Pork has been celebrated as a special occasion food for centuries. Coined "the other white meat" pork is as versatile as chicken, and some may say even tastier. A method of cooking pork which is becoming more popular is on the grill. Grilled pork is more convenient than using the frying pans of ovens, and grilled food has an unmistakable smoky flavor that people seem to love. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be a grilling pro to pull off great tasting pork recipes. All you need is a little patience to make your next meal spectacular.

I love smoked hams. They come pre-cooked and are already packed full of flavor. I've experimented around with different flavor combinations until I found one that I really loved. Then I decided to move it to the grill. I was astonished by the results. I fire up my gas grill every Christmas Eve and Easter and make this recipe. Pineapple and brown sugar glazed ham with orange Dijon-honey sauce.

Grilled and Glazed Ham:

You may want to make this recipe when hams go on sale. They can be rather expensive. While we're at the store, we'll want to grab a few items for this. First, get a nice smoked ham; I like the butt portion as opposed to the shank. It's meatier with less fat. Next, grab some pineapple juice, orange juice, Dijon mustard and some honey.

We're going to make the glaze for the ham first. In a medium sauce pan, pour in 2 cups of pineapple juice with ½ cup of brown sugar. Bring these ingredients to a boil and cut the heat back to medium and let it cook down until it's reduced by half. It will start to look thick, almost like syrup. In another pan, we want to make the sauce for the ham to pour over once it's cooked and sliced. Add 2 cups of orange juice and reduce that down just like the pineapple juice. When it's reduced down to ¾ to 1 cup, add 2 tablespoons of Dijon and 2 tablespoons of honey and combine well. Kill the heat and set aside.

There's not much preparation for the ham, just cut one burner of your grill on to medium low heat. We want to place the ham on the opposite side of the grill to cook with an indirect method. Place the ham, flat side down, on the opposite side of the grill, cover very loosely with foil and close the lid. Don't stray too far away from the grill, but you don't have to babysit either. This ham will cook for 2 hours before we begin to glaze.

After the 2 hours, we want to turn the heat up to medium and glaze the ham thoroughly. Using a clean, preferably new and unused paintbrush does a great job. After you glaze the ham, close the lid and return every 15 minutes to glaze again. In another 2 hours of glazing, we will have developed an awesome crust on the ham. Almost like a glossy candy-coat.

Be careful taking the ham off. Make sure to let it rest at least 20 minutes before cutting into it. Leave it sitting flat as it cooked and slicing will be that much easier. Drizzle a bit of the orange Dijon-honey sauce over and enjoy all the wonderful flavors. It's smoky, sweet and savory. It's a huge hit at my place. We have it twice every year, at least.