Grilled Carver Ham with Apple-Bourbon Glaze from scratch is perfect for end of season or early autumn outdoor grilling and family dinners.
Carver Ham with Apple Bourbon Glaze
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
My recipe of the day is for an outdoor grilled carver ham with a homemade apple-bourbon glaze. With the season getting ready to change, I find this a perfect sort of item to grill over the Labor Day holiday weekend.
What is a Carver Ham?
A carver ham, if you have not seen it before, is a flat cut of ham that is perfectly shaped for easy slicing. It is similar in shape to a beef brisket.
With the flat shape, it lends itself well to the grill, as it heats quickly and allows you a chance to get that nice bit of char on the outside (which I did purposely).
Apple Bourbon Glaze
The glaze itself is made with your choice of apple juice or cider (the difference between those being the filtration). Being in the southern part of the midwest, I am always happy to enjoy southern inspired foods, including those that have Kentucky bourbon (Kentucky is, after all, only about ten miles from my house as the crow flies). I even bought my bourbon in Kentucky because, gosh. They have the most fantastic party supply store just south of the Ohio river. But they are happy to sell their namesake booze anywhere.
Loving that Grilled Ham!
I started enjoying “bbq” type ham as a kid when it was pretty much sliced on a bun. I was happy to discover that is actually a Pittsburgh thing that found its way to St. Louis. And I have that recipe for you- just have not had time to post it. (There is more involved to this than just typing it out anymore). And that recipe is scrumptious so when you do see it, jump on it and tuck it away.
A Restaurant Fav
But when we came up to Ohio some decades ago now from Florida with beloved daughter in tow (she is crazy about baked ham) there were a couple of bbq places in Dayton that had a falling out among their owners and became two. With pretty much the same menus except one also would have ham. And one time I ordered that and I really loved the smoke they imparted into it.
So yeah. There is actually a something to this and that flavor is why.
I Love Making Sauce from Scratch! Don’t You?
But I am not the kind of girl to usually flop something on the grill with sauce from a bottle. I admit I will do it, but usually I save that for when I am having someone else cook or grill or I want a standardized sauce flavor to be inside another recipe. You’ll actually see that on the Chip Chop bbq ham sandwich recipe I was talking about. Because they use a particular sauce in Pittsburgh- and most people (myself included) can’t get that. So I had to reverse engineer it for you using a national brand.
The Low Down
In this recipe I am using an apple-bourbon glaze. From scratch. There might be some restaurant out there with something similar. Who knows? But I did this as I usually do, following my taste buds and palate, which I know many of you trust.
How It’s Done
The sauce is made as many sauces are, stirred up and reduced to that just right consistency. (coat a spoon) You don’t want it runnier or it literally runs right off and is not a glaze. Glaze needs to coat, the way a nasty winter ice storm puts a glaze of thin ice on a sidewalk in winter that will knock you right on your butt. This glaze will knock you down too, but not in the same way (and I digress).
Not Just for Grilled Hams
You can put this glaze on your oven baked ham for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Cover your ham in foil and bake it as directed, then get the foil off and start glazing for the end. I am sure you know how that works. It’s probably good on a pork roast as well although for some inexplicable reason I don’t cook those often enough. I have no idea why. I dream of roast pork all October long when there is a crisp snap in the air. It’s a German thing.
You should have plenty of glaze for your ham with a bit extra- I like to paint the plate with some of it to dab my ham bites into. Nothing wrong with that.
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Grilled Carver Ham with Apple Bourbon Glaze
Ingredients
Ham:
- 1 (2.5 to 3 pound) carver ham
Apple Bourbon Glaze:
- 3/4 cup apple juice or apple cider
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup Kentucky bourbon
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 teaspoons prepared Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot pepper sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Stir together ingredients for the glaze in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, for about 25-30 or until reduced to 2/3 cup total.
- Lightly score ham with a diamond pattern.
- Grill ham on offset heat on an outdoor grill until ham reaches 120F.; baste with glaze and continue to cook until ham reaches 135F.
Notes
From Blogging Friends:
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Mimi’s Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Wisconsin Beer Brats
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