Bourbon & Cola Pulled Ham on the Traeger

In partnership with Meater

Just in time for Easter, here is a recipe for bourbon and cola pulled ham, smoked up on the Traeger. Starting with a bone-in half ham, you smoke it for several hours on the Traeger and then braise it in a mixture of bourbon and cola until the ham is pull-apart tender. It’s the perfect meal for the holiday with family and the leftovers make for an array of delicious options.

HAM IS TRADITIONAL FOR EASTER

With the Easter holiday soon on the horizon, families around the world will be gathering for meals together, often over a smoked ham. We make this recipe for our family easter lunch which we’ll share with extended family and our kids after a rousing round of Easter egg hunts. In previous years, we’ve taken a ham and smoked and glazed it, but this year we decided to go a step further in braising it until it’s fall-apart tender.

There’s something amazing about pulled ham– it is juicy, tender and full of flavor. And you can use pulled ham for a variety of dishes as leftovers– much like you would with pulled pork.

WHAT HAM TO START WITH

For this recipe, we started with a Snake River Farms bone-in Kurobuta half ham. It’s large– about 8 pounds– and will feed a crowd. We like to use bone-in hams because the expanded flavor that comes from the bone in shank portion. Additionally, you can keep the bone after you’re done eating up the ham and use it for split pea soup.

In a normal smoked and glazed ham, we use a sharp knife and score the ham all over the surface. Adding hatch marks to the ham’s surface adds a lot of surface area for the glaze to stick to, adding an amazing crust.

With this recipe, you don’t need to score the ham scored to make a better crust because it will end up being pulled, but adding hatch marks before seasoning adds so much flavor to the end result.

SMOKE THE HAM FIRST

We seasoned the ham all over with my Smoke Junkie rub and a good layer of Yellowbird Sriracha hot sauce. Don’t worry about the hot sauce being overbearing– the 8 pounds of ham will absorb the flavor and spice and it doesn’t add too much spiciness.

I put in a Meater thermometer probe into the ham and put it on the Traeger at 225*. Then the ham smoked for about 3 hours until it reached 160*. Smoke the ham in the Traeger with an aluminum pan underneath to catch the juices that come out. You’ll need that in the next step.

MAKE THE BRAISE MIXTURE

After smoking for about 3 hours, make the braise mixture for the next step of the cook. I combined a can of Coca Cola, a large dose of good bourbon (I used a Traeger blend made in collaboration with Whistle Pig), and brown sugar.

To the aluminum pan that caught the ham juices, add the braise mixture and then submerge the ham. Wrap the entire pan tightly in aluminum foil and put it back on the Traeger at 275*.

CONTINUE COOKING THE HAM

With the ham back in the Traeger, set the Meater app to a goal temperature of 200* and let the ham continue to cook until it hits that mark. It should take another 3-4 hours.

Pull the ham from the grill and let the pan rest on the counter for 15-30 minutes.

PULL THE HAM

Using heat-proof gloves beneath food-safe gloves, pull the ham from the bone, and shred it entirely. The ham should basically fall apart as you squeeze it. Toss the pulled ham with a bit of the remaining braising liquid and serve hot.

PRIMARY INGREDIENTS

• Bone-in half ham
• Smoke Junkie Seasoning
• Yellowbird Sriracha hot sauce
• Coca Cola
• Bourbon
• Brown sugar

WHY COOKING PULLED HAM ON THE TRAEGER WORKS 

Taking a cooked, smoked ham and elevating the flavors with a great seasoning and a robust braise makes this pulled ham super delicious and special. Cooking it on the Traeger is just how we do things– easy, flavorful, predictable and perfect, cooking on the Traeger is our favorite and this bourbon and cola pulled ham is a perfect family holiday meal.

