My wife’s family is coming over for Easter. And my wife, the ham fanatic, insisted on a double smoked ham from Sherman Provision.
Lucky for her, I ordered two - one for Easter dinner, and another for this blog post. One of the weird side effects to blogging is you get two holiday meals - the actual holiday, and the one you cook a few weeks ahead of time for the blog.
This is a problem when the recipe doesn't quite work and I have to cook it a few times to get it right. "Daaad, do we haave to have Thanksgiving turkey agaaain?"
This time I got it right. My wife and kids started circling as I brought the glistening ham in from the grill. I had to beat them back with my grill spatula to get the pictures for this post - they kept trying to pick pieces of the crust off while I was setting up the camera. Once I had my pictures, I started carving, and for a while I couldn’t keep up with them. About a quarter of the ham disappeared from the cutting board before I put the knife down and asked if we could actually sit down to eat. They slunk off and set the table.
When I turned my back, my wife grabbed another piece of ham.
So, here is my easy grilled ham, glazed with honey, bourbon, and mustard. Cook it low and slow until the ham is reheated, brush it with a few layers of glaze, then carve and serve.
Equipment
- Grill (I use a massive Weber Summit, which I love.)
- 9 inch by 13 inch aluminum foil pan
Grilled Ham with Honey Bourbon Glaze
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 12-16 1x
Description
Grilled Ham with Honey Bourbon Glaze recipe - crispy ham with a sweet honey bourbon glaze, perfect for Easter.
Ingredients
- Bone in ham, butt half (10 to 12 pounds, smoked “ham” or “ham with natural juices” if at all possible)
Honey Bourbon glaze
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup bourbon
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Score the ham: One hour before cooking, remove the ham from its wrapper and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the rind of the ham in a 1 inch diamond pattern, cutting about ¼ inch deep. Set the ham in the aluminum foil pan.
- Set the grill up for indirect medium-low heat (300°F): Set the grill up for indirect medium-low heat, 300°F, with the heat on the sides of the grill and no heat in the middle. For my Weber Summit, I preheat the grill with all burners on high for 15 minutes, then turn off all but the outside burners (burner #1 and #6), leaving the middle of the grill with no lit burners.
- Simmer the glaze: While the grill is heating: Simmer the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking to break up the honey and mustard, until the honey melts, about 5 minutes.
- Cook the ham: Put the pan with the ham in the center of the grill, so the lit burners are not directly below it. Close the lid and cook the ham until it reaches 135°F in its thickest part, about 3 hours for a 10 pound ham. (It should take about 18 minutes per pound of ham, but thickness matters more than weight. If you have a probe thermometer, now is the time to use it; if you don’t, check the temperature every hour.) During the last half hour of cooking, brush the ham with the reheated glaze every ten minutes.
- Serve: Carefully lift the pan out of the grill and onto a carving board or cookie sheet, then let the ham rest for 15 minutes. Transfer the ham from the foil pan to the cutting board, carve, and serve.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Grilling
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Grilled Ham with Honey Bourbon Glaze
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Notes
- Don’t use a spiral sliced ham with this recipe - the pre-slicing lets all the juices leak out while the ham is heating. Most spiral sliced hams recommend serving straight from the refrigerator for this reason.
- I recommend bone-in ham because I’m a bone-in kind of guy, and I get a less processed ham that way. (From least to most processed: “Ham”, then “ham with natural juices” are the best options; at my local grocery store, "ham with natural juices" is the best I can do. Next down is “ham with water added”, and the worst case scenario is “ham and water product”, which tends to look like a square loaf.) Now, I’m a ham snob - I like my pork minimally processed - but this recipe will work with any ham.
- Now, the downside to bone-in ham is carving around the bone. The bone is usually on one side of the ham, so I carve the other side first to get nice, big slices. Then I cut the rest of the ham away from the bone in largeish chunks, and carve those (or save them for later for ham salad or pea soup.)
- Want to cook the ham on a charcoal grill? See my “Rotisserie Ham with Orange and Honey Glaze” for indirect medium-low setup options; then, instead of using the rotisserie, put the grill grate back on and continue with step 4 - Cook the ham.
