Crackpot ham

This is one of Amanda's, "Just so crazy it might work" ideas. Why not throw a ham into the crockpot and slow cook it in ginger ale? It turned out great.

Here's how simple this was:

• 2 lb block of ham (boneless) cut into 1" chunks.
• 12 oz. of stock - I used vegetable from the leftover stewed vegetables we made on Sunday.
• 1 can of ginger ale. I used Verner's but I'm sure any would work.
• 1 tbsp of ground ginger.

I didn't add any additional spices or herbs due to the vegetable stock we made and I didn't add any salt due to the saltiness of the ham. Three hours later at a high cook setting and voila -crockpot ham.

I suggest draining the ham - use the colander in a bowl method to keep all the stock/juices for later use.

The fat rendered down nicely, the ham was tender and a lot less salty than ham cooked other ways, and a scoop of ham and a scoop of the previous day's vegetables made for a satisfying dinner. With spicy mustard of course.

This creates a solid amount of leftovers so make sure you have a couple of free storage containers. I already have plans for the remainder of the ham:

• Breakfast biscuits: grab a couple chunks of ham, pan fry and broken down in order to fit on a biscuit better. Cheese, tomato, smear of mustard, ham = I'm not hungry and cranky any more (for now).
• Jambalaya at the end of the week.
• Beans over the weekend.
• Snacking. You laugh but a hunk of bread, some pickles, cheese, warm ham, and a beer is a good snack.

Super simple and super tasty. Thanks for the idea Amanda.