When you want to add a special touch to your festive baked ham, this is the glaze you need!
Ingredients
- 10 lb leg ham, bone in, skin on (Note 1)
- 30 Cloves (for studding the ham, optional – mainly for decorative purposes)
- 2 oranges , cut into quarters (Note 2)
- 1 cup water
Glaze
- 3/4 cup Lincoln County Reserve 100% Pure Maple Syrup
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 tbsp dijon mustard (can sub American or other plain mustard)
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp All Spice (or nutmeg)
Directions
- Take ham out of fridge 1 hour prior.
- Preheat oven to 320°F. Arrange shelf in lower third so the ham will be sitting in the centre of the oven (rather than in top half of oven).
- Place the Glaze ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined – use whisk if needed.
Remove Ham Rind (Skin)
- Run small knife around bone handle, down each side of the ham, and under the rind on the cut face.
- Slide fingers under the rind on the cut face of the ham, and run them back and forth to loosen while pulling the rind back. Use knife if needed to slice off any residual rind.
- Lightly cut 2.5cm / 1″ diamonds across the fat surface of the ham, about 75% of the way into the fat. Avoid cutting into the meat.
- Insert a clove in the intersection of the cross of each diamond on the surface (optional).
Glaze & Baking
- Place the ham in a large baking dish. Prop handle up on edge of pan + scrunched up foil so surface of the ham is level (more even browning).
- Squeeze the juice of 1 orange (4 quarters) over the ham. Then place them along with the remaining orange into the baking dish around the ham.
- Brush / spoon half the glaze all over the surface and cut face of the ham (don’t worry about underside, glaze drips down into pan)
- Pour the water in the baking dish, then place in the oven.
- Bake for 1.5 – 2 hrs, basting very generously every 30 minutes with remaining glaze + juices in pan, or until sticky and golden.
- Use foil patches to protect bits that brown faster than others – press on lightly, caramelization won’t peel off with the foil.
- Allow to rest for at least 20 minutes before serving. Baste, baste, baste before serving – as the glaze in the pan cools, it thickens which means it “paints” the ham even better – but be sure to save pan juices for drizzling.
Serving & Presentation Tips
- Sauce: Use pan juices as the sauce – it’s loaded with flavour. Drizzle sparingly as the glaze flavour is intense! Note juices need to be warm for drizzling, it thickens when cooled. Thin slightly with water if required.
- Presentation: Wrap handle with baking paper and ribbon if desired. Remove cloves. Cover serving platter with lots of green fluffage, then place ham on. Surround with more quartered oranges, for colour. Let people admire before carving!
- Serving: Personal preference whether to serve at room temp or warm, I like either. I also like to drizzle with pan juices – it looks messier but tastes fabulous. Slice thinly! I start slicing at the table, then finish it in the kitchen (towards end when it gets messy!)
Recipes Notes
1. HAM:
- Skin (rind) on ham – Make sure you get the ham with the skin on (rind – thick rubbery skin). Between the skin and the ham is a layer of fat which is what makes this ham gorgeously sticky. There are some hams which come with the skin and fat removed. Though you can use this recipe for those hams too, you won’t get the sticky exterior you see in the photo.
- Half or whole – this recipe can be used for half or whole hams.
- Larger hams – For larger hams, scale the glaze by using the recipe slider (click on the Servings)
- Ham quality – Buy the best ham you can afford. The more you pay, the better the quality.
- Cooked ham – Make sure you get a cooked ready-to-eat ham, not a raw one (also referred to as “gammon”). If you get your ham from the butcher, double check that it’s not raw. If you have a raw ham (gammon), this recipe is not suitable.
2. Oranges – you can’t taste it in the end result, it just adds more flavor into the pan drippings and the glaze the ham. If you really can’t use or stand oranges, use 1/2 cup apple or other fruit juice instead (store bought bottle is fine) and skip putting oranges in baking pan.
Source: Recipe Tin Eats