After years of procrastinating, I finally glazed a leg of ham!
I started with a magnificent free range, double smoked, half-leg ham made by David at Gojak’s Meats in Haberfield.
I wanted to buy a small shoulder, or a boned out leg, but Pete wouldn’t let me – he won’t eat shoulder ham, and announced (rather loudly, in the shop…sigh) that boned ham always “tastes funny because all the connective tissues are squashed up in a strange way”.
Whatever cut you use, I do think it’s important to buy one that tastes wonderful to start with, as no amount of glazing will fix a too salty or too dry ham. I should also point out that our ham was already cooked, so it only needed heating up in the oven.
After allowing the ham to rest at room temperature for a couple of hours, we removed the rind, scored the fat, and basted it with a mixture of homemade quince paste, brown sugar and white wine, following these instructions by Maggie Beer. In just forty minutes, it baked to a glossy, caramelised finish.
Pete’s siblings, Katey and Uncle Steve, came over for an early Christmas dinner, and we all ate until we couldn’t move. We served the ham with a rich potato salad (dressed with a homemade two-yolk mayonnaise), sourdough ciabatta, and cucumbers picked fresh from the garden.
Now…I just need to find recipes for leftover ham!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Perfect looking ham Celia! Your accompaniment salads sound superb too!
:-) Mandy
Thanks Mandy, I’ll be turning some of the leftovers into your salad! :)
Glazed ham…yum! Perfectly done!
Thanks Norma! Hope you’re on the mend and a bit more mobile for Christmas! All the best!
Looks beautiful!
Thanks Greg!
Folks, check out Katherine’s baked ham as well…
http://rufusguide.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/retro-retro-ham/
Oooh that looks delicious! I’m off to Smithfield at dark o’clock tomorrow morning to pick up our Christmas ham. I hope mine turns out just as good!
I’ve just made this ham and lentil soup using gammon, which was quite tasty http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1568/german-lentil-soup.aspx
But I always reckon you can’t go past a good pea and ham soup! My favourite recipe is this one: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/split-pea-and-ham-soup-i/detail.aspx
I’m on the hunt for leftover ham recipes as well – this one’s looking pretty good to me: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/230615/creamy-ham-leek-and-mushroom-spaghetti
Kate, thank you, those recipes look good! It’s surprising how much meat was in a 5kg half leg of ham! Have fun with yours! :)
I agree with Pete – a glazed ham must be on the bone. Your ham looks delicious Celia – love that it’s free-range. I’m off to the shops to buy mine first thing Christmas Eve and I’ll be serving it with an onion marmalade. Merry Christmas to you and Pete
Pete will be very pleased that someone agrees with him, Charlie, I’ll let him know. :) Enjoy the festivities! :)
Celia, lovely! I am glazing my ham with blood orange marmalade this year and a sprinkling of crushed roasted cashews. I’ve already bought some French puy style lentils to make a soup with the ham bone and some leftover ham. Delicious!
Oooh, Lizzy, your version sounds divine!
Celia, this looks great, there’s one thing that you must have at Christmas time, and it’s ham, celebrating with my sister and family we’ve bought a large smoked ham on the bone, and will start cooking early Christmas morning…we cook in the Webber outside, here hoping for a little sunshine! x
Yvette, the weather man is telling us that Christmas Day should be fine! Here’s hoping! Have a wonderful time!
My mouth is watering just looking at it Celia. Glazed ham warm on bread would have to be one of my favourite things.
For leftovers I’m rather fond of homemade pizzas, fried rice and omelets but I’m sure you’ll come up with something much more creative!
Thanks Claire! Pete just told me that the Rick Stein Far Eastern Odyssey Christmas special has some really unusual ideas for using up leftovers in things like Vietnamese salad and curries. Will have to check it out! :)
Procrastinating over in this household as well – came to Australia in 1987 and I am finally doing the Australian thing and having ham at Christmas.
Celia have a great Christmas and a fabulous New Year :)
Priscilla, that’s great, we’ve ended up having two hams this Christmas – this one worked so well that I made one for my mum as well! Merry Christmas!
Looks awesome C. Tell Pete we love our boneless leg ham from Andrew’s Choice in Yarraville. I’m picking mine up today and glazing it with a mixture of bourbon, treacle, honey, mustard and orange juice. Won’t look as good as yours but tastes a treat. Just back from Vic Market with oysters, prawns, crays, snapper and barra. Bring on Sunday. Merry Christmas to you, Pete and the lads. Cheers.
Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family, Davey! You can take up the ham issue with Pete next time we meet.. ;-)
Well done, Celia. I’m afraid that glazing a ham is something that I’ve yet to do, too. Maybe next year ….
Merry Xmas!
