Want a no-fuss, foolproof and straightforward recipe that will dazzle your Christmas dinner guests? Behold! The perfect ham is here.
The sight of this beauty will amaze your guests, and even better, they will probably tell you that it’s the best glazed ham that they’ve ever eaten. And they’d be right.
What’s in it for you? A glorious vision of a showstopping carnivore’s masterpiece to anchor your buffet, beaucoup praise, ample food for a fairly large gathering and, when all is said and done, a substantial bone with lovely bits of surviving ham to grace a soup of your choice.
About 20 years ago I spied a recipe in a book named The Best Recipes of 1999, simply called “Monte’s Ham.” Shortly after, I saw the same recipe featured in Saveur magazine. Now if you Google “Monte’s Ham,” you’ll see that word about this wonderful ham has spread far and wide.
The multi-layered savory, spicy sweetness of this ham would be complemented with a variety of wines, including pinot noir. Perhaps a dry Riesling or Viognier too!
Monte’s Ham (Adapted from The Best Recipes of 1999)
Serves 10-15
Ingredients
- One 15-pound bone-in ham
- 1½ cups orange marmalade
- 1 cup Dijon mustard
- 1½ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 generous tablespoon whole cloves
Directions
Preheat oven to 300 F. Trim the ham of any tough skin and excessive fat, then score the ham, making parallel incisions all over with a sharp knife. Repeat the incisions at a 90° angle, creating a crosshatch pattern.
Place ham on a rack in a roasting pan and roast in the oven for 2 hours. While the ham is roasting, mix together the 3 ingredients for the glaze and set aside. When the 2 hours of roasting are done, remove the ham and increase the oven temperature to 350 F. Carefully insert a single clove at each intersection of the crosshatch incisions. The ham will be very hot and I sometimes do this with the aid of some stainless-steel pliers that I reserve for kitchen use.
Liberally brush the entire ham with some of the glaze and place in the oven for an additional 1½ hours. Brush the ham with more of the glaze every 30 minutes, or two more times. Remove the ham from the oven and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.