Barbecue – Glazed Ham Steak with Maque Choux

Barbecue – Glazed Ham Steak with Maque Choux

Why this recipe works: in its native Louisinan, maque choux is a braised side dish featuring an assortment of ingredients including corn, green bell peppers, and tomatoes. To make maque choux a main course, we add ham steak for heft. And to get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes, we move everything to the grill. Repeatedly brushing the ham steak with a combination of barbecue sauce, hot sauce, and vinegar as it grills gives the meat a tasty spicy sweet glaze. The corn and bell pepper are also given the grill treatment to create a smoky, tangy complement to the sweet, meaty ham. The tomatoes are chopped and mixed in at the end for a burst of freshness.

Barbecue – Glazed ham steak with Maque Choux

Ingredients: serve 4

½ cup barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 ears corn, husks and silk removed

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 – inch wedges

1 onion, peeled and sliced into ½ - inch rounds

2 tablespoons vegetable oil salt and pepper

1 thick – cut bone – in ham steak (about 2 ½ pounds)

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

Procedures:

1. Combine barbecue sauce, hot sauce, and 1 tablespoon vinegar in small bowl. Brush corn, bell pepper, and onion with oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Pat ham dry with paper towels. Brush top of ham with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce mixture. Grill ham, sauce side down, over hot fire until caramelized, 2 to 4 minutes. Brush surface of ham with additional 2 tablespoons sauce mixture, flip ham, and continue to grill until caramelized, 2 to 4 minutes. Repeat brushing and flipping steak 2 more times until ham is well glazed and lightly charred. Transfer to large plate and tent with foil.
3. Grill vegetables over hot fire, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut kernels from cob and chop pepper and onion. Transfer vegetables to large bowl and stir in tomatoes and remaining vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Slice ham steak. Serve with vegetables.

Quick prep tip Cutting corn from the cob

Cutting the kernels from long ears of corn can be tricky. We make the task easier and safer by cutting the ear in half and standing the half ears on their on their cut surface, which are flat and stable. Not only is corn more stable on the work surface, it is also easier to control the knife as it glides down length of only half an ear.

Smart shopping hot sauces

As often as we use hot sauce in the test kitchen, we’ve never given much thought to brand. Considering that most are made from a basic combination of red peppers, vinegar, and salt, does brand even matter? We rounded up supermarket samples to find out. Tasters liked Frank’s Red Hot Sauce for its “luxurious” body and relatively mild but spicy heat.