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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Lisa Russell says
I have been using this recipe for a few years now. It’s easy and delicious. I appreciate all the comments as well , I’ve had the same questions. Thank you for posting this, it’s a keeper. Frees up my oven too when I want ham and turkey!
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Gina says
Do you glaze once before cooking, or at all during the cooking process? Or just the last 30 minutes?
Mike Vrobel says
Just the last 30 minutes. The sugar in the glaze will burn if you start glazing too early.
Jeremy says
Any tips for grilling the ham on a Weber 3 burner? Also, thinking of using a maple bourbon for some added flavor... thoughts?
Mike Vrobel says
👍 on the maple bourbon. Set your grill for indirect heat (outer burners on, inner burner off) as described in the recipe.
Jeremy says
Did this today and it was a HUGE hit with our family. Thank you so much! I did the maple bourbon too. One question... some of the outside of the ham hardened up too much- was that from me cooking it a tad too long (inside was perfect though) or is that normal for some of it? Thanks again for a great recipe and photos too!
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
That’s normal - and you are welcome!
Laura Harrison says
Any chance you can do this in the oven ?
Mike Vrobel says
Yes, you can. It won't get as crisp a crust, but it will still work.