This is about as simple a barbecue recipe as you will ever find. It may become your favorite way to cook a ham.

Game plan: You’ll need to make the barbecue sauce before you begin.

  • Yield: 2 to 3 servings per pound of ham
  • Total: About 3 hrs
  • Active: 15 mins

Ingredients (4)

  • 1 fully cooked boneless or bone-in ham
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/2 cups Big-Time Barbecue Sauce (see Game Plan note)
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Using a sharp knife, cut a series of parallel slashes 1/2 inch deep in the ham. Cut slashes in the opposite direction, forming a nice cross-hatch pattern on the surface of the ham. Rub with oil and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
  2. Prepare your cooker for indirect cooking at 275°F, using maple or pecan wood for flavor.
  3. Put the ham in the cooker, and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the ham reads 150°F. This should take about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes. In a bowl, stir together the barbecue sauce with the brown sugar. Using a pastry brush, glaze the ham with all the sauce. Continue cooking the ham until the thermometer reads 160°F. This should take about another 15 minutes, for a total cooking time of 2 to 3 hours. Remove from the cooker and let rest, loosely tented with foil, for 15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Beverage pairing: Siduri Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, California. A natural choice here would be a German Riesling, but equally interesting is this new-world Pinot. Smoke and sweet go so well together, and this wine, while technically dry, has an excess of sweet berry fruit that will be almost like a sauce for the meat.