Traeger Smoked Ham Recipe with Pineapple Cherry Glaze
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This Traeger smoked ham recipe with pineapple cherry glaze is the perfect ham for Easter or other holiday meals. A modern take on the classic retro recipe, this ham is made with wholesome ingredients that showcase bright, fresh flavors perfect for your main dish on special occasions.
Perhaps you remember that classic retro ham–that one with the pineapple rings with a toothpicked marachino cherry in the middle all over the outside of the ham?
Don’t get me wrong, I love the pineapple-cherry combo as much as the next person, but I knew there was a way to improve this recipe so that the flavors popped more. And so that it looked less…strange.
Another thing I wanted to improve upon from the original retro recipe is an enhanced, natural cherry flavor. Maraschino cherries are tasty in a drink or as a dessert, but their artificial taste distracts and cheapens a quality piece of meat like a whole ham.
Why would we need sugary sweet syrup cherries when regular cherries are sweet and delicious on their own?
For this recipe, I used a 6-8 pound boneless ham from the grocery store. You can also use a spiral ham or bone-in ham– if you plan to use a different type of ham than a boneless ham, make sure you read the “How to Adapt for Spiral Cut or Bone-In Hams” section later on in this post.
We smoke the ham for a couple of hours with a cup of pineapple juice for it to take on an extra smoky flavor. For the remaining cooking time, we surround the ham with fresh pineapple slices and top it in an easy, homemade pineapple-cherry glaze, then turn up the health to caramelize.
This delectable sweet glaze is one the entire family will love. It is made from pineapple juice, honey, lime zest & juice, and some frozen pitted sweet cherries (fresh cherries will also work if you pit them first).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This ham is smoky, sweet, and made with wholesome, fresh ingredients for flavors that wow!
Ingredients
To make this easy Traeger smoker ham recipe, you need:
Boneless Ham – I used a 6-8 lb boneless pre-cooked ham. The great thing about most hams sold in stores is they come pre-cooked and just need to be heated to proper serving temperatures.
Pineapple Juice - We use pineapple juice to smoke with the ham and also as part of the glaze. Canned pineapple juice is the easiest, but use whatever kind you like.
Pitted Frozen Sweet Cherries – Instead of candied cherries (like maraschino), we use pitted sweet cherries. Frozen cherries work well for this recipe, but you’re certainly able to use fresh cherries if you wish. Just make sure you pit them first.
Honey - Honey brings a bright sweetness that complements the flavors of the fruit for the glaze.
Lime – Lime adds a fresh flavor to the glaze. We will use the lime zest plus the juice.
Dijon Mustard – Dijon mustard adds a savory, tangy element to the glaze and is perfect for ham.
Grated Ginger Root - Grated ginger root also adds freshness and bite. Feel free to use a ginger paste if you prefer.
Whole Pineapple - After the initial smoke time, we surround the ham with fresh pineapple slices. If you don’t want to peel a pineapple, a large can of pineapple rings will do the trick.
Instructions
Follow the steps below to make this easy pineapple cherry Traeger smoked ham recipe.
1. Pre-heat the Traeger
Start up your Traeger. Once it starts to smoke, set the temperature 225 degrees F to preheat.
2. Prep Ham
Score one side of your ham into a diamond pattern with a sharp knife, scoring about 1/2 inch deep and lines 1 inch apart (if your ham is spiral cut, you do not need to do this). Line a pan with aluminum foil and roll up the foil edges to make a little bowl that can hold the ham with some pineapple juice. Put the ham in the foil cut side down, then pour 1 cup of the pineapple juice over the ham. Place the pan of ham on the Traeger grill grates and smoke at 225°F for 2 hours to flavor the meat.
3. Prepare Glaze
When there is about 30 minutes left of the smoke time, you can prepare the glaze. Add 1 cup pineapple juice, the frozen cherries, honey, cinnamon, grated ginger root, and Dijon mustard to a medium saucepan. Zest one large lime into the pot, then quarter the lime and squeeze in the juice. Cook on medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil and cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the mixture has reduced by half into a beautifully sticky glaze. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Cut Pineapple
Prepare your pineapple by peeling and coring, then cut into slices and then half-moon shapes and set aside. If you have a pineapple cutting tool, it is useful but not necessary. You can also use a large can of pineapple rings instead of a fresh pineapple if you prefer.
