A festive flavoured glaze to make your ham 'shine'. A glazed ham makes the best Christmas table centre piece. Along with this recipe watch the tutorial video on how to glaze a ham and give it a go.
INGREDIENTS FOR HALF HAM
GLAZE
10 -15gm fresh rosemary sprigs
125gm cranberry sauce
¼ cup/60ml vincotto
1Tbsp Dijon mustard
100ml water
100gm soft brown sugar
HAM
4-6kg half leg ham
Orange halves, pears and herbs to decorate if liked
METHOD
- Make glaze. Remove bottom leaves from rosemary sprigs and set tips aside. Place 3 to 5gms (good pinch) leaves in medium saucepan with remaining ingredients.
- Heat gently to melt sugar and bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until thickened to coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes or so.
- Pre-heat oven to 190ºC.
- Meanwhile prepare ham. If ham includes hock, score skin at base of bone to form a collar. Otherwise, slip fingers under skin and peel back, exposing fat.
- Using a knife, score parallel lines across fat, about 1½cm or so apart, just like scoring pork for crackling. If a traditional diamond pattern is preferred (as seen in picture) score across fat in a criss-cross pattern.
- Choose roasting tin with sides, to fit ham snugly. Generously line with foil and non-stick baking paper so all sticky glaze will be contained and not burn onto roasting tin. Place ham in roasting tin.
- Spoon two-thirds glaze on top of ham. Using back of large spoon, spread out evenly over ham surface.
- Roast for about 40 minutes in total. Baste every 10 minutes, with extra glaze and spoon glaze from bottom of pan over top of ham. Check ham and adjust heat if needed. Turn up if ham not caramelizing or down if glaze beginning to catch.
- Remove from oven glaze when glaze is deep gold. Give the ham one last brush of glaze when out of the oven if any left then scatter over rosemary sprigs and leaves.
- Cool to room temperature and serve, or refrigerate if not serving immediately.
COOKS NOTES
- A roasting tin that fits the ham snugly is preferable. If roasting tin is very large, the glaze will drip off the ham, spread out and burn - not the end of the world, but if this can be avoided it makes for an easier clean up and minimises the change of unwanted smoke in the oven.
- Once glazed, if ham is refrigerated for more than a few hours the shiny glaze will become dull. So, prepare on the day of eating if possible.
- If you have a whole ham then double the glaze recipe.
- If you prefer thyme to rosemary then substitute, as it matches well with pork.
- Stud ham with cloves if liked – after covering with glaze and before placing in the oven. Try to press right into meat to secure, otherwise as ham is basted they may dislodge.
- Join The Cooks Collective and access many Christmas recipes including my Cooking School Orange, Ginger and Star Anise Ham Glaze