Recipe: Honey Mustard Ham Glaze

Ingredients

• • Half leg ham, bone-in (approx 4-5kg - double the recipe if using a whole leg)
• • Jar of whole cloves (to stud the ham) – optional , but looks great and adds a lovely spice
• • ½ cup honey
• • ¼ cup dijon mustard (can swap for wholegrain if you prefer)
• • ¼ cup rapadura sugar
• • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional – but gives a bit of a “tang” to the glaze.

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees (150 fan-forced).
2. Remove the skin from the ham, leaving the fat intact. Keep the skin flap so that you can use it to cover the ham when you store the leftovers. Score the fat in a diamond pattern with a sharp knife. (You will find plenty of YouTube tutorials to show you how to do this if you’re not sure, or if you get your ham from a butcher, ask and they may do this for you.)
3. Push a clove into each of the crosses in your diamond pattern. Get the kids involved in this step – they love it!
4. Place the ham onto a rack in a baking tray. Pour about 2 cm of water into the baking tray to avoid the glaze burning to the pan. (Line your tray as an extra precaution – no one wants to scrub a burnt pan at Christmas!)
5. Mix glaze ingredients together in a bowl. Brush the glaze onto the ham, making sure it’s very well covered. Make sure to cover the cut end in glaze too.
6. Place the ham into the oven for approximately 1 ½ hours. Baste with more glaze every 15 minutes. Ensure you stir the glaze mixture first, to ensure sugar has not settled.
7. When the glaze is sticky and caramelised, remove the ham and allow it to rest for 30 minutes before slicing. You can either serve it warm or allow it to cool, then refrigerate.
8. Make sure you refrigerate leftovers straight away. This article gives you tips for how to store your ham safely. And don’t forget, you can freeze it to use later, too.