Pork Shoulder Ham Slow Cooker

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This three ingredient Easy Crock Pot Ham will have you enjoying all your favorite ham dish recipes in no time flat.

how to cook ham

Recently my friends over at Indiana's Family of Farmers challenged me to cook as many meals as I could for $50. As I was planning my menu and setting up my game plan, Miss Add asked me to whip up a new batch of my Freezer Breakfast Burritos and that got me thinking…

Ham.

Fried Ham…Fried Ham… Cheese and Bologna… (anyone else sing that song at camp growing up?)

No, seriously now, I really started thinking about all the yummy dishes you could make with a good ham. And, since this ham would not be feeding a holiday crowd ahead of time, I was pretty sure I could get a whole lot of great dishes out of one ham and stay under my $50 budget.

50 Dollar Challenge 1

Now ham is not traditionally what I think of when I think of a budget restrained purchase because they can easily cash in at $25 if you aren't careful. But I had a hunch that with a bit of looking I could find a good price and that ham could stretch my dollar in the long run. Immediately I decided I was going to get a picnic ham instead of the more expensive spiral hams. Truth be told, I really very much prefer my hams non-spiraled– just ask Aunt Lou. Maybe it is nostalgia, but I really just enjoy cutting them myself.

I found a nice picnic ham for $1.88/lb and it really gave me a lot to work with… You will find picnics will be cheaper than traditional and spiraled hams because they have more skin, fat and bone. But I had plans for all that 😉 So I didn't mind that one bit.

Boy was I glad I decided to give it a try! My 9.5 lb ham made so many great dishes and we are still enjoying our month's worth of freezer breakfast burritos! You can click over to my challenge post to see what all I made and get a grocery list.)

Easy Crock Pot Ham

But it all started with the ham. For my ham recipe, I just altered the recipe for Brown Sugar Holiday Ham from Gooseberry Patch's Hometown Christmas Cookbook. I omitted the $8 a bottle pure maple syrup and decided to just use the pineapple juice from the pineapple slices I planned to use later in the week for another recipe along with the brown sugar.

The results were fantastic and the perfect base for all my yummy dishes. Now, I will probably still splurge with the maple syrup around the holidays, but this way was very good without the added expense.

(Note: If you want to cook your ham in the slow cooker, be mindful of size and shape. If your ham does not fit well enough to allow the lid to shut, you shouldn't use your crock pot. That is EXACTLY what happened to Aunt Lou. So she cooked her ham in the oven.)

Shared on Weekend Potluck.

8.25 lb Ham
20 oz pineapple juice
1 Cup Brown Sugar

Place ham in slow cooker.
Pour juice over top and pack ham with brown sugar.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours

If you are looking for more ham recipes, you can find a full listing of all our holiday ham recipes here.
You will need to pick out your ham to fit inside your slow cooker or cut it down to fit. We typically try to find a 6-7 lb ham that is the right shape for the 6-8 quart slow cooker we are wanting to use. If your ham is just a little too big to get the lid on tight you can wrap aluminum foil around the outside of the lid to keep the heat in.
We use a fully cooked ham in this recipe. Check your ham's packaging to see if there are any specific temperatures your ham needs to cook to per the brand's suggestion. If a specific temperature is necessary, we love using this meat thermometer while we crock pot cook. We love that you can leave the probe inside the slow cooker and it will ring an alarm when the ham reaches the correct temperature.
Cooking times will vary GREATLY on this recipe depending on your ham size/shape and how hot your slow cooker cooks. Check it regularly to make sure that you do not over cook your ham. All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline and should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed .
As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly depending on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.

Affiliate links were used in this post.

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Whether you've been told you can't cook your whole life or you have the knife skills of an Iron Chef, Cris loves to connect you to just the right recipe.

Her site Recipes That Crock is dedicated to helping everyone find delicious recipes to serve their families every month.

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