Hello, April! In my home, we celebrate Easter. I wanted to share this month one of my go-to holiday ham recipes that even the least-experienced cook can whip up and be proud of. My recipe for Brown Sugar Honey Glazed Ham in the slow cooker is sure to be a new family favorite. Even if you don’t celebrate Easter, but love ham, you’ll want to give this a try. It’s a perfect recipe for a Sunday dinner, a potluck, or even a dinner party.
When you buy a ham at the store, it comes pre-cooked. You really just need to reheat the ham. I found the key to reheating in the slow cooker is to buy a whole ham. Do not, I repeat, do not buy a pre-sliced ham. It will come out dry and leathery, and you (and your guests) will be very disappointed. Trust me, I’ve made this mistake before (and it was a year I happened to host Easter dinner).
Cooking ham in the slow cooker is ideal for a holiday dinner or even a special Sunday supper. I love the idea that my slow cooker is doing all the work for me (and making it smell like I’ve been cooking all day long). You’ll notice that this recipe takes a whole five minutes to put together. You’ll make a “rub” of sorts using a mixture of brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground clove, and nutmeg. Then rub it on the ham that is inside the slow cooker, followed by drizzling on some local honey. I love to go to the Saturday Farmers Market at Valencia College to get my local honey. You will want a mild honey – nothing that will overpower the flavors of the rub. Typically, look for a clove honey or a spring honey (something that isn’t too fragrant).
Pro Tip: Before you cook the ham in the slower cooker, you will want to do a test run while it’s in its wrapper to ensure it’s going to fit. I almost always have to cut off a portion of the top so that my lid will close tightly. You can take that portion of meat and just throw it in the side of the slow cooker. No wasting meat here!
Whether you’re entertaining for Easter and simply want to make a delicious Sunday dinner, I hope you’ll give my Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Honey Glazed Ham recipe a try. You’ll be happy you tried it, and it frees you up of precious time (and oven space)! Remember to save the ham bone and turn it into delicious split pea soup for another meal.
Yield: 6-8
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours, 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 6.5-lb. bone-in whole ham (not pre-sliced)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup local honey
Directions:
- Place a slow cooker bag in a 6-quart slow cooker. Then place the ham flat side down in the slow cooker. If the ham is too tall for the slow cooker, run your knife on the top of the slow cooker, trimming away excess meat (place the excess meat in the slow cooker).
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, ground clove and nutmeg together. Rub the brown sugar mixture on the ham until it’s all used. Then drizzle ¼ cup honey on top of the ham. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 8-10 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high.
- Remove the cooked ham from the slow cooker, carefully slice, and pour additional brown sugar honey glaze on top of ham.
*Note: Make sure you get a bone-in ham. This recipe will turn out extremely dry if you have a spiral sliced ham!
