Spiral Ham in the Slow Cooker

 

When it’s finished, the meat should be tender and almost falling off the bone, and you’ll have a great cooking liquid that can be sopped up with rice, tortillas, potatoes, bread…or egg noodles tossed with a little salt and sour cream. When the maple syrup and brown sugar, each with its own deep, sulfur-y, molasses-y flavor, combine with the cider vinegar and the mustards, they create a tangy liquid to serve with this ham. I like to think of it as a marinade that comes at the end instead of the beginning. Sign me up! I love to serve a bed of braised cabbage here, too.

 

1 (6- to 7-pound) bone-in, hickory-smoked, uncured fully cooked ham

5 medium parsnips, peeled and halved lengthwise

5 medium carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise

1 cup maple syrup

2 cups unsweetened apple juice

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

½ cup smooth Dijon mustard

½ cup grainy Dijon mustard

2 T. apple cider vinegar

Kosher salt (if needed)

 

Pour 3 cups of water into a 7-quart slow cooker. Add the ham, cut-side up, as well as the parsnips and carrots. Pour the maple syrup and apple juice over the ham, and sprinkle the brown sugar over the top. Cook on high, uncovered, for 30 to 45 minutes, then cover the slow cooker and cook on low until the ham is tender, 3 to 4 hours. Hams vary in size and tenderness, so be patient. When it’s tender, the meat should come off the bone with very little resistance. Taste a small piece for tenderness.  Transfer the ham and vegetables to a deep serving platter (reserve the liquid in the pot). Use a pair of kitchen shears or scissors to cut the slices of ham off the bone and let them fall onto the platter. Stir both kinds of mustard and the vinegar into the cooking liquid left in the slow cooker and taste for seasoning—the sauce may or may not need salt. Pour the liquid over the ham and vegetables, and serve.