Cherry Soda–Glazed HamCherry Soda–Glazed Ham

Makes about 20 servings

Scout out local or regional soda, and farmstand cherry preserves in your area to make a glaze that adds a unique touch to a party-size ham, a fantastic centerpiece for any holiday or party table. Ham is an easy cut to cook outdoors and the perfect meat to have on hand when you need to feed a crowd. Many hams purchased at the market are already cured; you can also purchase an uncured or “green” ham, which will take a few more hours to cook.

Score the surface of the ham with shallow diamond-shaped or square cuts.

Set up the cooker for indirect-heat smoking: Open the top and bottom vents. Pile 3 pounds of the charcoal in one half of the cooker, leaving the other half empty. Load a charcoal chimney one quarter full of charcoal and light it. When the coals in the chimney are glowing, dump them on top of the pile of charcoal already in the cooker. Set half the wood on top of the coals, replace the grate, and put the ham over the side with no coals (the indirect cooking area). Close the lid.

Don’t open the lid for 1 hour, but keep a close eye on the temperature (see page 84 for how best to assess and monitor cooker temperature); when it reaches 220°, which might happen very quickly, close the vents about halfway so that less air comes in to feed the fire and the heat in the cooker rises slowly. Let the temperature climb to between 225° and 250° (see page 77 for how to determine your target temperature). Maintain your target temperature for the duration of the cook.

Throughout the entirety of the cook, be on the lookout for fluctuations in cooker temperature. If the temperature in the cooker dips more than 5° below your target and opening the vents isn’t sufficient to bring it back up, you will need to add a few hot coals. Reload and light the chimney as needed. If at any point the temperature climbs above your target by more than 5°, close the top and bottom vents further so that even less air comes in to feed the fire.

After the meat has been on the cooker for 1 hour, open the lid and check the edge of the meat that is closest to the fire. If it looks like it’s beginning to brown, rotate the meat, moving the side that is farthest away closest to the fire. Never flip the ham over; instead continue rotating it to brown evenly all over. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature of the meat: Insert the probe into the middle of the ham; you’re looking for a slow and steady climb toward 145°. As the wood burns throughout the cook, continue to add the other pieces until the meat reaches between 135° and 140°.

After 2 to 2½ more hours, check the meat for temperature. When the internal temperature reads between 143° and 145°, use a string mop to give it a thin coat of Cheerwine Glaze, then close the lid for just a minute to let it dry a bit. Mop with a second thin coat and remove from the cooker. Set the ham on a cutting board to rest, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes prior to carving. Slice ¼ inch thick.