Celebrate the festive season with a delicious Christmas Ham. You can't go wrong with a big Christmas ham. Perfect alongside vegetables, breads and salads and even better fried up for breakfast the next day with eggs or on sandwiches on Boxing Day!
Ingredients
- 1 x ham, half a leg
- 1/3 cup whole closes
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.
- Using a knife, diagonally make sharp cuts across the top of the ham leg, about 5mm deep. Zig zag the cuts to create a nice design. If you wish, you can remove the skin as well at this stage or you can leave it on.
- If you ham leg has a bone on the end, wrap some tinfoil around it to stop it burning in the oven.
- Put your ham leg in a roasting dish. Add the water to the base of your dish and pop in the oven for 25 minutes.
- While the ham is in the oven, make the glaze. Combine the sugar, honey and mustard in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the pineapple juice if using.
- Remove the ham from the oven after 25 minutes and brush with the glaze. Ensure you cover the ham thoroughly with the glaze particularly in the cuts. Return to the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven after another 20 minutes and glaze again. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes
- Repeat step 7 again and remove the tin foil from the end. Add a bit more water to the pan if it has dried out (this helps keep the ham moist inside). Cook for a final 20-30 minutes or until the ham is golden brown on the outside.
- Once the ham is fully cooked, remove from the oven and rest covered for 10 minutes. Save the juices on the bottom of the pan and re-glaze the ham once more before serving. Cut into slices and serve.
Optional: You may wish to decorate your ham with pineapple slices, more cloves or cherries with toothpicks. Feel free to decorate your ham how you like!
