Serving a glazed ham at Christmas looks spectacular and tastes amazing, It isn't hard to make and I like to use a BBQ to free up my indoor oven. All you need is good quality pork (whole or half leg ham),a sharp knife, some simple ingredients, Christmas wired ribbon of your choice and my easy recipe! Oh and the BBQ or indoor oven.
Gazed Christmas Ham is definitely a tradition for many living in Australia and around the world. For me, it wasn't part of my family tradition. I remember enjoying lamb roasted or on the rotisserie, grilled seafood (mainly prawns and octopus) and salads. It wasn't until my early 20's that the glazed ham made an appearance at my family Christmas lunch. These days, I love serving my family a glazed ham at Christmas and have made it part of our tradition.
I highly recommend Ashburton Meats for all meat and they definitely have quality ham. They sell Australian Otway Pork which is all female meat without boar taint. When you have time, research boar taint....it's the reason some pork has an undesirable smell. Otway pork is bred in Australia (it's so important to me that I buy local) and also has no added growth promotants (HGPs) or hormones. It's truly a quality ham that smells amazing from the moment you unwrap it!
2. Using your fingers (not a knife), remove the rind from the leg (except the shank).It's messy but worth it. Don't remove the fat, that's what you need to score and glaze for the perfect Christmas ham.
3. Score the fat (about 1/4 of an inch deep) in a diamond pattern. Ensure you don't go too deep or the diamonds will lift during the cooking process.
4. Cover the shank with foil to protect it during cooking, especially when using a BBQ. You don't want it to burn.
5. Now you're ready to make the glaze using my recipe.
I like to use a marmalade with pieces of citrus zest. It not only looks beautiful but it caramelises beautifully. Ashburton Meats have their own brand of marmalades and the Paul's Fine Foods Westies Whisky (orange) Marmalade is divine! You should try it!
6. Gather all ingredients for my homemade whisky and orange ham glaze. Follow my recipe below and baste your ham with my glaze mixture. This recipe will glaze a ham that weighs up to 7 kilos.
I like to use my Ziegler and Brown Triple Grill from Barbeques Galore to cook my Christmas Ham.
I preheat my BBQ to 160c using all the burners and then switch off the centre as well as one side. Leaving one burner to cook my ham. I have found the multi-purpose roasting tray perfect for cooking a ham. Allow around an hour and a half to cook a glazed ham depending on the size, basting with the mixture every 30 minutes.
Once the ham is a nice golden colour and it's come off the BBQ, remove the foil from the shank. Then place a wired ribbon around the shank.
Rest the ham for around 15 minutes before slicing the ham. That will ensure it's succulent when sliced and served.
What's even better than a sticky delicious golden ham on Christmas day? The leftovers you can use in sandwiches, fried rice and soup for days afterwards if you're lucky enough to have any left!
I would love to see your Christmas glazed ham's on Instagram. Please feel free to tag me - Come Grill With Me. Love, Irene XO