Smoked Pulled Ham with Peach Glaze

You’ve probably had oven-roasted ham, and maybe you’ve even tried Twice Smoked Spiral Ham, but have you ever made pulled ham?

Pulled ham is an excellent alternative to the traditional ham on most Easter and Christmas tables. Cooking the ham low and slow for an extended time allows the ham to break down and the result is a delicious, tender pulled meat akin to pulled pork – but better! 

Smoked Pulled Ham with Peach Glaze 

Pulled ham is very easy to make, but it does take some time. Depending on the size of your ham, it can take any time upwards of 16 to 18 hours. 

The key to making a great pulled ham is to let it cook low and slow to give the meat a chance to break down so that you can shred it at the end.

This is a great opportunity for an overnight cook and just let the ham do its thing on the smoker while you get your beauty rest. You end up with piles of pulled ham ready to stuff into bread rolls.

Ingredients you’ll need 

• 8lb bone-in ham shank – I prefer a bone-in ham for this recipe, but you can alternatively use a boneless ham. Pre-sliced or spiral-cut hams are unsuitable, as they won’t shred properly. 
• Peach preserves – the base of the glaze is a jar of peach preserves. If you’re not a fan of peach, you can alternatively use apricot preserves, raspberry preserves, or orange marmalade. 
• Salted butter
• BBQ rub – you need to add a bit of BBQ rub to your glaze for flavor. I like to use our Pitmaster’s Pick rub, our all-purpose BBQ rub. It’s a great rub with Aleppo pepper for a spicy kick! 
• Water – you will need 1 cup of water to place in the bottom of the pan while you are braising the ham. This will help the ham steam so that it cooks faster. 

Equipment you’ll need

• Smoker – any smoker or pellet grill will work for this recipe as long as it can maintain a steady temperature of both 225°F and 275°F. 
• Oven-safe dish – when you braise the ham you will need an oven-safe dish or tray. I use my Cambro High Heat pans for this recipe, but you can use a Pyrex oven dish or a disposable aluminum tray.
• Aluminum foil
• Medium-sized pot & whisk – you will need a pot and whisk to make the peach glaze.
• Instant read thermometer

What type of ham to choose? 

You want an unsliced ham for this recipe, not a pre-sliced spiral ham. The pre-sliced ham won’t break down the same way, and you won’t achieve the same pulled texture.

I prefer to smoke the bone-in shank portion of ham when I make pulled ham, but you could also use a boneless.

How to make Smoked Pulled Ham with Peach Glaze 

1. Smoke your ham 

The first portion of the cooking process is to add a nice layer of smoke to your ham for about 8-10 hours. You don’t need to do any prep work here.

Preheat your smoker to 225°F.  

For this recipe, I used my Grilla Grills Mammoth pellet grill. It is my go-to smoker for overnight cooks because it has a massive hopper capacity (40lbs) and will run for up to 48 hours without needing to top up the pellets. 

As for the pellets, I used the Bear Mountain BBQ Gourmet Blend pellets for this recipe. They are a blend of Oak, Hickory, Maple, and Cherry and I love the flavor on all types of meat, especially pork. 

Place the ham on the grates. Leave it on the smoker until it reaches an internal temperature of 170°F. You can use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature. My favorite is the Thermoworks Thermapen because it takes the temperature in less than a second and is super accurate. 

2. The glaze

When your ham is getting close to 170°F, you can whip up the glaze. 

Any glaze will work for this recipe (including the little packet of glaze that comes in most store-bought hams), but I love a fruit glaze on my ham. This peach glaze only takes 3 ingredients, and you can whip it up in just 5 minutes, so it’s worth a little extra time for the end flavor. 

Combine the peach preserves, butter, and BBQ seasoning, in a pot over medium heat. You want to stir continuously while the ingredients melt to prevent it from burning, it only takes about 5 minutes. 

Once the butter is fully melted, set the glaze to the side until you’re ready to pour it over the ham. 

3. Braise the ham

When your ham hits about 170°F, you can pull it off the smoker.

Transfer it to an oven-safe dish or tray.

Pour a cup of water into the tray. This will help the ham braise and steam during the last part of the cooking process and yield more tender meat. 

Pour the peach glaze all over the top of the ham. It doesn’t need to be pretty, but ensure the ham is well-coated.

Cover the pan in foil and place it back on the smoker.

Increase the temperature in your smoker to 275°F and let the ham braise for another 4-6 hours or until it reaches 200°F internal temperature. 

4. Rest and shred 

When your ham hits 200°F, take it out of the smoker. Let it rest for 30 minutes to cool down a bit. 

When you’re ready to shred the ham, you won’t need a knife – you can shred it by hand or with forks or pulled pork claws. The ham should shred easily with very little resistance. 

Once your ham is shredded, you can serve it immediately.

More holiday inspiration

• Our 14 Best Easter BBQ Recipes
• 22 Best Barbecue Side Dishes
• 11 Delicious Grilled Fruit Recipes
• 14 Delicious Non-Turkey Proteins to Cook