Beer Grilled Ham

Did you know you can grill a ham?  Well, why not?  I didn't get a chance to make an Easter ham this year, but they are always so cheap around that time that I couldn't resist buying one for the freezer.  I asked my husband which he would prefer for a lovely Father's Day dinner, a whole chicken or a ham and he chose ham.  I wanted to try grilling it.  I recently got a really great Kindle cookbook for free (sorry, it's $9.99 now), all about grilling.  1,001 Best Grilling Recipes by Rick Browne.  It has recipes for grilling anything you can think of.  There were several recipes for grilling ham.  I ended up combining two of these recipes to come up with this one.  It has a lovely brown sugar/mustard glaze and is cooked and basted with beer.  Perfect for Father's Day!  Here's how I made it.

Beer Grilled Ham

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup spicy brown mustard

1 (7-10 lb.) smoked ham, butt or shank portion

2 (12 oz.) cans beer

Directions:

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, setting it up for both direct and indirect heating.  Coat grates with vegetable oil.  Line a roasting pan with heavy-duty foil and lightly coat the foil with vegetable oil.  Combine the brown sugar and mustard in a small bowl and set aside.

Remove ham from packaging.  Trim off as much fat as possible.  Score a diamond pattern in the skin, about ¼” deep.  Place the ham over the direct heat and grill it on all sides, a few minutes per side, or until grill marks appear.  Place ham in roasting pan, and slather it on all sides with the brown sugar/mustard mixture.  Place the ham, flat side down, in the roasting pan.  Pour the beer in the bottom of the roasting pan.

Set the roasting pan over indirect heat and cover the grill.  Cook until ham reaches an internal temperature of 145°, basting with the beer occasionally, about 1½ - 2 hours.  Remove from grill and let rest before slicing and serving.

Makes 8-12 servings.

First you sear the ham on all sides over direct heat.  I probably left it on this side a little too long, but it was just fine.  You mainly want some pretty grill marks on there.  It is a little more difficult on the bumpy sides.  I had to hold it in place to get some good color on some of the sides.  But it doesn't take long if your grill is nice and hot.  I used a butt portion ham.  I usually buy the shank portion, but the store was all out of those.  

After searing it on all sides, place it in a roasting pan and slather it with brown sugar and mustard.

Then cook it over indirect heat.  (I took this pic before I poured the beer in the pan.)

The finished product.  

Isn't it pretty?  My grill didn't stay as hot as I wanted it to, so it didn't get as much color as I was expecting, but it still turned out okay.  The nice thing about these hams is that they are already fully cooked, so you don't have to worry about it being undercooked.  The flavor was really great.  The combination of the sweet, caramelized glaze and the hint of beer flavor was really good on the edges of the ham.  I used a light beer (Miller Lite, just because that is my husband's favorite), but you can use a darker beer if you want the flavor more pronounced.

Our Father's Day feast consisted of the ham, Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes, Grilled Brussels Sprouts with Champagne Lemon Vinaigrette, and rolls.  The weather was perfect so we were able to eat outside.  It was lovely.