Slow Cooker Cider Ham {giveaway}

After a busy few weeks of traveling, I’ve been getting reacquainted with my kitchen, inviting Clara to wrap on her apron and join me at the counter.

Our Montreal winter has been bitterly cold and the snow keeps piling up higher and higher around the house. I’m sure many of you on the East Coast can relate. There’s never been a better time to delve into comfort food, so we’ve been simmering pots of chili, baking bread and roasting vegetables by the tray-full.

This cider ham was the first dinner I pulled together for my family this week. It’s from Brown Eggs and Jam Jars and, incidentally, this is the very first recipe I’m sharing on the blog from the cookbook. It’s one of my favourites, and simple enough to put together while jet-lagged, tired, and suffering from a head cold. Be sure to click through for the recipe, plus a giveaway for a KitchenAid 6-quart slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Cider Ham from Brown Eggs and Jam Jars: Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites
Slow Cooker Cider Ham from Brown Eggs and Jam Jars: Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites

I developed this recipe with my traditional Sunday Dinner in mind, a make-ahead, no-fuss dish that could hold its own as the star of the meal. It does all that, and yields enough for leftovers, too. What more could you ask of a Sunday roast? Be sure to save the ham bone for Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup, another cold-weather favourite.

In the cookbook, this cinnamon-scented, mustard-crusted cider ham stars in an entire chapter on Sunday dinner, paired with Crispy Rosemary Roast Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Honey and Hazelnuts. Today, you get it as a preview of what lies between the covers of Brown Eggs and Jam Jars!

If you’re a real planner….you may want to Pin or bookmark this ham for Easter. I know, I know, it’s still a ways off, but I’m already dreaming of spring, so making a holiday menu plan isn’t that unreasonable.

Somehow, staying in from the cold has its appeal, now that we can linger around the table with family and friends.

Slow Cooker Cider Ham

This cinnamon-scented, mustard-crusted cider ham is the star of Sunday dinner.
4.37 from 19 votes
Print Pin
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Paleo
Essential Ingredient: Ham
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 847kcal
Author: Aimee

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups fresh-pressed apple cider (raw apple juice)
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 Tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 orange scrubbed
  • 7 pounds best-quality bone-in smoked ham (6-7lbs)
  • 1 cinnamon stick

Instructions

  • Pour cider into a 6-quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine maple syrup, Dijon, ginger and pepper. Zest the orange into the bowl and mix the marinade ingredients together.
  • Rub marinade all over the ham, using every bit of it, and place the ham in the slow cooker. You may have to trim the ham to make it fit. Just add the trimmings to the slow cooker as well.
  • Peel the orange and coarsely chop the pulp, discarding any seeds. Add the orange around the sides of the ham and tuck the cinnamon stick in also.
  • Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
  • To serve, transfer the ham to a platter. Cover to keep warm. Strain liquid from the slow cooker into a gravy pitcher and serve with the ham.

Notes

This ham will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 847kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 68g | Fat: 56g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 266mg | Sodium: 647mg | Potassium: 974mg | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Vitamin C: 7.3mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 4.1mg

Giveaway

So many of my go-to recipes are made in a slow cooker, both here on the blog, and in my cookbook, so it seems only fair to offer one for your kitchen, too.

KitchenAid slow cooker

Thanks to KitchenAid Canada, I have one KitchenAid 6-Quart Slow Cooker with Solid Glass Lid to give away to a Canadian resident (sorry, international folks, this one is nation-wide only).

To enter: leave a comment and tell me what you would make first in this brand new slow cooker!

That’s it! Good luck to all.

Giveaway ends, Sunday, March 1, 2015 at 8AM. Winner will be announced both here and on Facebook.

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201 Comments

  1. What a great giveaway! My slow cooker is on it’s last leg. I’d probably make this very recipe first. Looks delicious and my family would love it!

  2. Wow what a beautiful slow cooker! I think the first thing I’d make a huge load of slow cooker oatmeal. It’s like eating apple pie soooo sweet and awesomely delicious. But then I know hubs would request I make a huge pot of chilli! Comfort food!! Thanks for the giveaway and thanks kitchenaid!!

  3. I was actually just thinking of making this ham recipe in the next few days! But there’s also a good chance I’d be making my family’s favourite pot roast too. Thanks for hosting these great giveaways!

