Slow Cooker Easter Ham With Apricot And Kahlua Recipe

A freshly cooked ham makes for a glorious Easter brunch or dinner centerpiece. Not only is ham a crowd-pleaser, but also a protein that requires minimal attention from the cook, which makes entertaining a breeze. If you want to think beyond the basic brown sugar-glazed ham for your next holiday, our slow cooker Easter ham with apricot and Kahlua will take your entertaining to the next level. Recipe developer Julie Kinnaird shares with us her easy slow cooker approach to Easter dinner, glazing the ham with a sweet and savory combination of tangy apricot preserves, dark and rich coffee-scented Kahlua, dry mustard, coriander, and cloves. The mustard gives some balance to the sweetness of the glaze, while the coriander and cloves add a warm and earthy spice layer. Kinnaird adds some springtime pearl onions, baby carrots, and leeks for an all-in-one preparation that goes from cooker to platter.

What Kinnaird loves about this recipe is how juicy and flavorful the ham becomes. Using a fully-cooked and smoked ham means that the cooking in this recipe is about infusing flavor while safely reheating the pre-cooked product. Adding in the baby vegetables allows them to soak up the savory ham juices and glaze, while imparting aromatics into the ham.

The key to success with this recipe is first selecting a ham that will fit into your slow cooker. Kinnaird likes using a bone-in smoked butt portion because it tends to be a bit shorter in stature than an average shank portion half ham. Skin and fat are desirable on your ham, as scoring the surface allows the glaze to seep in, while the fat will render into the juices as it cooks. For the glaze, you will puree together Kahlua coffee liqueur, apricot preserves, ground mustard, coriander, and cloves. Partway through the cooking, you will pour a bit of dry white wine over the ham. This adds some acidity to your recipe, as well as an additional layer of flavor. You can really add any sort of baby vegetable that you like, but Kinnaird prefers a combination of tiny pearl onions, carrots, and tender leeks. 

Place the ham cut-side-down on a cutting board and score the skin with a sharp knife.

Transfer the ham to a slow cooker.

In a high-speed blender, combine the apricot preserves, Kahlua, mustard, coriander, and cloves.

Blend until smooth.

Scrape the glaze into a bowl.

Use a pastry brush to coat the ham with ½ of the glaze.

Trim the leeks to remove the stem end and tough dark green shoots, then slice them in half lengthwise.

Rinse the leeks under cold water to remove any dirt between the layers.

Slice the leeks crosswise into ½-inch pieces.

Arrange the leeks, carrots, and pearl onions around the ham.

Set the slow cooker to low.

Cover the slow cooker and cook the ham for 1 hour.

Uncover, pour the wine over the ham, and return the lid.

Cook for another hour, then brush on the remaining glaze.

Continue to cook the ham until it reaches 140 F at its thickest point (about 4-5 hours total cooking). If your slow cooker has a bake/broil setting, you can use it briefly to crisp up the surface of the ham, or turn the temperature to high for the last hour of cooking.

Remove the ham from the slow cooker and let it rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes. Reserve the vegetables and pan juices to serve with the ham.

Carve the ham and serve it with vegetables and your favorite sides.

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This recipe will accommodate your preferred ham, whether that is a spiral cut, shank end, bone-in, or boneless variety. Kinnaird likes the ease of carving a butt (or rump) cut, and values the meaty flavor that the ham bone provides. One important thing to remember is that hams will often come pre-glazed or equipped with a glaze packet. Because the apricot and Kahlua glaze for this ham is fairly sweet, you don't want an extra layer of sugary goodness on your meat. 

So what happens if you find the perfect ham at the grocery store, haul it home, get everything ready to prepare your recipe, and the ham does not fit in your slow cooker? Kinnaird has a trick to help with that possibility, too. Try to ease your ham into the slow cooker insert as far as it will go, then take a generous piece of aluminum foil (heavy-duty variety preferred) and wrap that all around the ham and rim of your slow cooker. This will create the seal you are looking for to keep the heat and moisture in, while allowing the ham and vegetables to cook down. You may find that your ham shrinks a bit during cooking, and you can manage to replace the lid towards the end.

Leftover ham is a delight to incorporate into endless dishes beyond a tasty sandwich. Ham adds savory nuance to quiches, scalloped potatoes, soups, and even fried rice. You can use it up in vintage preparations like creamy ham dip, cheese croquettes, or split pea soup (don't forget the ham bone). You can think outside the box and incorporate ham bits into scones, ramen, nachos, or French toast. The leftover ham from this recipe has both sweet and savory qualities, making it a versatile pairing for just about anything you can imagine.

When it comes to storing your leftover ham, consider packing it into individual-sized containers. Anything that you expect not to use within a week can be frozen for later use. Having individual portions ready to go makes for easy use to throw in an omelet, top a portable salad, or eat straight from the package for an afternoon protein pick-me-up.

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