The beautiful thing about a good ham is that they’re almost impossible to overcook. If you undercook it there’s no food safety risk, but you’ll be missing out on the crispy, salty sweet goodness. Perfect for people who are a bit nervous about large hunks of meat.

The other wonderful thing is that ham isn’t fussy about its serving temperature. So you can glaze it well ahead of time and serve at room temperature. Or once it’s done, keep it covered in a really low oven (100C /200F) for up to 2 hours.

Highly recommend investing in a disposable aluminum baking dish for cooking your ham. Saves on washing up and is a great place to store your ham in the fridge.

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Amazing Glazed Ham

Total Time 2

Servings people

Ingredients

4 kg leg of ham on the bone
1 small handful cloves
1 jar orange marmalade approx 500g / 1lb
4 stalks rosemary
10 stalks rosemary for decoration (optional)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200C (400F). Remove rosemary leaves from the 4 stalks, leaving the other rosemary whole.
With a sharp knife, carefully cut away the tough skin from the top side of the ham, leaving as much luscious fat as you can.
Cut the ham in a diagonal pattern with cuts about 1 inch apart to score it. Make sure you cut through the fat and just into the flesh.
Press one clove into the centre of each diamond.
Place ham in a baking tray, surrounding with the extra rosemary (if using). Bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the marmalade and rosemary leaves in a small saucepan unit it simmers. Remove from the heat.
After the ham has been in for 20 minutes, pour 1/2 the glaze over the top, spreading it evenly with a pastry brush, spoon or a little branch of rosemary.
Return to the oven, turning so the front goes to the back for another 20 minutes.
Smear over the remaining glaze using the method in step 7.
Bake for another 20 minutes, remembering to turn again.
After the ham has been in for 1 hour, remove and baste by scooping the juices from the bottom of the pan and drizzling over the top.
Bake for another 20 minutes, remembering to turn again.
After the ham has been in for 1 hour 20minutes it should be done. You’re looking for it to be lovely and deeply caramelised on top. If not, continue to base and check every 10 minutes until well coloured.
Serve hot or at room temperature.

Variations

vegetarian / vegan – see the roast, stuffed portabello mushrooms

deboned ham – will work well but won’t look as pretty. The same weight of deboned ham will serve more people.

Problem Solving Guide

ham too dry – it could be overcooked, but this is unlikely. Dry ham is more likely a function of the quality of the ham.

glaze burned – next time, cook at a lower temperature or keep a more vigilant eye on the ham while cooking. The good news is that you can chop off the burnt bits and the actual ham will still be edible.

ham browning unevenly – a sign of an uneven oven. If you do have fan assisted setting, make sure you use it, For those of us with old crap ovens, the best bet is to turn the ham at regular intervals. Also a good idea to cook on a shelf low enough to allow the oven air to circulate freely over the ham.