Bourbon-Glazed Ham with Strawberry Spinach Salad

I am not a whiskey person.  Rob has given me samples of several different whiskies in the past (BEFORE I was pregnant...don't look at me like that) and it always tastes like what I imagine lighter fluid would taste like.  Ew.

But to cook with it....oh man, magical things happen.  We are particular fans of what happens when bourbon meets pork.  And because we like the flavor combination so much, when I found this recipe as I was searching for what to make for Easter dinner, I was pretty sure this would work well.

I think it actually blows "well" out of the water.  "Fantastic" is probably a more apt description.

Bourbon-Glazed Ham
Recipe from AllRecipes

One 5lb ham
1/3 cup bourbon whiskey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice
1/2 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple rings

1.  Score the surface of the ham, making diamond shapes about 1/2-inch deep. Place the ham in a large, resealable bag (if you don't have a bag large enough, put in a casserole dish and baste the ham periodically).  Add the bourbon, brown sugar, crushed pineapple, honey, and garlic to the bag; refrigerate at least 8 hours, turning the bag over several times while marinating.  

Yummy marinade! And then I realized my ham was too big for the bag...

2.  Preheat oven to 350. 

3.  Transfer the ham and marinade to a large baking dish; pour the water into the dish. Attach the pineapple rings around the surface of the ham with toothpicks. 

4.  Bake in preheated oven until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, basting about every 30 minutes with the sauce in the pan, 90 to 105 minutes. 

Now, let's say you're a little distracted and you don't fully read this recipe until that whole 8-hour marinade time has been severely shortened.  Letting it sit in the bourbon goodness for 3 hours or so is perfectly fine too.  There's still enough flavor infused into the meat that your taste buds will be shouting for joy.


I also made sure to get a bone-in ham.  Not only does having the bone mean more flavor, but it also helps keep the meat moist.  I also like to make sure I have the ham bone to make a particularly beloved soup (oh don't worry...you'll hear more about that one later on).  If you're really not a fan of having bones in your meat though, getting a boneless ham is perfectly fine.  You may want to baste it a little more frequently to keep it moist.


A great, Spring-y compliment to this dish?  Strawberry Spinach Salad.  This one is so easy I'm not even going to give you a recipe because there really isn't one; everything is to taste.  

Take a bag of pre-washed baby spinach (don't feel like spending the extra $ on baby spinach? Get regular and give it a rough chop) and put it in a salad bowl.  Wash and quarter as many strawberries as you feel like using and toss in with the spinach.  Roughly chop and TOAST about a 1/2-3/4 cup of almonds; add these just before serving (yes, you want to toast them first.  Trust me).  Voila!  Basic Strawberry Spinach Salad. :)

Toasting brings out the oils and gives that crunch a special oomph

Doesn't this just SCREAM Spring time???

I like the salad with a pre-made, creamy poppyseed dressing.  However if you have another tangy-sweet dressing that you like, use that instead.  If I wasn't feeding a 3-year-old this salad, I'd also add a LITTLE BIT of THINLY SLICED red onion.  Not only for that onion zip but also for that gorgeous purple color.


Feel free to round out this meal with, oh say, Scalloped Potatoes. ;) And there you have my Easter Feast!

FYI, don't slice your potatoes too early; they'll oxidize. Lesson learned.