Although not as sweet as the ham, the new Paul Simon album, So Beautiful or So What is nearly as tasty. Reunited with producer Phil Ramone, Simon sounds energized and tuneful as ever here, with standout cuts being “Getting Ready for Christmas Day” and “The Afterlife”.
Ham is all over the place! For many people, a glazed ham is the centerpiece of an Easter dinner. Consequently, when I went to the grocery on April 23rd, the meat case was piled high with hams…and they were on sale! I don’t know why we don’t have ham more often – it is easy, it is tasty, and there’s always leftover ham for another meal. So Saturday night, ham was on the menu!
You might think I have abandoned our primal/paleo dining principles since the title of this recipe sounds so very confectionery. Well, glazed ham just has to have a sweet glaze…it’s a law of the universe. I did what I could to take out processed sugars and sweetened it as naturally as possible. Besides, the glaze is spread all over the ham, so the amount of carbs per serving isn’t as bad as eating the glaze out of the pan with a spoon (which I would NEVER do..cough, cough). The main ingredient in the glaze, Polaner Orange All Fruit, has pieces of orange peel in it, which turn into tiny candy-like bits when cooked with the syrup and molasses. All this caramelizes on the ham in the oven. It was impossible for either of us to keep our hands off it – untold quantities were consumed in the short time allowed to photograph the ham.
Ingredients:
One 7 to 10 pound bone-in ham
1/2 cup apple cider (plus more for bottom of roasting pan)
1/2 cup bourbon
10 ounce jar Polaner Orange All Fruit with Fiber (sweetened only with fruit juice)
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Boil apple cider and bourbon in a small saucepan until reduced by half. Stir in Orange All Fruit, molasses, maple syrup, cider vinegar, cloves, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for ~5 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare a roasting pan by lining with foil, or (like we did) use a disposable aluminum roasting pan for easy clean-up. Place a rack on the bottom of the pan.
Remove any hard rind and excess fat from ham, if present. Score the ham all over in a crosshatch diamond pattern to create nooks for the glaze to seep in. Place the cut side of the ham down on the roasting rack.
Roast the ham at 325 for thirty minutes.
Remove ham from oven and increase oven temperature to 400F. Liberally brush glaze all over the ham.
Pour enough apple cider in the bottom of the pan to cover the pan – it’s okay if it touches the bottom of the ham. This will prevent you from smelling burnt sugar for the next 45 minutes and it will help keep the ham moist.
Return the ham to the oven and bake, basting and adding more glaze every 10-15 minutes until the ham is hot throughout and caramelized on the outside (about 45 minutes to an hour).
Remove ham from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and start slicing! Enjoy!