  4. My family’s traditional ham recipe has to be made in the oven, so I would not make a ham 🙂 I’d be tempted to try a bolognese…

  5. I have always wanted to try cooking in a slow cooker. I would probably first try pulled pork since it would be an easy one to start with.

  6. I have had hand-me-down slow cookers all of my life. Wonder if I can improve on my slow cooker recipes with a new one. The first recipe I would have make is one of my families favorites: Slow Cooker-Beer Braised-Pork and Black Beans. Topped with optional fresh Crème’, Queso Fresco, Goat Cheese, Cilantro, Onions, Cheese. All served over a bed of rice or quinoa. Ohhhh so good.

  7. I would make a huge pulled pork for my family of six. Great for a dinner and then sometimes there are leftovers for sandwiches!

  8. The first dish in the my new slow cooker would corned beef and cabbage. The corned beef brisket is tough and needs time
    to become that tender pleasure, with tons of flavour.

  9. This looks yummy! I would probably make pulled pork, since I always have pork in my freezer for that since it is such a simple go to meal. I can’t wait to try this ham, it looks delicious. Kimberly

  10. My current slow cooker has a low and high knob– I’d love to have one with more settings! I’m not exactly sure what I’d make with it first. It’s nice to make chili in it and let it go all day.

  11. I love slow cooking! The first thing I would make is slow and low pulled pork for the freezer. It’s one of our favourite things to have on hand for quick meals.

  12. I would roast a whole fresh chicken. My favourite way to cook a chicken. Followed by overnight stock.

  13. I would make pulled pork in my slow cooker – the best way to prepare it! Nothing like the taste of BBQ sauce to help it feel like warmer weather!

  14. If I won the KitchenAid slow cooker, I would definitely have to try your cider ham recipe first! Looks delish!

  15. 5 stars
    What a great contest! I would love to try your ham recipe – I’ve never tried ham in a slow cooker before. Next on my list would be a slow cooker French onion soup recipe that I just came across – never made that before and would love to give it a try.

  16. The slow cooker we have right now is too small for our family so this one would be fantastic! I would start with this recipe of Apple cider ham. It sounds delicious.

  17. Hi Aimee. A few days ago I was looking for a recipe for beef short ribs but when I surfed the web, slow cooker recipes seemed to be everywhere! And you may have guessed, I don’t own a slow cooker. If lucky to be chosen, that’s the first dish I’d make.

  18. I’ve been considering purchasing this slow cooker as it’s rated #1 in that category by America’s Test Kitchen. Winning one would be awesome! I would definitely try your ham first!

  19. Hi Aimee,

    I’ve ordered your book from our little book store in Cranbrook, B.C, and I’m waiting for it to come in and so the first thing I would make is something from your book! I gave my slow cooker away several years ago so would put a new one to good use. Thanks! Dorothy

  20. This year, the Toronto winter has been incredibly cold too!! This recipe, Mmmm sounds delicious – I bet the seasoning would pair well with a roast as well ( I don’t eat pork).

    If I were to win the slowcooker, the first think I would make, would be BBQ Brisket … Mmmmm warm, comforting, smokey — I can almost taste it!!

  21. Ribs – we tried a small rack in our tiny slowcooker and it was great!
    Thanks for the great giveaway!

  22. What a great giveaway! I’ve been shopping around for one recently. I’m getting married in September; it would be a great pre-wedding gift ;). The first recipe I would make for my future hubby and I would be a chili (either a vegetarian chili or con carne.. can’t decide yet!).

  23. I have been trying to make more soups, so I would love to try and perfect a chicken noodle soup recipe in a new crockpot!

  24. What a beauty of a slow cooker it is! It will be hard to know if to start with Pea and Ham soup or Pulled Pork!

  25. My family’s first meal in this beauty would be my kids fave winter meal- squash and chickpea curry with peanut butter.

  26. I would love to try the cabbage roll casserole you posted in this. With Maple Syrup season approaching, my dad’s recipe (passed down from his mom) for maple baked beans would also be on my list to cook! Thanks for the great contests!

  27. The recipe sounds great! Looking forward to trying it. The first thing I would make would be slow cooker French Onion Soup. Perfect for the cold days we have been having here in Canada.

  28. 1 star
    My current slow cooker is about 12 years old and is looking sad! I would make beef stew for my dad, just like my mum used to make.

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