Last Updated on November 16, 2023 by Carne Diem
Protein: 
Origin: North American, American South
Method: Smoker or Oven, Stovetop
Jump to RecipeThis root beer glazed ham recipe is inspired by the iconic black ham at Mother's in New Orleans. Our version is smoked and basted with a sweet and flavorful ham glaze made with root beer, brown sugar, and jalapeno jelly and makes for one of the best Southern style smoked ham recipes you will ever try.
Ever since our first trip to Mother's in New Orleans we have been in love with their famous black ham. It has become a tradition to make a Mother's Inspired Black Ham every year since. It began, like most people trying to recreate the Mother's classic taste, with an internet search which pointed us to a recipe posted in The Washington Post. Over the years we have made some minor changes to that recipe, and have found our favorite way to prepare the ham is by smoking it.
Table of contents
Making the Double Smoked Black Ham
To make our smoked rendition of Mother's Black Ham you will need the following:
- 4-5 pound Boneless Smoked Ham
- 24 Ounces Root Beer
- 2 Tab Jalapeno Jelly
- 1 Tab Hot Sauce
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 10 Whole Cloves
- Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Orange halved
- 1 Lemon halved
- ¾ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tea Mustard Powder
- ½ tea Cayenne
The original recipe posted called for Pickapeppa hot sauce, but you can use your favorite. We typically use tabasco or will use a habanero hot sauce if we want a little more heat and a bit more sweetness. We find Barq's or IBC root beer works best for the recipe.
Prepare the basting sauce for the Double Smoked Black Ham
To make the basting sauce for the ham combine the root beer, jelly, hot sauce, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon stick, orange halves, and lemon halves in a sauce pot.
Bring the root beer mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer the root beer sauce for about 30 minutes.
Strain the sauce and return the liquid to the pan. Heat to a gentle boil and reduce the sauce to about ½ cup, stirring occasionally. This may take 30-60 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Prepare the brown sugar mixture
In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper.
If desired, score your ham in a crisscross pattern., then coat the ham with a small amount of the root beer sauce. Finally, coat the ham with the brown sugar mixture.
Smoke the Mother's inpired black ham
Preheat your smoker to 350 degrees. We cooked our Double Smoked Black Ham on our Yoder 1500 pellet smoker, but any smoker can be used, your will just want to be sure to cook over indirect heat.
Place the ham in a pan, on the smoker. Baste with some of the remaining sauce after 30 minutes. Continue to baste every 30 minutes, until the sauce is gone, then continue to baste with the pan drippings.
Cook the ham to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, then remove to a cutting board. On average, cook time will take about 2.5-3 hours depending on the thickness of your ham.
Rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.
Serve with your favorite sides like Smoked Jalapeno Twice Baked Potatoes, Smoky Hatch Mac and Cheese, Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes, or Grilled Apple Cranberry Salad, then wash it down with a Cran-Merry Vodka Martini.
Have leftovers? Use the ham to make a kick ass Grilled Cubano or Uruguay’s Chivito: The Ultimate Steak Sandwich. If you want a ham with a little more kick, try our Twice Smoked Spiral Ham with Cajun Fruit Glaze.
Frequently Asked Questions
Black ham is a root beer glazed baked ham made famous by Mother's restaurant in New Orleans.
The ham is best reheated in an oven at 300 degrees, covered in foil. Reheat until the internal temperature of the ham has reached 140 degrees.
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📖 Recipe
Mother's Inspired Double Smoked Black Ham
Ingredients
- 4-5 pound Boneless Smoked Ham
- 24 Ounces Root Beer
- 2 Tablespoon Jalapeno Jelly
- 1 Tablespoon Hot Sauce
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 10 Whole Cloves
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Orange halved
- 1 Lemon halved
- ¾ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne
Instructions
- In a sauce pot, combine the root beer, jelly, hot sauce, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon stick, orange halves, and lemon halves.
- In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper. Set aside
- Bring the root beer mixture to a boil then simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Strain the sauce and return the liquid to the pan. Heat to a gently boil and reduce the sauce to about ½ cup, stirring occasionally. This may take 30-60 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Preheat your smoker to 350 degrees.
- If desired, score your ham in a crisscross pattern.
- Coat with a small amount of the root beer sauce then coat the ham with the brown sugar mixture.
- Place the ham in a pan, on the smoker. Baste with some of the remaining sauce about every 30 minutes until the sauce is gone, then continue to baste with the pan drippings.
- Cook the ham to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, then remove to a cutting board. On average, cook time will take about 2.5-3 hours depending on the thickness of your ham.
- Rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.
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