Although we usually use slow cookers to make easy stews and chilis, they’re also very effective at making huge slabs of meat. Let’s face it: it’s a little bit intimidating to cook a giant hunk of meat without a solid plan in mind. Cooking up some thinly sliced chicken breasts on a stove top is one thing, but an enormous ham seems a little trickier to prepare. Fortunately, we have a great recipe you can make in a slow cooker.
Today, we’re going to show you how to make a orange balsamic glazed ham that you can make right in a crock pot. As with many of these kinds of recipes, all you have to do is make a marinade, throw all your ingredients together in a pot and let it cook on its own. At the end, the entire thing will be perfectly marinated and oh-so-tender. No matter if you’re making it for yourself or for a party, it’s sure to be a hit. So let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 5 pound bone-in ham
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1 cup of fresh orange juice
- zest of one orange
- 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
- 4 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
Here’s what you do:
1. First, take your ham and throw it in your slow cooker. In the meantime, get out a little mixing bowl and pour in your brown sugar, honey, orange juice, orange zest, balsamic vinegar, garlic and soy sauce.
2. Whisk up your marinade in the bowl so that it’s all well-combined. When it’s ready, pour it all over the top of your ham and cover up the slow cooker.
3. When everything looks ready, cover up your slow cooker and set it to cook on low for six hours. When enough time has passed, open it up and check to make sure the ham is cooked all the way through. If it looks good, cut in and enjoy!
While a giant chunk of ham can seem like it would be difficult to prepare, this recipe shows just how incredibly easy this process can be. Although the above instructions are great as they are, you can also add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the sauce to give it a little extra heat.
Though this recipe will result in a great meat dish, it helps to serve it up with some tasty sides as well. While we’ll leave the specifics up to you, this dish goes well with a side of roasted veggies or some mashed potatoes to round out the meal. If you want to experiment with the actual slow cooking process itself, you could even try adding some vegetables into the crock pot as well towards the end of the time. Above all, have fun with the process on this one and let us know how it all turns out!
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