Holiday Ham Recipes

HOLIDAY HAM

Steps:

• Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Place ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Secure pineapple and cherries to ham with toothpicks. Combine brown sugar and seasoned salt; rub over ham. Gently pour pineapple juice over ham., Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until a thermometer reads 140° and ham is heated through. Baste frequently with brown sugar mixture.

HOLIDAY HAM AND POTATO CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté with a pinch of salt until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, just to take off that starchy, raw edge, about 2 minutes. Pour in heavy cream and whisk to combine. Whisk in milk. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until it just starts to simmer and thicken up. Add 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and cayenne. Grate in nutmeg.
• Turn off heat. Stir in Worcestershire and fresh thyme leaves. Reserve until needed.
• Cover the bottom of a deep 10x15-inch casserole dish with about 25% of the reserved sauce. Add a layer of sliced potatoes, seasoning the tops with some of the remaining salt as desired; ladle over 1/3 of the sauce and sprinkle over 1/3 of the grated Cheddar cheese. Layer in ½ of the sliced ham.
• Place another layer of sliced potatoes on top and season with salt. Ladle over ½ of the remaining sauce; repeat layering with Cheddar cheese and ham.
• Place last layer of potatoes on top. Ladle over remaining sauce and spread out with a spatula. Sprinkle over remaining Cheddar cheese.
• Bake uncovered in the preheated oven until browned, bubbling, and potatoes are very tender, about 1 ½ hours. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

HOLIDAY HAM, THREE WAYS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F, with the rack in the lower third of oven. If your ham has a layer of fat, use a sharp paring knife to score the fat in a diamond crosshatch pattern, about 1 inch wide and 1/2 inch deep.
• For Tangy Peach Mustard Ham or Sweet and Spicy Jerk Ham:
• In a medium bowl, mix together the glaze ingredients of your choice. Brush all over ham (reserving some glaze for basting while cooking).
• For Smoky BBQ Ham:
• Brush the ham with maple syrup (reserving some syrup for basting while cooking). Combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl, then rub all over ham, pressing into syrup to adhere.
• Position roasting rack in roasting pan; pour 2 cups water into pan and place prepared ham on rack. Cover pan with foil and bake 1 hour. Remove pan from oven, remove foil, and brush ham with reserved glaze or maple syrup. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
• Return ham to oven uncovered. Bake until glaze has caramelized and the ham's internal temp reads 135°F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted in the middle of the ham (avoiding bone), brushing with more glaze or syrup if desired, 40 minutes to 1 hour more.
• Let rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with biscuits or rolls, mustard, and pickles.
• Do Ahead
• Glazes can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated. Rub (without maple syrup) can be made up to 1 month in advance and kept at room temperature.

GLAZED HOLIDAY HAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place the ham on a rack in a large roasting pan. Score the ham diagonally left to right, then right to left, to create a diamond pattern across the meat. Stud each diamond with a whole clove.
• Add a cup or two of water to the bottom of the pan, then bake the ham, uncovered, 25 minutes to the pound if it is ready-to-cook, about half that if it is ready-to-eat.
• Combine the mustard and the brown sugar in a bowl, then add the sherry to make a thick paste. Spread the mixture over the ham approximately 20 minutes before it is ready to remove from the oven, then bake until crust has formed.