Harry Nilsson may have put the lime in the coconut, but recipe developer Petar Marshall recommends you put the pineapple on the ham. Fans of Hawaiian pizza are likely to be familiar with this flavor combination, as their beloved and controversial pie places the yellow tropical fruit in the spotlight alongside Canadian bacon (Hawaiian pizza actually originated in Canada). The combination of sweet, savory, and smoky is delicious, but thats not all: Pineapple also makes a good meat tenderizer. Whats not to love? Marshalls recipe calls for a hefty bone-in ham and convenient canned pineapple and relies on a smoker and sweet pineapple glaze to introduce maximum tastiness and tenderness into the meat.
This isnt a recipe you can whip up in less than an hour on a busy weeknight, but all that time spent in the smoker is what makes this meat so flavorful. “The better quality the ham, the better the dish will be. However, even a more budget-friendly ham will develop great flavor thanks to the smoking and glazing process,” Marshall explains. Heres how the magic happens.
Gather your pineapple ham ingredients
A good pineapple-glazed smoked ham starts with ham, of course — youll want a 10-pound, bone-in ham, so therell be plenty of meat to go around. Youll also need canned pineapple and the juice it came in, pineapple preserves, more pineapple juice, and some brown sugar. Plus, toothpicks, to help adhere fruit to meat. “I used canned pineapple for convenience, flavor, and moisture content. Its juice helps to create a delicious glaze,” Marshall notes.
This part should be fun: Use those toothpicks to secure each slice of pineapple to the ham, making sure the meat gets evenly covered with pieces of fruit. While youre at it, preheat your smoker to 225 F.
Making the glaze is easy and quick, and will feel familiar to anyone whos made simple syrup before. Simply combine the brown sugar, pineapple juice, and pineapple preserves and heat over low until the mixture simmers and the sugar dissolves.
Place your pineapple-studded ham in your smokers bottom rack, with a sheet pan below it to minimize messy drips. After a few hours in the smoker, your meat should be at 110 F. When it is, apply the glaze every 15 minutes or so, until a meat thermometer tells you the ham has reached 140 F internally. Some tips from Marshall: “Theres no need to spray the ham during the smoking period since theres moisture from the pineapple, but it wont hurt if you want. A loaf pan of water inside the smoker can help if needed to add moisture. Glazing too early may result in burnt glaze.”
How to Make Classic Pineapple and Honey Glazed Ham at Home
Can you put Pineapple inside a ham?
Don’t bother decorating the outside of your ham with fresh pineapple, as the enzymes in the fruit will turn the meat to mush. Instead, add slices to the pan in the final moments of glazing, which burnishes the meat’s diamond scoring that mimics a pineapple’s quilted peel.
Is honey baked ham as good as regular ham?
The addition of honey will affect the calorie content of the food. One tablespoon of honey contributes to approximately 64 calories. In addition, the use of heat when making baked ham will reduce the quality of the honey.
How do I choose the best pineapple glazed ham?
For the best pineapple glazed ham, you want to purchase a fully cooked, bone-in, spiral cut ham. It is easy to find fully cooked hams at the grocery store, just look for “Fully Cooked” and not, “Cook Before Eating” on the label. Fully cooked hams have been soaked in brine (tender!) and either smoked, baked or boiled before packaging.
Does pineapple make Ham mushy?
No! Cooking pineapple destroys the enzyme that can make pineapple mushy. Baked ham with pineapple is a classic, but almost all recipes call for using canned pineapple since fresh pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain that can make ham mushy.