Maple Bourbon Ham Glaze

[Gonna Smoke]

Well Easter is here and the whole gang plus some will be at our nephew's house today. I was tasked with smoking 2 spiral sliced hams and I got them at Aldi's, $1.49/lb fully cooked. I don't care for the glaze that came with them so I reached out to Rich chopsaw for a recipe for a glaze that he makes which includes apricot preserves, maple syrup, and bourbon. He got me pointed in the right direction and I worked on it yesterday. As he said, it's all about your own tastes and adjusting accordingly, but after some adjustments for taste, here's what I made...

• 1½ cups bourbon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 18 oz. jar of apricot preserves
• 4 T maple syrup. I used a maple praline syrup I had on hand.
• 3 T Gulden's spicy brown mustard

Hopefully this is enough for 2 hams.

Heated a small pot on the stove and added the bourbon to sear or flash off the alcohol. Like Rich said, do this off the stove if you're using a gas cooktop. Next I added all the ingredients and brought to a simmer whisking almost constantly to incorporate everything. The mustard took longer to incorporate, it seemed to want to clump up in little clumps, but it finally broke down.

I started out with 2 TBSP of the mustard, but couldn't really taste it so I added another. The glaze has the slight taste and smell of bourbon as well as the mustard. The maple syrup taste is there, as well. The apricot preserves could be substituted with peach or whatever else you may like.

Double smoking the hams didn't happen as it rained all day yesterday and the temps were in the low 40's with more of the same today. I cut all the ham off the bone and put in a large aluminum pan. That will go in the oven to be heated up and then this glaze will put poured over towards the end and allowed to bake on for a few minutes. May put it under the broiler for a minute after that.

After tasting this, I think it will work well on ribs or chicken, too...

 

[DRKsmoking]

That sounds really good and I bet on a lot of things it will work

WATCHING

David

 

[chopsaw]

Sounds like a winner . To bad you can't smoke the ham , but It will still be good . I got mine done yesterday , gonna slice it this morning .

Next I added all the ingredients and brought to a simmer whisking almost constantly to incorporate everything.

I usually add one at a time and get it mixed in then taste . That way I can see which way it's going and what changed the flavor ( good or bad ) .
Sounds like you have it figured out what works .

After tasting this, I think it will work well on ribs or chicken, too...

Yup . Mine set up overnight in the fridge . Then next morning I spread it on some biscuits !
Post up some pics later if you get a chance .

 

[Gonna Smoke]

To bad you can't smoke the ham

After being in the upper 70's for the past week, Friday afternoon things changed. Temps dropped to the low 40's, wind has blown 15-20 with gusts over 30, and it has rained almost continuously since Friday night. Rain is supposed to stop today, but not the wind and colder temps. Even if the weather improves, I'm out of time now. Kinda sucks, but it is what it is.

I usually add one at a time and get it mixed in then taste . That way I can see which way it's going and what changed the flavor ( good or bad ) .

I'll do that next time for sure. I can already think of a couple of tweaks to make this a really good sauce for a lot of things such as adding a little heat (or a lot), different spice combos, and using different jams and preserves. Thanks for the help, it is greatly appreciated...

 

[chopsaw]

You got the idea now . Been times I add something and think " that was a mistake " Lol .
The idea started from a Carolina " style " sauce I was making . Brown sugar , red wine vinegar and yellow mustard . It just went from there . Like you said all kinds of flavors to try . I have some Tabasco jalapeno jelly in the pantry .

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Well the glaze was a hit with the crowd. Now I need to make it sugar free, or as sugar free as possible, and still taste the same...or better. Any ideas?

 

[sawhorseray]

Well the glaze was a hit with the crowd. Now I need to make it sugar free, or as sugar free as possible, and still taste the same...or better. Any ideas?

Buy sugar-free preserves and replace the sugar with Splenda. Sugar free maple syrup too. Might not be exact but should get you in the ballpark Charles. RAY

https://www.amazon.com/Maple-Grove-Farms-Vermont-Sugar/dp/B00KQ11D22/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=sugar+free+maple+syrup&qid=1681163270&sr=8-5

 

[gmc2003]

Sounds like a great meal Charles. Mother Nature does like to remind us of whose in charge every now and then.

Point for sure
Chris