Christmas Menu - Glazed Ham

Last Christmas I thought I'd be adventurous and serve a glazed, baked ham....and I'm so glad I did because it not only looks good, it tasted fantastic! ...and this year, I'm doing it again

This recipe is thanks to Donna Hay, Maggie Beer, Stephanie Alexander, taste.com.au and ...me.

First off, you need a ham with a good layer of fat beneath the skin.

Image - Taste.com.au

Make a slit in the skin with a sharp knife and peel it off gently, easing your hand under it to lift it off without removing any of the fat. The fat's important. Trust me. Leave a little skin around the knuckle though

Preheat oven to 180ºC

In a small saucepan, combine:

A large dollop mustard
100 ml port
50 ml brandy
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cup orange juice

Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook for a couple of minutes until the glaze thickens a little.

You'll also need about 1/4 cup whole cloves.

Now, make a criss-cross pattern through the fat and place a clove in each diamond. Place the ham into a baking dish lined with baking paper. Cover the knuckle with a piece of baking paper and tie it with string (so it won't burn)

Brush some of the glaze over the ham and let sit for a minute, then repeat the process. Place the ham in the oven and bake for 1 hour, removing every 15 minutes or so to brush more glaze over the ham

That's it. It's done!

All there's left to do now is place it in the middle of the table, and let everyone ooh and ahhh over it, because it does look fantastic. What's the saying? Something about return on investment? Well, this is certainly worth investing some time on.

This year I'm going to buy an organic/free range leg of ham. I was reading today that you can even order them online. I'll be heading to one of the markets here in Melbourne to select mine.