Ham It Up!

Ham is a traditional part of Holiday dinners in my home; it requires virtually no preparation before roasting. There are many kinds of ham available – the traditional bone-in found whole (or halved & sold as the larger butt or rump end), boneless (whole or halved) & spiral-cut hams which is my favourite. I make it with the red currant glaze & serve it with a cranberry-orange sauce at Christmas but prefer the brown sugar glaze & fresh pineapple salsa at Easter. I freeze the meaty ham bone for split pea or bean soup another day!

• Ready In: 4 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 24-30

Ingredients

• 1 (15 lb)  bone-in ham, whole, fully cooked

• RED CURRANT GLAZE

• 1⁄2 cup red currant jelly
• 2  tablespoons  packed brown sugar
• 4  teaspoons dry mustard

• BROWN SUGAR GLAZE

• 1  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1⁄4 cup cider vinegar
• 2  tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1  tablespoon orange zest

• ORANGE CRANBERRY SAUCE

• 1  cup dried cranberries
• 1  tablespoon orange zest
• 1  cup  orange juice
• 1  cup water
• 1⁄2 cup  packed brown sugar
• 1  tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1  tablespoon butter
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1  tablespoon cornstarch

• FRESH PINEAPPLE SALSA

• 2  cups  chopped fresh pineapple
• 1  mango, peeled & chopped
• 1⁄4 cup  finely chopped red onion
• 2  tablespoons  orange juice
• 1  tablespoon  minced  jalapeno pepper
• 1  tablespoon  finely chopped of fresh mint
• 1  tablespoon liquid honey

Directions

1. Place ham, fat side up, on rack in roasting pan; pour in 2 cups of water.
2. Cover tightly with foil & roast in 325F oven for 3 hours.
3. BROWN SUGAR GLAZE: Combine all ingredients in a bowl; set aside.
4. RED CURRANT GLAZE: Combine all ingredients in a bowl; set aside.
5. Remove ham from oven and remove skin (if present) by sliding a sharp knife underneath the skin & lifting it off; trim fat layer to ¼ in thickness and diagonally score the fat side to form diamond shapes.
6. Brush about 1/3 of the glaze of your choice over the ham; continue roasting, brushing 2 more times with the glaze, until crusty, caramel-colour and meat thermometer inserted into the center registers 140F, about an hour.
7. Transfer to cutting board & tent with foil; let rest about 20 minutes.
8. ORANGE CRANBERRY SAUCE can be made up to 24 hours in advance: Bring all ingredients (except corn starch) to a boil in a heavy saucepan; reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Whisk cornstarch with 2 tbsp water; whisk into saucepan & cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute.
10. FRESH PINEAPPLE SALSA can be made up to 24 hours in advance: Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
11. To carve the ham: Cut down to bone into ¼ inch thick slices; with knife parallel to the bone, cut off slices parallel to the bone.
12. Serve the ham with sauce or salsa – your choice!