Orange Glazed Ham

A glazed ham is a big tradition in many countries around Easter or Christmas time. Hams are made from the butt end leg of the pig or shank end. The meat is wet cured in a brine solution or dry cured and then smoked or cooked. The butt end has more meat and fat and the shank end has sweeter meat. An uncooked ham is a fresh ham and the meat must be cooked to a temperature of 71ºC before eating.

Ingredients

5.2 kg cooked leg of ham

¼ cup cloves (30g)

1 cup orange juice (250ml)

¾ cup brown sugar (140g)

1 tbls wholegrain mustard (20g)

½ cup honey (175g)

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tbls triple sec or Grand Marnier

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 ºC normal bake. Make the orange glaze by combining orange juice, sugar, mustard, honey, soy sauce and triple sec in a bowl. Use a sharp knife to cut through the rind around the shank of the ham. Remove the rind by running your thumb under the edge of the cut of the rind. Carefully ease your hands in between the rind and the fat and with awareness lift the rind from the fat in one piece. Score diamond shape cuts into the fat without cutting all the way though to the meat. Place a clove in each corner and place the ham on a V shaped wire in a deep baking tray. Brush half of the glaze on the ham and cover the ham with foil. Bake for 40 minutes and remove from oven and brush the rest of the glaze over the ham. Increase the oven temperature to 210ºC and bake uncovered for 20 minutes until the surface is lightly caramelized. Set aside for approx. 15 minutes before carving and keep glazing with the juices from under the ham.

Place the ham upside down on a cutting board after resting and slice a piece form the underside of the leg. Turn the ham back so it can sits flat on the cutting board. Slice the meat about 10 cm from the knuckle and make another cut on an angle to the first cut so that it forms a wedge. Continue cutting thin slices right down to the bone. The meat will still be attached to the bone and to release the pieces run the knife along the bone under the meat. Cut enough slices for serving and cover the meat with foil to keep warm.

Note: The goal is to reheat the cooked ham without drying it out and present with a nice glaze and colour to the table. The best way to do this is to place the ham on a rack in a roasting pan and cover the whole thing tightly with foil. A glaze provides flavour to ham and can range from a simple brush of maple syrup to complicated mixtures made of sugars and seasonings, which should be added during the last 20-30 minutes of heating time so the top doesn’t burn.