This flavorful ham recipe is slow cooked to perfection in a savory broth of beer, maple syrup, cloves and dijon mustard. Slow Cooker Maple and Beer Braised Ham is a great entree for your holiday meal, yet it is so easy to make you will want to prepare it for everyday dinners.
I love using my slow cooker to make the perfect, tender and juicy ham. Cooking ham in the slow cooker is so convenient for saving oven space when preparing a big Holiday meal. This easy recipe takes just 5 minutes of prep time, and then let your slow cooker do its magic for the next 6-7 hours!
A slow cooker ham recipe that is so delicious with the subtle hints of flavor from maple syrup, beer, cloves and dijon mustard!
I always make Holiday ham for Easter dinner, Christmas or Thanksgiving, but it is so easy to make don't just save this recipe for special occasions. I like to make a big ham just to have leftovers for sandwiches, casseroles, and my super popular Ham and Bean Soup!
What kind of ham to buy?
- When buying ham I always choose a bone-in ham as large as will fit into my slow cooker.
- Buying the right ham can be confusing. There are boneless hams, bone-in, cured, uncured, smoked, shank, spiral ham, and the list goes on! Fully cooked ham is commonly found in your grocery store, but you can also buy cured ham that is not fully cooked. Read your package label to know what kind of ham and the guidelines for recommended cooked temperature.
- I always choose a bone-in cured ham that is fully cooked. I find it to be the most tender and juicy ham. A bone-in ham tends to be moister and has a rich flavor that comes from the bone. The leftovers are perfect for making soup. The meat can be cut into cubes, unlike slices of spiral-cut ham. This ham is fully cooked when the internal temperature is 145ºF.
Side dishes
- Green Bean Casserole - a great side dish to ham and always popular for Holiday dinners
- Potatoes with Creamy Dill sauce - one of my favorite potato recipes.
- Bacon Kale Potato Salad - this is a side dish I make when cooking a ham for an everyday dinner.
- Best Ever Brussels Sprouts - crispy and oven baked.
Recipes using leftover ham
I was asked by Ricardo Cuisine to sample one of Ricardo's spring recipes. Ricardo Larrivee is one of my favorite Canadian chefs and Slow Cooker Maple and Beer Braised Ham is one of his exceptional recipes!
This post was originally published March 30, 2015. Occasionally I update with fresh tips, contents, and photos. Current update April 1, 2023.
Slow Cooker Maple and Beer Braised Ham
Ingredients
- 7 pound ham
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 bottle pale ale beer 12 ounce
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup
- 4 whole cloves
- water
Instructions
- Remove packaging and mesh cloth from the ham. Place it bone side down in the slow cooker.
- In a large bowl combine whole cloves, 1 tablespoon of the Dijon mustard, beer, maple syrup and 2 cups water.
- Pour broth over the ham, adding more water if needed so that the liquid is a couple of inches from the rim of the slow cooker.
- Spread the remaining tablespoon of mustard on top of the ham.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until ham reaches an internal temperature of 145º F. Turn the ham halfway through cooking.
Rhonda Anderson says
Do you use the butt or shank ham? Does it matter?
Laureen King says
Hey Rhonda, it does't really matter. I trimmed the rind and excess fat from the ham.
Rhonda Anderson says
Thanks Laureen. This will be Easter dinner this year! Any suggestions for sides? Just trying to shake things up
Laureen King says
Rhonda, I like scallop potatoes with ham (sorry haven't blogged that recipe yet) and three salads that would be super on my blog -Santa Fe Salad, Cucumber Watermelon Salad, and Avocado Citrus Salad.
Lauren says
Hi! This might be a dumb question, but is this a precooked Han when you buy it and you are just heating it through? Thank you! Lauren
Laureen King says
Hi Lauren, no a dumb question at all. It is not a pre-cooked ham. I also wouldn't use one of those spiral cut hams as it would fall apart too much.
Suzy | The Mediterranean Dish says
Love the idea of slow-cooker ham! And braising in beer is brilliant!
Laureen King says
Yes the slow cooker is ideal for making a ham, and the beer/maple syrup adds incredible subtle flavour.
Mini Tanksalwalla says
Love your friendly recipes!
We would really appreciate it if you had the recipe also in print-out form!
Thank you!
Laureen King says
Hi Mini, all the recipe do have a print function, it is located right under the photo in the recipe.
Becca says
I would love to make this with a whole ham but I don’t have a big enough crockpot. Oddly, I’ve never braised a ham before; could I do this in a Nesco roaster? What would be the temp and time adjustments?
Laureen King says
Hi Becca, I would think the Nesco Roaster would work just fine, but I don't own one so not sure what your cooking time would be.
Lucille says
Is the ham a smoked ham. Thanks
Laureen King says
Yes Lucille it is a smoked ham
Lucille says
Can you use this if it’s fully cooked smoked ham
Laureen King says
Hi Lucille, I would guess a fully cooked ham would get kind of dry with this recipe. For best results a ham that requires cooking would be best
Rosie says
Hi! This recipe looks really good. Can you really explain what type of ham to ask for.
When you go in supermarket the hams seem all smoked or precooked spirals. I am thinking these are not the right type. I really want to make this!!!
Laureen King says
Hi Rosie,
I always use a bone-in smoked ham. Remember to take the netting that they sometimes wrap around the ham off before cooking.
Archie says
Are you from Humbolt Sask
Laureen King says
yes recently moved here.