Crock Pot Ham with Maple Brown Sugar Glaze
Wanna learn how to cook a wonderful ham without drying it out? Pretty easy… simply cook it in your slow cooker… With just a few ingredients this ham is a piece of cake.
How long does it take to cook it? It will depend on its size, but generally between 5 to 6 hours on low or until it is tender…
Start with a 7 1/2 pound bone-in butt portion ham. Supermarkets usually offer shank portions too. For a better quality cut, I would recommend butt portion. For this recipe, stick with the un-sliced bone-in ham. Spiral sliced hams will dry out in the slow cooker and under the broiler. Keep in mind that hams are precooked, the trick is adding flavor and reheating them without drying them out.
Now trim the excess fat and skin from the ham, see what the ham looks like going into the slow cooker. Use a paring knife to slice a grid pattern into the ham. The ham will shrink a bit as it cooks and this will leave room for the glaze to drip in and build flavor.
Add a cup of water to the slow cooker to ensure the ham does not dry out, and heat for 5-6 hours on low.
Once the ham is heated through, carefully remove the ham from the slow cooker and let it rest on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes. While the ham is resting, prepare the glaze by combining pure maple syrup, dark brown sugar, brown mustard, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly until the glaze has thickened. Set the glaze aside and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
Then spoon the glaze over the ham, making sure it is well covered. Finish the ham under the broiler until the glaze starts to caramelize, 5-7 minutes.