Grammie Ham (Smothered Smoked Picnic Shoulder)

 Okay, so I'll admit it. Cooking meat is sort of intimidating. I am never quite sure how to go about it. What if it overcooks? What if it undercooks? I much prefer baking, as there are toothpicks and the browning of the crust, and so forth, to determine doneness. Meat has been rather a mystery to me, since it is all about the interior, and who knows what goes on in there, right?

So, have I ever baked a picnic shoulder? Heck, I didn't even know what one looked like until I was pleasantly surprised, while browsing the meat display, to discover a package labeled "boneless smoked picnic shoulder." I decided to try the very smallest package, about 1 1/2 pounds.

I was not interested in boiling it, then baking it. A small note at the bottom of the recipe indicates that these things can be quite happily cooked in a crockpot. Hallelujah! Then I decided that the yellow mustard/brown sugar/milk bake was not quite the taste I was going for. With a nod to Lauren Webster's grammie, I looked for something a little more sweet and savory, and this is what I ended up putting in the crockpot with the boneless smoked picnic shoulder: 

Slice shallots and place in bottom of greased crockpot. Slice garlic cloves lengthwise, put some in bottom of crockpot and place some in slits in the ham. Mix 1/4 c brown sugar, 1/4 c white sugar, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 t. basil, 1/2 t. black pepper. Drop ham into bowl with this mixture, roll ham till covered with rub. Mix 2 T plus 2 tsp worcestershire sauce, 2 T plus 2 tsp water, and 1 T honey. Pour into bottom of (small) crockpot. Place ham in crockpot. Cook on high 1 1/2 hours, turn to low and cook 4 hours. When done, remove the liquid, place in saucepan, reduce to make a glaze for ham.

The Resident Archaeologist raved about this ham, and so, in a happy cloud of meat-cooking euphoria, I said, triumphantly, "I did it! I cooked this meat! I really did it!" If you haven't guessed yet, he is the primary meat-cooker of the family and I am the primary baker of the family. But, things could be changing now!



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