The Starving Musician Recipes
Easter Ham with Variations
10-12 servings
This ham with a sweet pineapple outside has many
creative options and is great served at room temperature, so it works well
for having people over for brunch or dinner. I do a different variation each
year.
-
1 5-7 pound bone-in,
"fully-cooked" or "ready to eat" cured smoked half ham (not a canned
ham)
-
1 1.6 oz bottle whole
cloves (the stems break off in shipment, so start with a new bottle so
you'll have enough)
-
1 16-oz pkg brown sugar (I
use light brown or golden brown, but dark brown works fine too)
-
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
powder
-
1/4 teaspoon salt
-
1 16 oz can crushed
pineapple (preferably the kind in pineapple juice), well-drained,
reserving liquid
-
12 oz (1 1/2 cups) ginger
ale (not diet--aspartame can't be heated. I prefer Schweppes.)
Spray roasting pan (or
disposable foil roasting pan) with Pam cooking spray, and set ham in the
pan, fat side up. With sharp knife, score fat of ham in diamond pattern by
scoring shallow "stripes" approximately 1" apart lightly across the fat
diagonally, then repeat in the other direction to create diamond-shaped
score marks. (Do not cut through to meat.) Insert a whole clove in the
center of each "diamond". (If ham is pre-sliced or spiral cut, do not score;
just set the ham fat side up in the pan, stud the exposed fat with cloves,
spacing approx. 1" apart and proceed with the recipe as follows, reducing
baking time as necessary, as spiral cut hams tend to cook faster.)
Mix 1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice with 1/4 cup ginger ale and pour evenly
over ham. Set oven to 325 degrees F, and set ham aside to marinate while
oven preheats. Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl combine brown sugar, dry
mustard, and salt, mixing well. Add drained pineapple and mix well to form a
slightly moist paste that barely holds together, adding 1T pineapple juice
at a time if necessary. Smear most of mixture thickly over ham, working some
of it down into score lines and reserving remaining mixture. (Don't worry if
some of it ends up in the bottom of the pan.)
Pour remainder of the can of ginger ale into roasting pan around ham. Bake
325 for 1 hour or until ham is warm inside, basting ham with ginger ale from
bottom of pan after 30 minutes and loosely tenting with foil if necessary to
prevent over-browning. When the hour is up, increase oven to 450, baste ham
one final time, top with remaining sugar mixture, and bake 10-15 minutes or
until sugar is melted, watching carefully so pineapple doesn't burn. Let ham
rest 20 minutes before slicing.
Creative Options: 1. Southern-style ham: Use 1 12-oz can Coca-Cola
instead of ginger ale. )
2. For a spicier ham, omit the dry mustard and use spicy, grainy mustard to
taste, and proceed as directed in the main recipe. Start with 1-2
Tablespoons, let the mixture stand a few minutes, then taste. Or, use 2
teaspoons prepared Chinese hot mustard, let the mixture stand, then taste.
(Careful, it's powerful.)
3. Ham with Champagne: If you're feeling really decadent, use 1/2 bottle of
good champagne instead of the ginger ale. This is amazing. (Vueve Cliquot
demi-sec works especially well for this.) Watch carefully after increasing
the oven temperature, as any alcohol remaining in the champagne after
initial baking may ignite.
4. Orange-glazed Ham: Instead of pineapple juice, mix 1/4 cup
freshly-squeezed orange juice with 1/4 cup ginger ale for marinade. Add 1
tablespoon orange marmalade to brown sugar mixture and proceed as directed.
Substituting 1/2 bottle of good Champagne for the ginger ale works great in
this version, too.
5. Picture Perfect Ham: To make the kind of perfectly-garnished ham you see
in cookbook photos requires a lot of time, patience, and toothpicks. If you
want to try it, you'll need a 16-oz can of pineapple rings instead of the
crushed, plus a bottle of maraschino cherries and a box of toothpicks.
Carefully drain pineapple slices and maraschino cherries, reserving juice of
each. Score ham and insert cloves as directed in main recipe. Mix 1/4 cup
pineapple juice with 2 T cherry juice and 2 T ginger ale or champagne, pour
over ham to marinate while oven preheats to 325. Make brown sugar mixture as
above, omitting crushed pineapple and instead using enough reserved
pineapple juice to make a moist paste. Smear over ham, working into score
lines and set aside while oven heats to 325. Pour ginger ale or champagne
around ham in bottom of roasting pan and bake ham 1 hour. Remove ham from
oven, increase oven to 450 and carefully arrange pineapple rings in an
evenly-spaced pattern over ham, securing with toothpicks, pushing them into
the ham to hide them. Place cherries in the center of pineapple rings,
securing with toothpicks, pushing them into the ham to hide them. Baste ham,
pineapple, and cherries carefully, so as not to dislodge fruit. Sprinkle
with any remaining sugar mixture, and bake at 450 15 minutes or until sugar
is melted and pineapple begins to brown. For extra-shiny glaze, carefully
brush pineapple and cherries with melted apple jelly before serving. (And
warn your guests to watch out for toothpicks.)
Recipes ©2004 Randi Reed
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