Holiday Ham Glaze

There is something I have to admit to you. I have never been a huge fan of ham. Not that I don't like it, it's just not generally one of those things when we discuss "what would you like for dinner" that ham pops out of my mouth. But this holiday ham glaze is rather changing my perspective about ham. The glaze itself is not my own creation, but rather my husband's and the cooking method we devised for baking the ham came from all of the information we have gleaned from watching a lot of food related programs.

My husband likes to be in the kitchen and when I "let" him, in charge of the holiday protein. He knows his way around the kitchen and by his own admission feels he's become a better cook because of me. Does he know which side of the his bread is buttered? Yes indeed! All joking aside, I have taught him recipes and some he now has crafted and cooked so well I feel he's made them better than me. It's either that, or the old adage that everything tastes better when someone else does the cooking for you.

I love the pop of flavor this glaze gives to the outer crust of the ham. Simple pantry ingredients come together in this appetizing glaze to make your ham outstanding. The recipe makes about one cup of glaze. Our ham was about 10 pounds so baking directions are for this weight.

• 1 - 8.25 oz. can sliced pineapple juice
• 2 tbsp. apricot preserves
• 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp. honey

1. Open the can of sliced pineapple and reserve the slices to place on the baked ham.
2. In a bowl mix the pineapple juice with the preserves, brown sugar, mustard and honey. If need be place the bowl in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to help dissolve the sugar and the preserves. Mix well.
3. Preheat your oven to 325°. Line your roasting pan with foil.
4. Placing your ham on a roasting rack. Score the ham all over in a sort of criss-cross fashion. Dot with some whole cloves (be careful with clove it can overpower the ham so just use it sparingly) and secure the ham slices to the ham with toothpicks.
5. Roast the ham in this slow oven for a total of  2 - 2 1/2 hours. Begin basting every 20 minutes after the first hour.

By slow roasting the ham in a low oven you are going to end up with a really tender and juicy ham. The roast can be brought out of the oven when done and tented with foil while you finish up the other parts of your meal.

I was so impressed with the flavor of this Alexander and Hornung ham and really pleased with the cost. We procured this about 10 pound baby for $13.35. That size ham is large enough to easily feed 10-12 people. The glaze cost about $2.05 to make.

If you would like some Ham Left-Over Make Overs just follow the link to that post.