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Monday, 26 December 2011

Honey Maple Glazed Picnic Shoulder Ham



The ingredient measurements are approximate, as I was just winging it...I knew what I wanted and poured amounts until I was happy with the amount I had in the pan.  I then adjusted the flavor to taste, adding more syrup at one point.  If it tastes good in the pan, it will be that good and better when basted on to your ham.  

Brown Sugar (3/4 cup), Maple Syrup(1/4 cup), Honey (1/2-3/4 cup), Ginger ale (3/4-1 cup), Dijon Mustard (1-2 tablespoons), Red Wine Vinegar (a splash), mix together and adjust ingredients to taste, simmer over medium heat until dark in color and thickened. 

Score the top of the ham in a criss-cross pattern to create diamonds.  I took the skin off this ham, scored the top fatty layer, and studded it with a few cloves, placing them into the centers of the diamonds.  Glaze ham, dripping the glaze slowly over the ham, bake in an oven preheated at 375 degrees.  Glaze and show your ham some love by basting it every 10 minutes or so.  I baked this one for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours until heated through and I was happy with the glaze and color of the ham.
It is a fatty cut of ham, so trimming is necessary but worth the effort.  The ham is moist, and the mixture of the cloves and the glaze made this ham addictive to eat.  One of my best tasting ham's yet.

One of the nice things about the glaze and juices that were used to baste the ham is that they can easily be placed on the table as a syrup/sauce for garnishing your ham.  Drain all of the juices from the pan you used for the ham into a bowl.  Using a spoon slowly skim the surface removing any clear juices/fat leaving behind only the dark syrup.  Cooling in the frig helps too, as it brings the fat to the surface making it easier to skim (if you have the time), you can reheat the glaze after skimming if using the frig method.
Place in a serving dish and drizzle on your plated ham, delicious!