Happy Thanksgiving, American chums. Your rather late Thanksgiving festivities serve to remind us of the impending Christmas dinners we’ll be preparing. Today we’re talking about perfecting a much loved classic for many a Canadian family during the holidays, honey glazed ham.
image: womanandhome.com
Yes, you could walk to Loblaws and buy a pretty good one from President’s Choice. It’s true. But there’s something so special about the house smelling of roast ham and knowing you made it yourself.
Here are a few of our secrets:
1. Buy a bone in, precooked ham. Yes, it’s harder to trim. But it’s going to be juicier.
image: bhg.com
2. Rub that sucker down with spices. Roast ham doesn’t need to equal bland and flatly sweet. Try making a dry rub with cinnamon, ginger powder, star anise, pink peppercorns, brown sugar and a dash of black pepper. Massage it like its a hottie you’re applying sunscreen to.
3. For the last 30 mins of cooking you want to add the glaze to your ham. Don’t choose this moment to be health conscious, just use butter. An interesting substitute to honey is molasses. It’s got a richer, deeper, almost smokey flavour. But it’s strong so don’t add more than you would with honey. This isn’t the time to be heavy handed. And be sure to include a splash of apple cider vinegar to keep things light.
For a full on recipe, check this one. It’s pretty tastey.
