A good maple syrup ham, sugar shack style, is hard to beat! Imagine if, in addition, you let it cook slowly on the rotisserie while watching it caramelize more and more while your bottle of bourbon, itself, diminishes by the hour… We risk having a lot of fun during these ten commandments of ham, because as usual, I will give you my secrets so that you make the best ham of your life!

Without further ado, let's get to it!

1. Select your cut of meat

To make ham, the piece of meat you use must be a pork butt. The result could be just as good with a pork shoulder, but it would not be a "real" ham, so today, we will stick to the butt.

You can make ham with part of the buttock or a whole buttock, boneless or bone-in, depending on the result you want to achieve. I like to ask my butcher to prepare a whole buttock in a "top" shape, because this way, the piece of meat is already ready to be injected. The piece will hold together just as well during preparation as it does during cooking.

2. Choose your cooking technique and tool

There are many ways to cook ham, but if there is one that surpasses the others, in my opinion, it is cooking it on a rotisserie. By letting the piece of meat turn slowly on a rotisserie spit, the crust that will form all around it will be unbeatable. The concept of rotisserie (what you do with a rotisserie) is that the fat drips evenly over the meat, which forms a perfect caramelization. You can even go wild and brush maple syrup on the piece of meat from the middle of cooking, if you want, but I'll tell you about that a little later.

Personally, when I use a rotisserie, I also use the Copeaunateur BBQ Québec to give a woody taste to the food in my BBQ. Before starting to cook, I first remove the grills from my BBQ so that the Copeaunateur is even easier to access and I can add chips during cooking without any problem.

If you prefer, you can also cook your ham by placing it over indirect heat, on the grill of your favorite BBQ or smoker, and letting it cook slowly, at a temperature between 225 and 325 °F, depending on how much time you have. A temperature that I particularly like: 275 °F. In my opinion, it is the best of both worlds.

Cooking ham can be done on a pellet BBQ, charcoal, gas, and even, if you're (very) stuck, in the oven.

In case you would like to cook your ham in a gas BBQ without a rotisserie, I would really recommend you to use the Presto BBQ BBQ Québec . This accessory transforms BBQs into smokers and allows to create a zone of air and humidity between the burners and the piece of meat. This makes cooking meat extremely easy, especially if you use two, three, four, five or even more burners.

If, on the other hand, you have a kettle-type BBQ, such as a Master-Touch or a Kettle Premium , you will be able to cook your ham in it, but I warn you, it will not be the easiest cooking of your life... With the All-in-1 on the other hand, an accessory that transforms your BBQ into a smoker and which is large enough to allow the insertion of an aluminum dish filled with water in the BBQ, it will be much easier, because you will have space to separate the fire from the piece of meat.

3. Inject

Although your pork butt will be delicious without injections, it will not become a ham without the essential products for its transformation, namely salt and nitrites. At BBQ Québec, we have injections designed specifically for ham. I highly recommend the Sweeter than Sweet brine mix for ham and bacon from Butcher BBQ . With a mix made by a pro like Butcher BBQ, you can't go wrong!

Personally, though, I would recommend halving the recipe on the bag, because while it makes the bacon really delicious, it can make it too salty if you put even the slightest bit too much. By diluting the product more, you can inject more without altering its taste, and end up with a nice big juicy ham when it's all done.

4. Season your piece of meat as it deserves

There are several rubs that can be interesting to season your ham, but if I have a favorite to recommend, it is without a doubt the Sweet Kansas dry marinade from BBQ Québec . This rub was specially designed to caramelize pieces of meat and give them a phenomenal crust. If, in addition, you add maple syrup to your piece of meat at the end of cooking, you will really have the best of both worlds!

If you want to try something else, What The Pork?, LL Prohibition , SJB Barbecue , PAT BBQ , Kosmos Q , and Butcher BBQ have plenty of great ham rub options.

5. Prepare your ham for enjoyment

Once your beautiful piece of meat is cooked, you will have to eat it! And, since it is a large piece, it will take you several meals to eat it all. You can therefore add your ham to the ingredients of several quick recipes: those of a sandwich, a salad, a pizza and any other meal requiring a protein.

Here are some recipes for cooking your ham:

https://bbqquebec.com/burger-cabane-a-sucre

https://bbqquebec.com/3-types-grilled-cheese

https://bbqquebec.com/le-jambon-de-jp-a-paques

6. Use the right wood

Generally with pork, I recommend using a wood that is softer and sweeter, like maple, apple or cherry. I say that, but you can, of course, choose a wood that is more flavorful, like oak or hickory. It may, however, change the taste of your recipe; a taste that I imagine you generally like sweeter. Do your tests, develop your tastes, and once you have found your favorite mix, buy a bigger bag of shavings!

7. Cook to the correct temperature

For a ham that you will be reheating later in the week, it is best not to overcook it the first time. Bring its internal temperature up to around 140-145°F. However, if you want it to last longer and be ready to eat, cook it until it has an internal temperature of 160°F.

8. Decide whether to add nitrite or not

Nitrite is the ingredient that turns butt into ham, flank into bacon, brisket into smoked meat… Without this ingredient, your ham will end up as pulled pork (which will be very good!), but the texture will not be up to what you expect. So, follow your recipe carefully and make sure not to mix “nitrites” and “nitrite salt”!

9. Brush with love

Towards the end of cooking, it's time to baste your piece of meat with your favorite liquids. Be careful! If you start basting too early, the sugar will caramelize and then char, which will not give you the desired result.

I recommend waiting until the last hour, lowering the grill temperature, and basting your ham every 10 minutes to form a nice caramelization. You can use a good red beer, Jack Daniel's or even maple syrup to do this. Your favorite BBQ sauce can also be used at this point, but remember, the sweeter it is, the more it can burn! So, if you want to use it, use your favorite sauce only towards the last 20 minutes.

10. Arm yourself with a good knife

When it comes time to carve your ham, you'll thank me for reminding you to equip yourself with a good knife! Indeed, by having a long ham/brisket knife, you can easily slice your favorite cuts of meat thinly, and safely.

This is, in my opinion, the best knife on the market in terms of its quality/price ratio:

https://bbqquebec.com/accessories-couteau-brisket-kai-pro

If you want to treat yourself and have the best of the best (that's what I work with!), I recommend this one: https://bbqquebec.com/couteau-brisket-kanso

In short

Depending on the weight of your ham and the temperature of your BBQ/smoker, it may take anywhere from 2 to 8 hours to cook. The important thing is to let it cook slowly and let it reach a temperature internal temperature of at least 140°F. Obviously, this depends on the result you want to achieve; generally, the internal temperature is closer to 160°F.

On that note, I look forward to seeing your results on our Facebook group BBQ Québec techniques and recipes!

Happy BBQ!