Community Pick
Alton Brown's City Ham

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- Ready In:
- 5hrs 30mins
- Serves:
- Units:
Nutrition Information
30
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ingredients
- 7 -8 lbs city-style brined ham, hock end
- 1⁄4 cup brown mustard
- 2 cups dark brown sugar
- 1 ounce Bourbon (poured into a spritz bottle)
- 2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
directions
- Heat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Remove ham from bag, rinse and drain thoroughly.
- Place ham, cut side down, in a roasting pan.
- Using a small paring knife or clean utility knife set to the smallest blade setting, score the ham from bottom to top, spiraling clockwise as you cut.
- (If you are using a paring knife, be careful to only cut through the skin and first few layers of fat).
- Rotate the ham after each cut so that the scores are no more than 2-inches across.
- Once you have made it all the way around, move the knife to the other hand and repeat, spiraling counter clockwise.
- The aim is to create a diamond pattern all over the ham.
- (Don't worry too much about precision here.) Tent the ham with heave duty foil, insert a thermometer, and cook for 3 to 4 hours or until the internal temperature at the deepest part of the meat registers 130 degrees F.
- Remove and use tongs to pull away the diamonds of skin and any sheets of fat that come off with them.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Dab dry with paper towels, then brush on a liberal coat of mustard, using either a basting brush or a clean point brush (clean--as in never-touched paint).
- Sprinkle on brown sugar, packing loosely as you go until the ham is coated.
- Spritz this layer lightly with bourbon, then loosely pack on as much of the crushed cookies as you can. NOTE: A small empty spray bottle from the drug store is perfect.
- Insert the thermometer (don't use the old hole) and return to the oven (uncovered).
- Cook until interior temperature reaches 140 degrees F, approximately 1 hour.
- Let the roast rest for 1/2 hour before carving.
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RECIPE MADE WITH LOVE BY
@SharleneW
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@SharleneW
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I'm forced to make this twice a year for 5 years now. I keep everything the same except I use honey mustard. I borrow from the Country Ham recipe and cook the ham in a pool of Dr. Pepper that I constantly pour over the ham every 30 minutes for the first 3-4 hours @ 250, then discard it when I add the glaze.
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I am not a ham fan. Pretty much any other part of a pig I love but just haven't been into ham. Until my son, who is an Alton Brown fan, made this. Now it is the only way we cook ham. I will even get the ingredients and bring them to my son to cook for me! I don't know how many times I've shared this recipe - it is the best!
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