This week’s blog post is all about my featured recipe for this upcoming Easter, pulled ham.
Pulled ham is a trend going around the BBQ social media groups, so I decided to do my part and stay with the times. I used a just over 8-pound Sugardale ham shank that I got on sale from Pick ‘n Save, similar to the ham I used in my 2024 Christmas recipe. It is very important to not get a spiral-cut ham. This is important because the spiral-cut hams are cut into small slices already, and taking it higher than 135 degrees will very easily dry it out, and nobody likes a dry ham.
A cured, pre-smoked ham is already completely cooked, so when you are doing one for a holiday, you are really only heating it thoroughly. Usually, 130-140 degrees internally is enough for these hams to make them perfectly tasty and juicy, however, for pulled ham, it is much different. Much like doing pulled pork with a pork shoulder, you want to take the ham up to about 200 degrees internally or until probe tender. Probe tender means that the temp probe goes into the meat, and it feels like a hot knife through butter with little to no resistance.
Preparing this ham is very easy, I took it out of the package, cut grooves into the exterior of the ham to help it expand while it cooks, and seasoned it with our Lovely Jubbly BBQ, And Then Some BBQ Rub around the entire exterior of the ham. I only went with one rub because the ham is cured, and I didn’t want to make the ham too salty by using The Everything all-purpose rub as well. I cooked the ham on my Pit Boss Sportsman 1100 and used my usual Lumber Jack Competition Blend pellets. I cooked the ham at 250, and it cooked for about 8.5 hours. Once the ham hit about 160 degrees internally, I placed it in an aluminum tray, and wrapped it in foil to steam and get more tender throughout the rest of the cook.
Once the ham was done, I gave it about an hour’s rest in the 170-degree oven and let the moisture spread back into the meat. Once it was time, I put on my nitrile gloves with the cotton glove liners for heat protection, and the ham pulled perfectly soft and was still plenty juicy. I was surprised by this, given that I had only heard about this technique on social media, and we all know what that sometimes means, but it was juicy, soft, and very flavorful. This is absolutely a recipe worth trying for Easter, or indeed any other time of the year, as it can be used in so many different ways.
Ingredients:
- 1, 8-10 pound Sugardale Ham Shank, not spiral cut
- Lovely Jubbly BBQ’s And Then Some BBQ Rub
- Aluminum Tray (for wrapping)
- Aluminum Foil (for wrapping)
Recipe:
- Score the outside of the ham to allow for expansion during cooking
- Season liberally with the And Then Some BBQ Rub
- Prepare smoker for indirect cooking and set to 250 degrees
- Place the ham in the smoker and let cook until 160 degrees internally
- Once the ham is at 160 degrees, then place in a tray and wrap in foil.
- Let ham cook until probe tender, or about 200-202 degrees internally
- Rest for about 45-60 minutes
- Pull the ham and enjoy!
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As always, keep cookin’ and Lovely Jubbly!
Lovely Jubbly BBQ 