Honey and Dijon Glazed Ham

Glazed ham has always been my sisters specialty for Christmas and she hands down makes the most incredible glaze I have ever tasted.

Unfortunately my family have gone away for holidays over the Christmas period so it will just be the 3 of us for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day.

Even so, I thought it would be nice to still bring out some of the traditional dishes that make it feel like Christmas.

So here is my first ever Christmas ham, and I have to say I am pretty proud of how it turned out. It tastes nothing like my sisters but it is still very delicious all the same!

Honey & Dijon Glazed Ham Recipe

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cooking Time: 1.5 - 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 (5-8kg) whole leg of ham

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup honey

2-3 generous tablespoons of Dijon Mustard

Whole cloves to stud

Method:

1. Combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, honey & dijon mustard in a pan over low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Preheat oven to 180C Fan Forced. Using a large foil tray, place a roasting rack inside to prop the ham. Using a sharp knife cut around the shank of the ham, about 10cm from the end. Run a knife under the rind around the edge of the ham. Gently lift the rind off in 1 large piece by running your fingers between the runs and the fat. (Often hams will already have the cut made around the end of the ham you will just need to run your fingers between the rind and fat to remove)

3. Score the fat in a diamond pattern roughly 1/2cm deep (5mm) Stud the centres of the diamonds with cloves and transfer onto the roasting rack.

4. Brush the glaze over the ham sparingly. Bake. Glazing and roasting the ham every 20 minutes until a deep golden colour. Roughly anywhere between 1.5 to 2 hours. Be sure to watch it after the hour mark as it can burn quite easily!

Simple as that...and even better it is something that you can do one to two days in advance to make Christmas Day easier for you.

Make sure you remember to remove the cloves before slicing the ham, take it from experience no one likes to be caught off guard by a rogue clove.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.