A traditional glazed ham is on most Kiwi Christmas Day menus. Rediscovering do-it-yourself glaze is best made from leftovers in the larder, taking the basic principles of a winning glaze and making it your own.
My creation: ultra sweet with a warm ginger/tangy lime and lashings of Christmas spirit!
Most legs, or half legs of ham you get from the supermarket, are already precooked of course, however with an extra bit of effort a glaze looks and tastes amazing as it permeates the meat and gives it extra ‘oommph’. Served warm is divine, then living off the left overs (finding those 10 different ways to devour a Christmas ham) for the next week or so is just a bonus!
I guess you can buy bottled glazes from the supermarket? I don’t know. Fortunately my mother has always been the ‘glazed ham provider’ for Christmas Day for as long as I can remember, and she has always made her own glaze: a little sweet, a little spicy, a little alcohol (if you want) and often citrus based.
This year, my turn.
I read once that sugar is always good as it caramelizes during the cooking process. And rather than using straight golden syrup or maple syrup, a variation to include sugar, offset with spicy or tangy ingredients, works a treat. Whether using beer, champagne, or juice – your ham glaze will need liquid of some sort (and something zingy) to make it memorable, and to make it fluid enough to baste.
The magic texture is important. Too thick and it may burn, to runny and it will slide off the ham altogether. If you work towards a thick but pourable syrup, you will be on the right track.
With this is mind, straight to the pantry and retrieved some dark brown muscovado sugar (bought once for a baking recipe and not used again). The smell of this sugar is just amazing. It is unrefined and sticky and oh so decedent!
For the spice I used the remains of a pot of marmalade as it’s very moreish and has generous chunks of rind which is great for texture too. Other recipes call for mustard or cloves, but each to their own. This year, the marmalade was in the fridge and it ticked all the boxes!
With sweetness and spice covered, it was equal portions of lime fruit syrup (undiluted) for the citrus edge and Galliano for the Christmas spirit. It smelt a dream, and tasted even better.
Remember, this ham should already be cooked! If you are attempting to cook a raw ham, you’ll need to allow several hours and only attempt to baste in the last 20-30 minutes.
Festive Ham Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup muscovado sugar
- 1/2 cup marmalade
- 1/4 cup Lime fruit syrup (undiluted)
- 1/4 cup Galliano
Method
- Whisk all ingredients together (squishing out any lumps of sugar with the back of a spoon) so it resembles a nice thick syrup.
- Score your ham (removing the outer skin, and making criss-cross diamond score marks in the fat layer – approx 3cm apart) and generously baste the ham with the glaze.
- Depending on the size of the ham, it may take 30 minutes at 150-180°C to allow the glaze to bake golden brown. The scored fat will separate as it cooks, and you’ll need to repeat the painting of the glaze every 10 minutes. This won’t be a chore! It will smell amazing and look fabulous!
