How to glaze a Christmas ham!

Looking to take your Christmas Ham to the next level? Try our very own Ham Glaze!

1. Turn oven on low 150 degrees or you can use a hooded 4 burner BBQ with only the 2 outside burners on low-medium & the hood down.
2. While the oven is warming up using a sharp knife, score a zig-zag pattern around shank end of ham in a whole or shank. If glazing a chump half ham just make a nick close to the skin on one side to get your fingers under. Starting at the bottom of ham, slide your fingers under the skin and work them up between skin and fat, loosening the skin as you go. When you reach the scored shank end, gently pull skin back in one piece and discard. This should leave a nice covering of white fat covering the ham. You want that don’t cut it off as it helps to flavour the ham & keep it moist while glazing.
3. Next is the artistic part. You can score a shallow diamond pattern in fat 1.5cm intervals, without cutting into meat. You can stud the point of each diamond with a clove for another flavour. Or thin straight lines 1/2cm apart in a diagonal across the ham without cloves our preferred method.

(NB: Step 2 & 3 can be done the night before the event to save time on the day, if doing this once you have remove the skin place it back on the ham to help keep moist in & then discard skin the next day. Place in clean ham bag (or old pillow case works well) or wrap with glad wrap & place in the fridge until the next day

4. Once oven or BBQ is warmed to 140 -150 degrees place ham in a foil roasting pan (for less washing up!) or in heavy roasting pan.
5. Pour half of the glaze over the ham & use a pastry brush or spoon to baste all the ham.
6. Put the ham into the oven or bbq to warm. Remove halfway through cooking to put the remainder of the glaze on the ham & spoon any juices that are in the bottom of the tray return to oven.

Cooking time depends upon the size of your ham. We suggest approximately 10mins per 1kg. So an average 8kg ham should take approximately 1hr 20mins to glaze. You are just warming & flavouring the ham remember as it is already cooked.

7. Once glazed & it should look golden & sticky. Place on a carving board. Using a sharp large carving knife & a carving fork to hold the ham steady. Carving vertically down to the bone. Do not carve horizontally as this will make your ham tough, dry & stringy meat as you are cutting against the grain.