Easter + Ham = Delicious

So I made my traditional Easter Ham for dinner last night. Of course I'm several hundred miles from home working out of a stranger's kitchen so I had to be adaptable but my ham recipe is pretty adaptable I was okay.

First you have to choose a ham. I recommend a fully cooked bone-in ham. You can, of course, choose the boneless option but that's more like lunch meat than real ham. For my recipe I don't recommend a spiral sliced, plus, while pretty, you don't have the option of thick slices. I prefer the 'butt portion' over a 'shank portion', as they are smaller and easier to handle (less of that giant shank bone.)

Remove the ham from it's packaging and give it a quick rinse to remove any package juices. Pat it dry with some paper towels. Cut off any visible rind or extra fat. Sprinkle the surface with ground cloves. (You can stud your ham with whole cloves but then you have to be careful to remove them before eating because biting into a whole clove can ruin your meal. Trust me, ground is easier.)

Next you have to choose your moistener. You can have free reign here. Like it savory? Then rub it with liberally with mustard. If you like a pineapple or apricot flavored glaze then rub it with the jam or jelly of your choice. (Hot pepper jelly is delicious). If you want a honey ham. then, you guessed it, rub it with honey. Then take a box of brown sugar (I prefer dark brown sugar) and cover the entire ham. You are trying to get a thick crust of brown sugar over the ham, like a protective cocoon. If you haven't rubbed it with jam or honey (which helps the sugar stick to the ham) then mix the brown sugar with enough liquid to make it like damp sand which will help you make the crust. (Root beer makes a tasty addition and since I was away from home I used a local cherry cider which was fabulous.)You can't put too much sugar on. This is a messy process and you will be covered up to your elbows with sugar but hey, people pay lots of money for those sugar scrubs, so you are getting a great dinner and an exfoliation treatment at the same time.

Place the crusted ham, fat side up, in a baking pan. There will be a lot of drippings at the bottom of the pan so make sure the sides are deep enough. Bake at 300 degrees for at least three hours. The ham is of course fully cooked before you ever put it in the oven, but the longer you let it cook, the deeper the sugar will penetrate. Don't worry about it drying out, if you've gotten your sugar crust thick enough it will stay nice and moist inside. Just cover the outer edges of ham with foil if they are starting to look too done. Spoon the pan drippings over the ham every forty-five minutes or so. Mix a little extra brown sugar with the liquid of your choice and microwave to make into a syrup. A half hour before you want to take the ham out, pour this glaze over the ham.

This ham is so sweet and moist, you won't believe it, and your house will smell wonderful while you are baking it. Bill was avoiding the crusty edges (where there is a little fat) but once he tasted that sugar crust he went nuts. It's addictive!