5. Add Pineapple & Glaze
After 2 hours of smoke time, turn up the heat on the Traeger to 350°F. Remove the pan of ham from the Traeger briefly. Pull back the sides of the foil as needed and arrange your pineapple pieces around the ham. Pour your glaze over the ham and the pineapple.
Insert a meat thermometer and put the ham back on the Traeger. Close the lid and cook at 350°F until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 145°F. This takes about 75-90 minutes but will be longer for bone-in hams.
Check on the glaze periodically to make sure it’s not burning. If it is darkening too much, you can make a foil tent over the ham to stop it. Be careful not to press the foil into the top of the ham or your glaze will stick to it!
6. Rest Ham
Remove the ham from the Traeger when it reaches 145°F internally. Let the ham rest for 20 minutes before slicing on a cutting board. Slice and serve with the cooked pineapple slices.
That’s it! This is the best way to enjoy a pineapple cherry ham. Your friends and family will rave about it!
Quick Tips
Make sure your Traeger is well-stocked with pellets before beginning your smoke. Low temps run through pellets faster than you’d think! There’s nothing worse than running out of pellets mid-cook and getting that error message.
Swaps & Variations
Taste the glaze after it has reduced and feel free to add more lime zest, ginger root, mustard, or cinnamon to your liking!
Serving Suggestions
Serve this ham alongside some fresh side dishes, like my Kale Crunch salad or my Turkish Red Cabbage salad.
Make this a complete meal with some cheesy potatoes or roasted asparagus!
For more Easter recipes, check out my 30 Traeger Easter Recipes roundup post!
How to Adapt for Spiral Cut Ham or Bone-In Hams
Almost all hams come pre-cooked (be sure to check your package to verify), so all we need to do is bring it up to a serving temp of 145°F. A bone-in ham takes longer to heat up, so a general rule of thumb is to plan an extra 5-10 minutes per pound more than what you’d need for a boneless ham.
If you have a spiral-cut ham, you do not need to score the ham as I do in step two above. The slices will serve the purpose of the score, which is to allow the pineapple juice to penetrate the meat.
One thing you will need to do with a bone-in ham is keep an eye on the glaze to make sure the added time doesn’t burn it. What you should do on a bone-in ham is tent the pan with foil (try not to touch the top of the ham or the foil will stick to the glaze) when the glaze looks perfectly sticky to you so that it doesn’t dry out and burn as the meat finishes coming to temperature.
If your bone-in ham is large (the one in my photo below was 21 pounds!), then you will NOT want to add the glaze until the final 45-60 minutes of cooking. I recommend using a good meat thermometer like the Meater+ to help you determine your estimated cooking time.
Large hams take a very long time to bring up to temperature, so you don’t want to put the glaze on early. This 21-lb bone-in ham took five and a half hours to get up to 145°F internally once we turned up the Traeger temp to 350°. I recommend waiting to put the glaze on these large hams until the internal temp is at least 115-120°.
How to Keep Ham Warm for Serving
If your ham finishes early before your guests have arrived, go ahead and slice it after it finishes resting. You have a few options for keeping it warm:
- While your ham is resting, turn on a slow cooker to High to pre-heat. After resting and slicing the ham, turn the heat down on the slow cooker to “Keep Warm” and place your ham slices, pineapple, and juices in the crockpot to keep warm.
- Arrange the ham slices back in your roasting pan with the pineapple and juices. Cover with foil and place the pan back on the Traeger with the temperature set to about 200-225°F. It will stay warm and juicy until it is time to serve.
- After slicing your ham, arrange the ham slices and the cooked pineapple on an oven-safe platter, drizzling some of the juices over the meat. Cover the platter with foil and put in your oven. If you have a “Keep Warm” mode, use that. Otherwise, set the temperature to 200°F for warming.
Recipe Notes
This makes a lot of ham!
