Christmas Ham

The secret here was a ridiculously amazing piece of meat from Hagen’s. A simple glaze and cooking to an internal 140ºF/60ºC was all it needed. The skin was also roasted separately and served as an appetizer (with nothing done to it, no salt or extra fat needed, just peeled and cut into strips). Roasted at maybe 150ºC in a forced fan oven, basted every 30 minutes, glaze added for the final 30 minutes. Add water to the roasting pan to prevent scorching the drippings. The fat was impossibly silky, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

Glaze:

• Brown sugar
• Maple syrup
• Minced & mashed, pitted fresh cherries
• Clove
• Nutmeg
• Cayenne

Mostly brown sugar, enough fruit and maple to make a very thick syrup. You want it thick enough that it sticks in the scorings on the ham. Go easy on those spices, they’re potent.