.