Name: Slow cooker ginger beer and French onion pulled ham recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 365 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 375ml bottle ginger beer; 40g sachet Essentials French Onion Soup Mix; 2.8kg Wood Smoked Easy Carve Shoulder Ham (see note)

by Amira Georgy Last updated on 12/03/2024

Save that highly sought-after oven space this Christmas with our melt-in-the-mouth tender ham that’s cooked in the slow cooker. We know Santa gets most of the credit at Christmas time, but this 3-ingredient slow cooker ham has just become a festive hero, too. My family couldn’t stop going back for more, when I first made this delicious ham. Even my 5-year-old asked for thirds – and we all know that’s saying something!

How to make our slow-cooker ham: key tips

All you need to bring this brilliant and easy Christmas ham recipe together is 3 ingredients, 5 minutes of prep and one of our favourite appliances: the slow cooker. Follow this simple recipe and, while you’re entertaining family and friends, your slow cooker will take care of the ham. My key tip? Be sure you select a ham that will fit into your slow cooker. If your ham is slightly too long, you can cut a large piece off the front and just pop it in the slow cooker alongside the ham. If you would like to brown up the ham after it’s been in the slow cooker, pop it under a grill for a few minutes, but be sure to keep an eye on it. Scroll below the recipe to find more useful tips.

What goes into our ginger beer and French onion ham slow-cooker recipe

To create this deceptively simple and delicious Christmas ham recipe, we’ve taken some sneaky shortcuts and added just 3 hard-working ingredients that make this recipe one that’s full of flavour and beautifully tender. A table-topping triumph! We use ginger beer for its lovely zing, French onion soup mix for its instant savouriness that adds to the smokey ham, and – the show-stopping ingredient – a Woolworths Wood Smoked Easy Carve Shoulder Ham. The deep, smokey flavour of this ham makes it an easy choice (and equals minimal effort!). It’s best to use an easy carve ham for this recipe, just in case the ham needs to be trimmed to fit in your slow cooker.

Recipe, video and images by Digital Food Director, Amira Georgy

- Amira Georgy

Ingredients

375ml bottle ginger beer
40g sachet Woolworths Essentials French Onion Soup Mix
2.8kg Woolworths Wood Smoked Easy Carve Shoulder Ham (see note)

Method

Step 1

Whisk ginger beer and soup mix in the base of a slow cooker until combined.
Step 2

Use a small sharp knife to cut around the shank of the ham, about 6cm from end. Carefully run the knife under the rind around the edge of the ham. Carefully run your fingers between the rind and the fat to lift off the rind in 1 piece.
Step 3

Add ham and drizzle all over with ginger beer mixture. Cover and cook on high, turning ham every 2 hours, for 6-8 hours or until ham is tender.
Step 4

Transfer ham to a dish and drizzle with 1/3 cup of the ginger beer sauce. Coarsely shred meat and discard bone. Drizzle with another 1/2 cup of the ginger beer sauce. Serve ham with remaining ginger beer sauce.

Recipe Notes

from Australia’s Best Recipes team

How can I thicken the sauce in this recipe?

If you would like your sauce a little thicker, once you remove the ham from the slow cooker, whisk 1 1/2 tbsp cornflour and 1 tbsp cold water in a small bowl. Add to the sauce and stir to combine. Cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 20 minutes or until mixture starts to bubble and thicken.