Baked Ham With Apricot & Mustard Glaze

I can never wait until its cooled to cut myself a piece.

Every time I have a family get together where food is involved, (If you’re getting to know me, you’ll be realising that food is almost always involved in a family get together) the first thing that I’m asked for when my guests are scanning the buffet table is;

“Did you make a Ham?”

Ham is one of my go to things when I’ve a lot of mouths to feed and want something that can be brought out over a few days for all sorts of meals.

Breakfast, eggs and ham with a little bit of Mr Gs chilli and tomatoe jam on the side or even in the eggs.

(Check out Mr G on my YouTube channel showing you how to make his chilli jam).

Lunch, ham with a lovely salad with roasted garlic croutons and of course a little bit of Mr G chilli and tomato jam.

Dinner , ham with garlic and rosemary crushed potatoes, Christmas Brussels sprouts and of course , a little bit of Mr Gs …. Yes, you get the idea

(The sprouts are in a future post, don’t miss it in time for Christmas)

For a quick snack, some ham in some fresh sough dough bread with a layer of, do I need to say it … Mr Gs chilli and tomatoe jam.

I learnt all about the power of the home made ham whilst living in Cincinnati. Not so much as a Christmas staple there, but as something that’s on every family Thanksgiving table.

The fresh baked ham in the middle of your food table is a thing of beauty. It sits proud with expectation that everyone will tuck in.

If you’re not a fan of the turkey, this could be the perfect alternative for you. Can you imagine the sort of things I get to make with any leftover ham bits?

My mind is always flooded with recipes for soups, pies, curries, pates the occasional quiche, I could go on and on.

Let nothing go to waist. Food is too precious and I always think of Dad when there are leftovers. A man who after spending time in a camp during the war, brought me up to know that wasted food is just a wasted opportunity.

Another great thing about making your own ham is that you get to decide which flavour glaze you want. The recipe I used was a ham with an apricot and mustard glaze. It’s a particular favourite of mine, but I do also think I made that glaze because I had apricot jam and a great grain mustard in my pantry

So use your imagination and your pantry supplies for the glaze.

What do you have in your pantry?

Maybe a little bit of honey and mustard? Cranberry jelly and mustard? Very Christmas themed. What about a little bit of Soy and honey? Maple syrup and mustard maybe? Go wild, give it a go and let me know how yours turns out?

Enjoy Your Sweet Life

Aromatics added to the saucepan

What You Need

• Large pot

• Gammon joint about 5 lbs in weight  - See Tip Box

• 1 tablespoon grain Mustard – See Tip Box

• 3 tablespoon Apricot jam – See Tip Box

• Aromatics - 1 tablespoon of Pink or black peppercorn –See Tip Box

• 1 large carrot – cut in half

• 1 garlic bulb – cut in half

• 1 large onion – cut I half

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tablespoon chipotle chilli flakes – Optional – See Tip Box

  
  How It’s Done

• Put the whole ham into a very large pot.

• Add all the aromatics and fill the pot with cold water so that the ham is mostly covered.

• Bring the whole thing to a rolling boil and then reduce the heat to a slow simmer Let it simmer for 2 hours.

• Keep a watchful eye on the pot , you will need to keep topping the pot up with boiling water as it evaporates.

• After 2 hours, take the ham out of the pot an transfer to an oven proof dish or tray

• Using a sharp knife cut off the rind of the ham leaving the fat attached to the ham.

• Heat your oven to 200c

• Score the fat in a crisscross pattern.

• In a small bowl mix together the apricot jam and the mustard until well combined.

• Spoon the mixture overt the fat of the ham making sure to get as much as you can down into the scored fat.

• When the oven is heated, place the ham into the oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes. It may take longer but keep a watchful eye in it. The top of the ham should be brown and a little caramelised.

• Whilst cooking, the mustard mixture will begin to melt and become more liquid, baste the ham a couple of times. Don’t waste any flavour

• Once the top is brown and caramelised, remove it from the oven and onto a serving plate.

Maybe you’ll be able to wait to eat it until it cools, I can never wait that long.

Out of the pan, glaze on and ready for last cooking in the oven . Dont’ forget to baste a few times

Tip Box

Gammon Joint – I say 5lbs in weight but you don’t have to be precious about the weight. If you want it bigger or smaller, just adjust the boiling time. You can keep the same amount of aromatics, this will only add to the flavour.

Mustard – I used grain mustard but if you have Dijon that’s works equally as well.

Jam – I had apricot jam in my pantry. Use what you have if you like or try one of the suggestions above

Pepper – I use pink peppercorns because I had them, if you only have black use those.

Chilli Flakes – I wanted a little bit of smoky flavour to the ham so I added the chipotle chilli flakes. Feel free to leave these out.

Note to self, leave some for other people !