If you do not eat the entire ham, store leftover ham in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
You can also slice or cube leftover ham and freeze. The leftover ham makes great additions to soups, casseroles, salads, or eggs!
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information here is an estimate based on my ingredients and assumed portion sizes. They may vary for you. Always do your own calculations if you need to ensure accurate numbers.
As calculated with a 7-lb ham and assuming half-pound servings (which would be large), the nutritional information is as follows:
- Calories: 358
- Protein: 42 grams
- Fat: 33 grams
- Carbs: 17 grams
Other Traeger Main Dish Ideas
Check out my pork recipes and Traeger Recipes page for more delicious ideas.
Want another option besides ham? Try serving my herb-crusted Traeger Ribeye Roast or my Spatchcocked Turkey with Herby Dry Brine.
FAQ
Generally speaking, a boneless ham cooked at 325°F will need 10 to 15 minutes per pound. However, when you cook at two different temperatures like we do in this recipe, it takes longer.
The first two hours at 225°F are for flavor–they do not move the needle much on heating up the ham. Once we turn the heat up to 350°, it takes me about 90 minutes to get a 7 lb ham to 145°F internally. This amount of time can vary depending on how steady your Traeger is holding temp–sometimes windy days can have an impact.
The good news is that if you plan a lot of extra time, it’s very easy to keep your ham warm and juicy until it’s time to eat. I recommend erring on the side of having plenty of extra time. Check out my “How to Keep Ham Warm for Serving” section above for more info.
Yes, you can! This is sometimes called a “double smoked ham” which is essentially what we do in this recipe. It gives great flavor, and no, it’s definitely not TOO smoky. It’s perfect!
You can wrap ham in foil to smoke if you want, but I recommend leaving the foil open on top. You want to allow the smoke to penetrate the ham without a barrier.
You’re Going to LOVE this Pineapple Cherry Glazed Traeger Smoked Ham!
Give this ham a try–everyone will love it! If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it. Please leave a comment and review! It means the world!
Traeger Smoked Ham with Pineapple and Cherry Glaze
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Sharp Knife
Ingredients
- 6-8 pound boneless ham
- 2 cups pineapple juice - divided into 1 cup + 1 cup
- 1 cup frozen sweet cherries - like washington or bing
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 large lime
- 2 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoon grated ginger root
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 whole pineapple - can sub one large can pineapple rings
Instructions
- Turn on your Traeger as indicated per the manufacturer's instructions. Once it starts smoking, adjust the temperature to 225°F and let the grill preheat.
- Score one side of your ham into a diamond pattern with a sharp knife, scoring about 1/2 inch deep and lines 1 inch apart (skip if your ham is spiral cut).
- Line a pan with foil and roll up the edges to make a little bowl that can hold the ham & juice. Put the ham in the foil cut side down, then pour 1 cup of the pineapple juice over the ham. Place the ham on the Traeger and smoke at 225°F for 2 hours to flavor the meat.
- After the ham has been smoking for 1 1/2 hours, start making the glaze. Add 1 cup pineapple juice, the frozen cherries, honey, cinnamon, grated ginger root, and dijon mustard to a medium saucepan. Zest one large lime into the pot, then quarter the lime and squeeze in the juice. Cook on medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the glaze has reduced by half and is beautifully sticky.
- Prepare your pineapple by peeling and coring, then cut into half-moon slices and set aside. You can also use a large can of pineapple rings to make this step easy.
- After 2 hours of smoke time, turn up the heat to 350°F. Remove the pan of ham from the Traeger briefly to add the pineapple and glaze. Arrange your pineapple pieces around the ham. Pour your glaze over the ham and the pineapple. Insert a meat thermometer to monitor the temp and put the pan back on the Traeger. Smoke at 350°F until the internal temp of the ham reaches 145°. This will take 75-90 minutes or so (see notes if the ham is larger than 6-8 lbs). Keep an eye on the glaze to make sure it doesn't get too dark.
- Remove from the Traeger. Let the ham rest for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve with the smoked pineapple slices.
Video
Delicious! Just make sure you don’t put the glaze on too early–make sure the ham is getting close to temp before glazing so it doesn’t burn.