- If you really want to keep it simple, skip the glaze and the scoring. Then you’re using the grill as a glorified oven to reheat your ham…which can be useful if the oven is full of Easter side dishes.
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Rotisserie Ham with Honey and Orange Glaze
Rotisserie Ham, Barbecue Style
Rotisserie Fresh Ham with Injection Brine
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Joe says
Hi mike,
Do I wrap the ham entirely in foil? Sorry if it’s a dumb question I’m sorry. Brand new at this.
Mike Vrobel says
No, just put it in the pan.
Nathan says
Okay, this may have been the best ham I have ever eaten, the only sad part is that it took so long for me to discover this. Unbelievable. Such a delicious and delightful way to eat ham. Thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
Leanne says
I've made this several times with an Applesmoked Ham from Costco. It turns out delicious. Will be making it for Easter dinner today.
Shelly says
I accidentally bought a sliced ham...will still work? Should I just watch it? Thanks
Mike Vrobel says
Cover it with foil until it gets to 135°F, then uncover it, and it should work. (It may be a little dry - pre-sliced hams dry out very easily.)
David Raymond says
The ham came out fantastic! This was my second time using this recipe and is the go to for sure.
Mike Vrobel says
Glad it worked for you!
Teddy says
Hey Mike, This looks great.
Question - can I start with a raw ham? I bought a half pig and have some raw pieces labeled Ham.
Thanks.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
What you have is called fresh ham (or pork leg). Use this recipe: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/rotisserie-fresh-ham-with-injection-brine/
Aaron B Penney says
Excellent recipe, thank you very much! My eldest daughter told me that it was her favorite ham I've ever made ( and she is the one that always rants and raves about every ham I make). Thank you so very much, I believe we have found our go to ham recipe.
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
David Kennedy says
Mike,
Have made this and we loved it. (I seem to recall a variation that uses lemon.)
My wife got a spiral cut ham when it was on sale during Thanksgiving and now wants me to do one of your ham recipes as part of our Christmas dinner. You always say not to use a spiral cut ham. Any suggestions on how to do one?
PS: At the top of my Christmas wish list? 🎄One of your t-shirts from Amazon. 😀 Thanks for all the work you put into the blog.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
I would put a spiral sliced roast in a foil pan, tightly cover with a sheet of foil, and heat to 140°F internal, covered the whole time, to keep it from drying out.(Or, follow the instructions you get from the spiral sliced ham company.)
Starr Robinson says
Really wish I could upload a picture of my ham! This turned out so AMAZING. I cooked my 10lb ham on a charcoal grill for 3 hours, @300°. My family loved it!
★★★★★
mike lynch says
I've done grilled bone-in ham in the summer; and turned out great. But, as a note to folks: Up here in the North, it is today about 35 degrees outside. Keeping the gas grill,using only the outside burners, at 300 degrees has been very difficult. I had to add in the rotisserie burner at medium. I'd advise, not only using the thermometer; but also adding a few minutes/# cooking time.
★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Mike's right - you have to adjust your grill to the outside temperatures, and grilling in the winter can be tricky:
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/winter-grilling/
And, especially in winter, don't cook to a time, cook to a temperature! That way, you know it's done.
★★★★★
Ken Carlile says
Did this one for Thanksgiving (none of us like turkey!) and it was a hit. Thanks!
Luther Davenport says
How would this honey bourbon glaze work on a pork loin in a slow roaster
Bill Spearman says
Mike, a ham is on my short list to do. I think we get caught up in exotic cooks and forget the best meals are often the basic ham , turkey and beef roast cooks. They are good any time of the year, doesn't have to be a holiday..
Mario says
Sounds really good. I'm going to do this recipe for thanksgiving. I plan on using a charcoal grill.
I noticed you didn't cover the ham with foil. Is the lid of the grill enough to keep it from drying out?
Mike V says
Yes - it dries out from overcooking. Cook it to as close to 140°F as you can, and it will be juicy.
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it. I'm waiting (not so) patiently for Easter dinner so I can have it again...