ue one every time, no idea why, it’s just become a habit — whisk together your barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and mustard. It should look smooth, glossy, a little thick. Pour that over the ham, really try to get it evenly distributed, though if a corner gets missed it’s not the end of the world, it’ll mostly work itself out as things cook down.
Cover it and set it to low for two to three hours. Give it a stir once or twice if you think of it — I don’t always remember, especially if I’ve wandered off to do something else, which… I always do, that’s just how slow cooking goes for me, it’s basically an invitation to forget about dinner for a while. You’ll know it’s ready when the ham is hot all the way through and coated good in that sweet-tangy sauce, kind of glazed-looking almost.
Ezoic
Give it one more good stir before you serve, then pile it onto the buns while everything’s still warm. That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
Ways We’ve Changed It Over the Years
My son Mark does a cheese version now every time, he’s very particular about it — a slice of provolone on each slider, then he’ll pop the whole tray under the broiler for maybe ninety seconds, just enough to get it melty without burning the buns, which he has absolutely done before, more than once, and the smoke alarm story from that one Thanksgiving is still a thing we bring up at dinner sometimes.
For a tangier version, I’ll stir in a splash of pickle juice right at the end — sounds strange, tastes wonderful, cuts through the richness in a way that’s hard to describe until you’ve tried it. Emily thinks I’m insane for this. She’s probably right about a lot of things, but not this.
And if you’re feeding a crowd — a real crowd, not just family wandering in and out — just leave the Slow Cooker on warm and let people build their own. Keeps the buns from turning to mush, keeps the line moving, keeps me out of the kitchen for longer than five minutes at a stretch, which by hour three of a party is genuinely all I want.
Leftovers
They keep in the fridge for about four days, though truthfully in my house they rarely make it past day two. Reheat gently, low heat, maybe a splash of water or a little extra barbecue sauce if it’s dried out some — it will dry out a bit, that’s just what happens, don’t panic about it. I’ve absolutely left a container of this on the counter overnight once by accident, forgot to put it away after everyone left, and had to toss the whole thing the next morning, which still bothers me a little when I think about it, all that ham gone to waste.