STEP-BY-STEP

• Preheat the Traeger grill to 225* with the super smoke feature enabled.
• Unwrap the ham.
• Score the ham all over with a small sharp knife.
• Coat the entire ham with hot sauce.
• Season generously with Smoke Junkie seasoning.
• Insert a Meater probe in the ham and pair with the app.
• Place the seasoned ham in the Traeger over an aluminum pan.
• Close the lid and allow the ham to smoke for about 3 hours until it reaches 160*.
• As the ham reaches 160*, make the braise mixture by combining the Coke, bourbon and brown sugar.
• Pull the ham from the grill.
• Add the braise to the collected juices and place the ham in the mixture.
• Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and return to the grill.
• Turn up the grill temperature to 275* and set the Meater temperature goal to 200*.
• Cook the ham until it reaches 200* and pull it from the grill.
• Allow the ham to rest for about 20 minutes and then pull the meat using gloves.
• Serve the bourbon and cola pulled ham and enjoy!

ALTERNATE RECIPES/PRODUCT LINKS

Here are some other ham recipes to consider for this holiday weekend:

• Orange and Bourbon Smoked Ham
• Orange Maple Glazed Ham
• Brown Sugar Peach Ham
• There’s also an amazing ham recipe in my cookbook, which you can pick up here!

Products used in this cook:

• SRF Kurobuta Ham
• Traeger Grill
• WhistlePig bourbon
• Meater Thermometer

Meater Wireless Thermometer

• For this recipe for reverse seared tri tip on the Traeger, we used the Meater thermometer system to ensure that we had a perfectly cooked roast as the base of our dish. Some of the features I love about the Meater:
  • Longer Range: Bluetooth to WiFi range extension built-in up to 165ft. Stand-Alone Mode: Cook without the use of your smartphone.
  • Multiple Probes: Dual temperature sensors in each probe can monitor internal meat temperature up to 212°F and ambient / external temperature up to 527°F simultaneously.
  • Guided Cook System: Walks you through every step of the cooking process to guarantee perfect and consistent results. You can also set up custom alerts/notifications based on temperature and/or time.
  • Advanced Estimator Algorithm: Estimates how long to cook and rest your food to help plan your meal and manage your time.

• My Smoke Junkie seasoning

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Bourbon and Cola Pulled Ham on the Traeger

thisjewcanque

A bone-in ham is elevated to the next level through a slow smoke on the Traeger and a braise in a mixture of Coca Cola and bourbon. Pulled ham is the perfect dish to serve at Easter!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 7 hours hrs

Total Time 7 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course brunch, Holiday Meal, main, Main Course, pork

Cuisine American, holiday, holiday meal

Servings 6

Equipment

• Traeger grill
• Meater thermometer
• Sharp knife
• Aluminum pan
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients

  

• 1 Bone-in half ham about 8 pounds
• 1 cup Smoke Junkie Seasoning
• 1/2 cup Yellowbird Sriracha hot sauce
• 1 can Coca Cola
• 1 cup Bourbon
• 3/4 cup Brown sugar

Instructions

 

• Preheat the Traeger grill to 225* with the super smoke feature enabled.
• Unwrap the ham.
• Score the ham all over with a small sharp knife.
• Coat the entire ham with hot sauce.
• Season generously with Smoke Junkie seasoning.
• Insert a Meater probe in the ham and pair with the app.
• Place the seasoned ham in the Traeger over an aluminum pan.
• Close the lid and allow the ham to smoke for about 3 hours until it reaches 160*.
• As the ham reaches 160*, make the braise mixture by combining the Coke, bourbon and brown sugar.
• Pull the ham from the grill.
• Add the braise to the collected juices and place the ham in the mixture.
• Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and return to the grill.
• Turn up the grill temperature to 275* and set the Meater temperature goal to 200*.
• Cook the ham until it reaches 200* and pull it from the grill.
• Allow the ham to rest for about 20 minutes and then pull the meat using gloves.
• Serve the bourbon and cola pulled ham and enjoy!

Keyword bourbon and cola pulled ham, Easter ham