Heavenly Holiday Honey Baked Ham
- Mulled Apple Cider Brine
- 1/2-1 gallons Fresh Apple Cider
- 1/2 cup Mulling Spices
- 1 4-8 lb Ham (I prefer a low sodium or smoked uncured ham)
- 1 Pot large enough for the ham to be completely submerged in apple cider, with a lid
- Honey, Maple, Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze
- 1/2 cup Organic Brown or Muscovado Sugar
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 1/4 cup Grade A Maple Syrup
- 1/2 cup Raisins
- 1 tablespoon Powdered Mustard
- 1/4 cup Cloves (decorative)
- The day before: Remove the ham from its packaging a place it an enormous pot. Cover completely with apple cider.
- Add the mulling spices.
- Cover and place on the stove, over a low flame. Simmer for 2 hours.
- Remove from the flame and allow to cool. Place (as is, pot an all) in the refrigerator over night.
- 2- 2 1/2 hours before you want to serve the ham, heat the oven to 350F. Remove the ham from the pot and place in a deep baking dish, cut side down. Reserve the mulled cider for the next step.
- Score the surface of the ham with a sharp knife, cutting on the diagonal, and again on the opposite diagonal. Don't go more than 1/4" deep. The result is a lattice diamond pattern.
- Insert cloves at the corners of the diamonds. This will add flavor to the ham while giving it a decorative spiked appearance.
- Pour 2-3 cups of the mulled cider over the ham, more for larger hams.
- Cover the ham with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Cook for 45 minutes turning over (skin side down) half-way through.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, raisins and powdered mustard with 1/2 cup of the reserved mulled cider (discard the rest).
- Remove the ham from the oven and raise the temperature to 425F. Remove the aluminum foil and brush the surface with 1/3 of the glaze and return to the oven. Cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes Repeat the glazing process every 10-15 minutes until the glaze is gone.
- In order to achieve a deep caramel color, baste the ham with some of the mulled cider from the baking dish. Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes and repeat at least 2 times or until the desired color is achieved.
- When the ham has reached the desired appearance, remove from the oven and allow it to rest for 20- 30 mins.
- Transfer the ham to a serving dish, carve and enjoy.
apple cider brine, apple cider, mulling spices, ham, enough, honey, brown, honey, maple syrup, raisins, powdered mustard
Taken from food52.com/recipes/25497-heavenly-holiday-honey-baked-ham (may not work)