Grilled Easter Ham with Cola Glaze - The Springtime Grilling Series

Easter Sunday is here, and our second Easter recipe in the Springtime Grilling Series is Grilled Easter Ham with Cola Glaze. Ham is the most popular feature of holiday menus, except for turkey on a particular day in November, so we wanted to give you a grilling recipe for this old favorite. The cola glaze gives an excellent, sweet flavor that compliments the salty nature of the ham.

What makes this ham is the preparation. Virtually all hams bought in the store are pre-cooked, so the trick is to warm them without drying them. Following the steps below will yield a marvelous, moist ham with caramelized edges at just about the same time as conventional cooking. After tasting, you will never want to place another ham in the oven. Grab a case of your favorite cola, fire up the grill, and get ready to amaze your friends and family.

Serves 12

Grilled Easter Ham with Cola Glaze Ingredients

  • 1 (8 pounds) boneless ham
  • 3 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle of cola-flavored carbonated beverage
  • 1 cup grape juice

Grilled Easter Ham with Cola Glaze Directions

  1. Prepare your grill for 2-zone cooking and preheat it to about 225°F on the indirect side. If the skin has not been removed, remove it, and trim off almost all the fat leaving no more than a thin layer. If it came with a prepackaged glaze, throw it out. If there is a glaze already on the meat, rinse it off; ours is better. If it is spiral-sliced, let some water get into the sliced areas to help reduce moisture loss.
  2. Place the meat on the indirect side of the grill. Close the lid, and smoke for about 1 hour.
  3. Prepare glaze: Mix the brown sugar, grape juice, and cola in a bowl.
  4. Tear off about 5' of aluminum foil; if you have double strength, that's better. Fold it in half to make it about 2 1/2' in length. Take the ham off the grill, place the flat, cut end on the foil, make sure you don't puncture the foil, pour 1/2 cup of the water over the meat, and seal the meat and water in the foil, so it looks like a giant candy kiss. Crimp the seams tight. We don't want any steam escaping and water leaking. This technique helps it cook faster by generating a little steam, which penetrates faster than dry heat, and keeps the meat moist. Place the package back on the indirect side at about 225°F. If you have a leave-in meat thermometer, insert it through the foil into the fat end so the tip is approximately 1" away from the bone. Watch the oven temp and try to keep it around 225°F.
  5. When the meat temp hits about 130°F, open the foil, liberally paint on the glaze, leave the foil open to catch drips, close the grill, and roast for about 10 minutes until the glaze gets thick.
  6. After about 10 minutes, open the grill, and repaint the meat with more glaze. Now remove the foil, and pour any drippings into the saucepan. Leave the lid open, remove the thermometer and move the ham over to the hot side. Stand right there and watch, so the glaze does not burn. Let the glaze sizzle but not blacken. You are just trying to caramelize the sugars and develop more flavor. Roll it a bit after about 3 or 4 minutes and keep rolling it until all sides have sizzled except the bare meat side. Leave it bare. By now, the temp should have risen to 140°F.
  7. Move the ham to a cutting board, bare side down. Carve it by slicing it from the sides towards the bone in the top center. Then slice down along the bone to release the slices. Serve.

Taken from allrecipes.com  https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/140279/cola-easter-ham/