This post is in partnership with Cramer Farm, a family-run farm and CSA in Howard, PA offering super high quality produce, pork, chicken, eggs, and baked goods.
Let’s throw it back to school lunches. In my tiny school in my tiny hometown (Emporium, Pennsylvania), the lunch ladies went above and beyond. To delight the children, they invented a glorious, highly acclaimed, masterpiece of a school lunch that was ONLY served on Halloween. There’s no way they could have anticipated the legend that it would become.
If you’re from Emporium and you had the pleasure of enjoying this tasty treat, YOU KNOW WHAT I’M ABOUT TO SAY…
BOOWITCHES. A ham and cheese sandwich turned pretzel melt… and if memory serves me correctly, the pretzel bun sometimes had a jack-o-lantern face!? Is it possible I could be making that part up!?
Either way, THIS sandwich is kind of like a grown-up boo witch. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to eat the OG Boowitch as an adult… so let’s just say, we have some extra fixin’s going on here that are a new twist on the original!
My twist on this CamCo classic features Cramer Farm ham and fresh pineapple slices that have been grilled to perfection, a tangy dijon red pepper slaw, and smoked gouda, all piled high on a toasty pretzel bun.
There’s a lot going on here! Salty ham, sweet pineapple, crunchy slaw, a melty smooshy smoky comforting sandwich!
I used a big ham steak that I threw RIGHT on the grill, got some grill marks, heated her through, and sliced thinnnnnn. You could use whatever kind of ham you like!
Grilled Ham & Pineapple Pretzel Melts
Ingredients:
Slaw:
14-16oz bag of coleslaw mix
1/4 - 1/3 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper
4 Pretzel Buns
1 large ham steak, consider 4oz or so per serving
4 fresh pineapple slices
4 slices smoked gouda
Instructions:
First, get the slaw going so it’s all set for when everything else is done!
In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, finely diced red bell pepper, and some salt and pepper. Combine well; this is your dressing!
Add in the shredded cabbage / coleslaw mix and gently mix to coat.
Pop the slaw in the fridge so the flavors can come together while we prepare the other ingredients.
Slice your pineapple if you bought a whole one! We’ll grill this along with the ham.
TIP: See below for a quick how-to video if you’re not sure how to cut a pineapple!Preheat your grill over medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates.
TIP: To oil the grates, saturate a balled up paper towel with some olive oil, then use grill tongs to carefully and quickly coat the grates with a light coat of oil.Pat the ham steak dry and place it directly on the hot grill grates, along with the pineapple slices (verrrrry carefully).
After about 3 minutes, flip the pineapple. You’re looking for nice grill marks, and that might happen quickly due to all of the sugar! Cook for another few minutes then remove from the grill.
Let the ham cook for 4-5 minutes, then peek underneath to check for grill marks. Rotate the ham 90 degrees if you’re going for that criss-cross pattern and cook for 5 more minutes.. After flipping, cook another 5 minutes or until the ham is heated through. Mine was a pretty thick slice!
Towards the tail end of cooking the ham, throw your pretzel buns on the grill for a minute or two to toast them lightly.
Thinly slice the ham, and split it between the pretzel bun bottoms. Top with sliced smoked gouda and return to indirect heat on the grill for a few more minutes to melt the cheese.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
Grilled Ham & Pineapple Pretzel Melts – Maria Makes: My twist on a CamCo classic school lunch features local ham and fresh pineapple slices that have been grilled to perfection, a tangy dijon red pepper slaw, and smoked gouda, all piled high on a toasty pretzel bun.