Every day's a holiday when you're firing up this smoked ham with creole mustard glaze from Virgil's Barbecue Road Trip Cookbook (St. Martin's Press 2014) by Neal Corman and Chris Peterson.

VIRGIL'S SLOW SMOKED HAM

Ingredients

1 (12 to 14-pound) cured bone-in ham

1 ½ cups Bourbon Creole Mustard Glaze (recipe below), divided

Instructions

Trim the fat off the ham, leaving a ¼-inch layer all around. Use a sharp knife to score the surface of the ham into a diamond pattern.

Preheat a smoker or your grill to 250° F

Smoke the ham for 1 ½ hours. Remove and liberally baste with about 1 cup of the glaze. Cook for about 1 hour more, or until the ham’s internal temperature reaches 145° F. Periodically check the smoker or grill temperature throughout the cooking process.

Remove the ham, coat with the rest of the glaze, and allow to cool for several minutes prior to slicing.

Bourbon Creole Mustard Glaze

Ingredients

2 tablespoons finely diced yellow onions

2 teaspoons corn oil

3 cloves garlic, roasted

5 dried apricots, finely diced

3 tablespoons Creole mustard

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 cup dark brown sugar

½ cup real maple syrup

1 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons bourbon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

In a small pot over medium heat, combine the onion and oil. Saute until the onions begin to pick up some color. Add the roasted garlic and diced apricots and saute for 1 minute more

Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the lemon juice. Reduce to medium-low heat and cook the mixture until it becomes syrupy, 15-20 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and immediately remove from the heat. Place in a serving bowl and cool slightly prior to serving or using.

Recipe courtesy of Virgil's Barbecue Road Trip Cookbook (St. Martin's Press 2014)