Apple Cider-Glazed Ham

The custom smoker arrived. Eight hundred gallons of American steel, fabricated in Texas, shipped across the desert on a flatbed, and delivered to the loading dock of 1847 East Main Street, Mesa, Arizona on a Tuesday morning that I will remember for the rest of my life. The smoker is a monument — black steel, heavy-gauge, with a firebox the size of a small car and a cooking chamber that can hold twelve briskets, eight racks of ribs, and six chickens simultaneously. It weighs 2,400 pounds. It took four men and a forklift to move it from the truck to the kitchen.

I stood in the half-built kitchen and watched the smoker being positioned against the back wall, visible through the glass partition that will separate the kitchen from the dining room. The glass was not installed yet — just the frame — but I could see the sightlines: a diner sitting at the counter will look through the glass and see the smoker, see the fire, see the cook standing at the pit with tongs in hand. The theater of smoke. The performance of food. Rivera's will not just serve barbecue. Rivera's will show you how barbecue is made. The fire will be visible. The process will be transparent. The cooking will be the entertainment.

I brought Roberto to see the smoker. He stood in front of it — 2,400 pounds of steel, eight times the size of his cinder block grill — and he put his hand on the firebox. The same gesture he made when he touched the wall of the empty building. Feeling for the heartbeat. Listening for the fire that is not yet burning but will be.

He said, "This is bigger than my grill." I said, "This feeds more people than your grill." He said, "More people is more responsibility." I said, "I know." He said, "You are ready for the responsibility." I said, "You taught me to be." He patted the smoker once — the Roberto pat, the approval, the benediction — and walked back to the car. As he left, he turned and looked at the smoker one more time and said, "She is beautiful." The smoker is a she. Roberto has gendered my restaurant equipment. She is beautiful. He is not wrong.

The smoker isn’t lit yet—she’s positioned, she’s waiting, she’s beautiful—but standing in that half-built kitchen with Roberto’s benediction still echoing off the steel, I needed to cook something. Not on her, not yet. Just something that honored the patience and the fire that’s coming. Apple cider-glazed ham is the kind of low-and-slow, deeply flavorful cook that belongs in a place like Rivera’s—sweet and lacquered on the outside, yielding and smoky at the bone—and making it at home felt like a rehearsal for everything we’re about to do.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 2 hr 30 min | Total Time: 2 hr 45 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 bone-in fully cooked ham (6–8 lbs)
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Whole cloves for studding (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 325°F. Place ham flat-side down in a large roasting pan and score the surface in a diamond pattern, cutting about 1/4 inch deep.
Stud the ham. If using whole cloves, press one into the center of each diamond on the scored surface for additional flavor and presentation.
Make the glaze. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine apple cider, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, butter, cinnamon, ground cloves, and black pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cook 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the glaze thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
First roast. Brush the ham generously with glaze. Cover loosely with foil and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes, brushing with glaze every 30 minutes.
Finish uncovered. Remove foil and continue roasting 45–60 minutes more, glazing every 15 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 140°F and the exterior is deep mahogany and lacquered.
Rest and serve. Transfer ham to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with any remaining warmed glaze on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Apple Cider-Glazed Ham — She Is Beautiful, and So Is What She’ll Cook