The Holiday Ham
Posted by Eric Spicer on
This holiday season step away from the usual turkey and grab a ham. A cured ham smoked on a ceramic grill has amazing flavor and a juicy, rich texture. Add a nice glaze to it and enjoy!
When picking a ham, choose one that will give each of your guests a quarter of a pound of meat. This usually leaves some room for leftovers too!
This step is optional, but I like to score the ham in some shallow crosshatch grooves. This allows some more smoke to penetrate the ham along with the glaze.
Make the glaze. Combine the liquid from one can of slices pineapples, 2 cups brown sugar, a dash of maraschino cherry liquid, 3 tablespoons of miso, and a healthy slug of bourbon. Combine in blender and mix on high for 30 seconds. Brush glaze onto the ham.
Top the ham with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries, use a toothpick through the cherries to keep them in place.
Top with more glaze, using all of it so there is plenty in the bottom of the pan.
Put it on your grill at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss in some apple wood chunks. We are using our Pro-Zone cooking system with the Extra Thick Pizza Stone in the bottom and the 18" Cast Iron Cooking Grate on top. Cover the whole pan loosely with foil. Your ham should have an internal temp of 160 in 3-5 hours depending on weight. Try and baste your ham with the glaze in the pan every 30 minutes. It will keep getting thicker and tackier as the cook goes on. Layering up glaze is layering up flavor.
Pull the ham when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Wrap in foil and rest for 30 minutes. Pull the toothpicks, cherries, and pineapples off. I discard but some people like to eat them
Slice and enjoy! Serves great with a spicy mustard and a Kolsch style beer!