STILL looking for the ultimate glaze for your Christmas ham? Why not try this honey ginger recipe, which is sure to be a winner on December 25.
Ingredients
- 8kg cooked leg of ham
- 1 medium pineapple, halved, sliced thickly
- Honey-ginger glaze:
- cup honey
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped naked ginger (see tips)
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 3/4 tsp ground allspice
Method
1. Make honey-ginger glaze. Stir honey, ginger, sugar, allspice and cup water in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Cool for 10 minutes. Blend or process until smooth.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 220C or heat a covered barbecue on high for indirect cooking. Score through rind about 10cm from the shank end of leg.
3. To remove the rind, run your thumb around the edge of the rind just under the skin. Start pulling the rind from the widest edge of the ham; continue to pull the rind carefully away from the fat up to the score line. Remove the rind completely. (Reserved rind can be refrigerated; use to cover the cut surface of the ham to keep it moist.)
4. Using a large sharp knife, score across the fat at 3cm intervals, cutting just through the surface of the top fat. Do not cut too deeply or the fat will spread apart during cooking.
5. Place the ham on a wire rack in a large roasting pan; pour 11/2 cups water into the pan. Brush ham well with glaze. Cover shank end with foil.
6. Bake ham for 45 minutes or until browned all over, brushing twice with the glaze during cooking, and adding an extra 1/2 cup water to the pan, if needed. Alternatively, cook in a covered barbecue, using indirect heat, following manufacturer's instructions, for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pineapple on heated barbecue or grill pan, brushing with remaining glaze during cooking. Serve sliced ham with grilled pineapple.
Tips: Naked ginger is also known as uncrystallized ginger, it is available in the baking aisle of most supermarkets. For a smaller leg or half leg of ham, halve the glaze recipes. Rind is easier to remove from the ham if the ham is first warmed in a preheated 150C oven for 30 minutes. If the glaze becomes too thick to brush on, reheat until it reaches the correct consistency. The glazes are suitable to microwave in microwave-safe glass or ceramic containers.
Do-ahead: The glaze can be made and refrigerated up to one week ahead. Ham can be glazed a day ahead and served cold. Store leftover ham for up to one week in the fridge in a ham bag, or wrapped in a cotton or linen tea towel that's been rinsed in water and a little vinegar then wrung out tightly.
READ MORE: Here are the best Christmas hams in NSW
