As a home cook, this is my favorite time of year: the time leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this year, I want to focus on low-effort, high-impact dishes. Something that can serve a crowd but is not too hard to make. And these spicy candied ham bites are just the ticket.
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This appetizer takes inspiration from the idea of barbecue burnt ends and applies it to these little bite-size skewers that are an incredible people pleaser. The best part is that you can put this together quickly and let it do its magic in the oven while you spend more time with your family and guests.
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Make the Glaze
Add some barbecue sauce, dark brown sugar dark, honey, pineapple juice, and bacon fat to a bowl and stir well. If you’re not dairy-free, butter would be a great substitute for bacon fat, but coconut oil and olive oil would work well too.
Assemble the Dish
First we’ll add cubed ham pieces—large bite-sized pieces—into a casserole dish. Then I toss in some chopped jalapenos. Now 1, maybe 2 jalapenos is probably right for a crowd. I like things hot so I went in with 4 jalapenos, and make no mistake, the kids will not be snacking on these out from under me. Which is sometimes nice, since they’re drawn to appetizers like a moth to a flame. Then some slices of purple onion are tossed in and the glaze goes right overtop.
Oval Platter | Baking Dish | Dish Towel (similar) | Ramekin | Cocktail Skewers
Cook the Ham Bites
The ham is already cooked, but we want it to caramelize. You’ll cook this on a convection setting at 300-325 degrees for 2-3 hours to develop color and flavor, but not too hot so that it burns the sugars. It’s a great thing to have warming in the background. I set a timer for 30-minute increments and give it a little stir every now and then. Once the glaze is nice and thick and all of the onions and jalapenos have broken down into the sauce, they’re ready to take out.
Serve the Candied Ham Bites
You can serve these straight out of the dish, but I really want it to be more of an experience. So I’m skewering a few of these on some picks and plating them with some chopped green onion on top.
This is an incredibly delicious appetizer for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any holiday gathering. It’s a beautiful dish, so easy, and tasty—plus it’s great for gluten-free and grain-free folks too. I can’t wait to hear what you think in the comments!
