Glazing the ham takes it from something fairly ordinary to a show-stopping centrepiece on the Christmas table and adds heaps of flavour too.
Here is a guide to selecting your Christmas Ham.
In this video, you’ll see how to prepare and carve the perfect glazed ham for Christmas, Thanksgiving or any other special occasion.
Don’t forget to add some condiments:
Mustard is a Must This simple Mustard Cream is great for those who like something mild.
Spicy Mango Salsa This recipe is a winner, and an absolute favourite of mine.
How to Glaze and Carve a Ham
Print RecipeIngredients
- Glaze
- 1 & 1/2 cups of dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cardamon
- 1 tbsp dried mustard powder
- Orange Juice
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Place an oven shelf in the lowest position in your oven. Line a large baking dish with 2 layers of non-stick baking paper, or better still, use a disposable foil baking tray.
Use a small, sharp knife to cut around the shank of the ham, about 10cm from the end. This makes sure the hock of the ham looks presentable when serving at the table
Gently lift the rind off in one piece by running your fingers between the rind and the fat.
Use a knife to score the fat in a diamond pattern, about 5mm deep. Stud the centres of the diamonds with cloves.
Mix all the dry glaze ingredients together, add orange juice to make a loose paste.
Spread half the glaze over the ham with a pastry brush. Add one cup of water to the base of the baking dish to stop the glaze from burning.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the ham starts to brown. Use the remainder of the glaze and return to the oven for a final 25 - 30 minutes. The ham should now be a beautiful golden colour and warmed through. Rest for 30 minutes before carving.
Transfer to a serving platter and serve.
Notes
STORING THE HAM After everyone has had their fill, the ham needs to be kept in the fridge in a ham bag. This can be a purpose-made calico or muslin bag, or a pillow case, and it needs to be soaked in a weak vinegar solution. It’s best if all the glazed bits have been eaten off just so the ham bag doesn’t instantly turn glaze-coloured – but that’s not the end of the world. The bag needs to be rinsed and re-soaked in vinegar solution every three days or so, until the ham is used up. There are many schools of thought as to how long the ham will last after Christmas, some people say days, others say weeks, I say in my experience we can eat it for about a week if the bag is refreshed. Use your own common sense, give it the sniff test, make sure it’s not left out of the fridge for too long at a time. It can be frozen – but in my opinion it’s nowhere near as nice afterwards so best to eat it up while it’s good! from Julie Goodwin, an Australian chef, author, radio and television presenter.
Cheryl Hall
May 30, 2012 at 4:51 amThanks Ann. A good example of a picture/video being worth a thousand words. Just wondering how long you rested the ham before carving? Thanks Cheryl
Ann McDonald
May 30, 2012 at 10:20 amHi Cheryl,
Do hope you will go ahead and try this. A leg ham is so good, I often wonder why we only use it for major celebrations. Because you haven’t actually ‘cooked’ the ham, just glazed it, it dosen’t need to rest like a leg of lamb or any other roasted joint of meat. You can serve it straight from the oven. I often use it like this if I want to accompany it with hot vegetables, especially in the cooler months, but I would also leave it in the oven a little longer so it heats right through. If the glaze is getting too brown, either turn the oven down, or drape a piece of foil over the top. Make sure you have a very sharp knife for carving, preferably a designated ham knife. They have a very long flexible blade that makes the job easy.
The Cooks Room » Celebrate Christmas in July
July 26, 2012 at 10:22 pm[…] Watch my “How to Glaze and Carve a Ham” video here. […]
Johan
December 24, 2012 at 10:39 pmThanks for a great recipe and very helpful video.