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Smoked Ham and Pineapple Kabobs

smoked ham kabobs 1000

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I am always trying to figure out new ways to serve smoked meat to keep things exciting for you and your guests and this Easter, instead of serving the ordinary ham with pineapple slices on it, why not turn the ham into smoked ham and pineapple kabobs?

The instructions are easy to follow, it smokes up faster than a whole ham and your guests will rave about it.

Not to mention, doing things this way means you get more smoke and more rub per bite and that is always a good thing!

Well.. you do have options. I have also included instructions below for smoking a whole ham just in case you are not up for something new.

What You'll Need
Prepare the Ham

Unwrap ham and set on a cutting board. I bought one to show you the smoked pineapple kabobs and another one to smoke whole.

I prefer the smaller ones and if I need more ham, I simply buy two smaller ones instead of one large one.

Ham unwrapped

For the kabobs, cut the ham into chunks.

Slice them first (as shown) then cut each slice into thirds then in half.

Make the chunks any size you want but try to keep them all uniform if possible.

Cut ham into chunks

Once the ham is all chunked up, you'll need to cut the pineapple into chunks as well.

Prepare the Pineapple

Ham all chunked up

I like to peel it then remove the “eyes” but as my wife tells me, this is just being overly meticulous, it's completely unnecessary unless you just want to do it.

“For goodness's sake, just peel it and cut it into chunks”, she says;-)

Pineapple peeled and eyes removed

Pineapple cut into chunks.

Pineapple all chunked up

Season the Ham

Squirt some mustard on the ham and stir it around to coat each piece.

Note: It would probably be easier to put the ham in a ziploc bag instead of a bowl if you have a large one available.

Apply mustard to ham chunks

Pour about 1/4 cup of my original rub (purchase the recipes) onto the ham and stir it around. Add another 1/4 cup if you want more. Be generous with it.

Coat ham with rub

Make the Skewers

Using wooden skewers, place alternating pieces of ham and pineapple until you have a total of 6 pieces on each skewer.

If you are using longer skewers, you may want to add more to each one, it's your call.

Assemble your first ham and pineapple kabob

I made skewers until I ran out of pineapple. I'll place the leftover pieces of ham on a separate Bradley rack and smoke them alone.

Stack of ham and pineapple skewers

I place the ham and pineapple kabobs on Bradley racks for easy mobility.

Kabobs are laid carefully on a Bradley rack

Tip: If you have leftover pieces of ham, place them on a Bradley Rack and smoke them right along with everything else.

Smoke Time

Set up your smoker for about 200°F if possible.

Why so low, you ask..

Well.. you want the little chunks of ham and pineapple to get plenty of smoke but you know it's going to get done fast since they are small.

To give them more time in the smoke and slow down the cooking process, you just cook them a little lower and slower then normal.

200°F for about 2 hours is perfect but since you know that the ham is ready to eat before you even put it in the smoker, you can cook it more or less depending on what you like.

I like to use pecan, maple or hickory with ham to get a really nice, robust flavor.

Brush with beer barbecue sauce about 20 minutes before they are finished smoking.

Serve them Up

Serve with spiced pee wee potatoes (recipe below)


Spiced Pee Wee Potatoes

Serves 4-6

  • 1 lb small new potatoes (unpeeled)
  • 2 T. veg oil
  • 1 clove crushed garlic
  • 1 t. turmeric
  • 2 t. ground coriander
  • 2 t. black cumin seeds
  • 2 t. sugar
  • 1 T. chopped chives
  • 1 T. chopped parsley (optional)

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, put in the potatoes, and boil for about 5 minutes. Drain.
Heat the oil in a metal roasting pan on top of the stove over medium heat; add the garlic, turmeric, coriander and cumin seeds, and cook for about 1 minute. Add the potatoes, rolling them around to coat. Sprinkle with the sugar, and a little salt and pepper. Place in a 350°F oven and bake for about 30 minutes, turning them occasionally. Just before serving, sprinkle with the parsley and chives.


Special Beer Barbecue Sauce for Kabobs

Add both ingredients to a mixing container and mix until well blended. Great on the ham and the pineapple!


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7 Comments

  1. Just resigned up for your newsletter I use to get it but for some reason it stopped. Signed up on a new e-mail. I bought your recipes about three years ago and still use them. I now have a GMG pellet smoker.

  2. Hello jeff Im having trouble with my tri tip.Do you have any suggestions on grilling or smoking tri tip. My wife purchased your rub i tried it and every one loved it. Thank you for all the reciepies you have sent me. You made me a better cook. merrycristmas and a happy new year

  3. Just purchased your rub recipe, the ham kabobs will probably be the recipe I test out your rub with.  Thanks for the site, really enjoy it.

  4. we were always able to print your site as a pdf and it now looks changed

    and we can not figure out how to do that. Did you remove that obtion?

    1. I apologize for this.. the code that made that feature work was causing some problems in the new layout. I am in the process of setting this up again on the site but it may take a bit before it is made available to everyone.

  5. I have read and enjoyed your site for some time.  However when you language becomes disgusting I am stopping.  Your refference to God and anal etc. 

    1. I apologize if I have offended you and I can assure you that it is not my intention to do so. I have been using the word “anal” my entire life to mean “overly concerned about something” and I just looked it up to make sure I was not using it incorrectly. I don’t think I was.

      If you will look it up, you will find that it does not JUST mean a part of the body or something disgusting as in “anus” but it also means being overly meticulous about things.

      Perhaps I should have used the word OCD but then I feel that term is overused these days.

      I apologize for the reference to “God”.. I was simply being funny by relaying what folks say when I get overly OCD about things. It was not my intention to be disrespectful to our creator or to offend you.