Amanda, you have inspired me this year! Glazed ham, and now there’s my first ever turkey in the oven! :) Have a happy Christmas and New Year, looking forward to reading about your travels!
Excellent timing! I bought a ham yesterday and I will glaze it today.
Great stuff, Deb! Merry Christmas! :) xxx
Oh how lovely! I love glazed ham, but the rest of the family aren’t keen.
Last week I requested a Lamb Ham from our butcher (leg of lamb cured and smoked exactly like pork) and he came through wonderfully. I scored it and basted it the same as usual, but used pomegranate molasses and sweet pomegranate balsamic as the glaze. Drizzled with more pomegranate balsamic and loads of fresh mint….. Sublime!
I also love how you’re squeezing in more than one Christmas dinners!
Lamb ham! You always come up with the most amazing things, Becca! Hope you’re having a wonderful day! xxx
Merry Ho Hos to you and your lovely family.
May you all find time to relax and appreciate each others company.
Seasoned Greetings
love Moo, the Beautiful J and mini moo
Merry Chrissie, Moo! It’s been a treat catching up with you this year! All our love to the Beautiful Jane and MM – hope the latter scores enormous buckets of Lego from Santa this year! xxx
It looks amazing :) I love the look of the glaze and its perfect stickyness! Hope you and your family have a merry Christmas and a fab New Year Celia :D
Thanks Nic! Merry Christmas to you and the Stud too!
Well done, Celia, Merry Christmas xxx
Thanks Cindy! Hope you’re having a very merry one too! xxx
We’re in sync and I have my lovely ham thanks to your phone call. It definitely feels like the season of the ham this year and this glazed ham is sure a beauty! Merry Christmas to you, Pete and the Clones! xxx
I’m so glad to hear that! Which one did you end up buying! Merry Christmas to you and Mr NQN, thanks for a fun year! :) xxx
Magnificemt! leftovers might be nice in a Christmassy fritatta – I keep coming across ‘bacon jam’ have you ever made that?
Have a fantabulous Christmas , xxx
Merry Happies, darling! I haven’t made bacon jam, but I think Heidi and Lorraine might have? Hope you’re having a nice day! xxx
no need to find a recipe for leftover ham, just send it to me :)
Ha! Merry Christmas, Claire! :)
Pretty as a picture! I’d be interested in seeing your potato salad recipe, or a picture of it?
Hope you’re having a wonderful Christmas, Misk! Didn’t take a photo of the potato salad, but we boiled peeled potatoes until just cooked, and then allowed them to cool before cutting into chunks. A chopped garden leek was fried in a little butter and added with the potatoes to the mayonnaise, which we’d made in the food processor with two fresh egg yolks, a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and a pinch each of ground pepper and salt. The oils were drizzled in as the machine whizzed – we used mostly grapeseed oil, with a little extra virgin olive oil and hazelnut oil for flavour. The balance was adjusted with a little more salt and vinegar.
While the potatoes were cooling, we hardboiled and egg, which was then chopped up and scattered over the top of the salad.
Sounds delicious, Celia. If you want a slightly different taste you could try a shoulder (on the bone) of bacon. Traditionally it is served in Ireland with mashed spuds and cabbage. I usually add carrots/pumpkin. The bacon is boiled until almost cooked with the vegies, herbs and spices you normally use for stock. Then remove the rind and score the fat in a diamond pattern with a clove put in each diamond and honey (or golden syrup) used as a glaze. Finish in the oven until golden. I sometimes add whole onions with cloves in them to the meat when it is being boiled and finish in oven. Serve the meat with the veg from the oven plus the mashed potatoes, cabbage and carrots. The water should be strained and used for ham and pea soup. A series of great meals in the middle of winter!
Hope you and your family have a great Xmas and New Year.
Meg, that’s a wonderful recipe, thank you! I’ve never thought about cooking a big piece of bacon! Hope you’re all having a wonderful Christmas day!
Looks divine and very festive, Celia! Merry Christmas to you, Pete and the boys for this weekend. I’ve so enjoyed reading your blog this year. xx
Thank you love, I adore your blog, thanks for all the hard work you put into it! Have a wonderful Christmas! xxx
Oh that’s look divine! So perfect and glossy :)
Thanks Tes! It really was very shiny! Hope you’re having a fun festive season!
Looks beautiful and golden and sticky, now you’ve crossed that off your list ….. eat and move on!
Tania, that’s right! Next thing..turkey! :) Merry Christmas!
Thanks Celia, I am going to do mine this year with guava paste, kind of tropical don’t you think – will let you know results.
Roz, I can’t wait to see how you go, I’m sure it will be brilliant! Hope you and John are having a great Christmas day! xxx
Celia, I have just found your blog and, without quite realising it, have spent some considerable time reading it. Easy enough to do as one item leads to another and then another, but who’s complaining….I’m enjoying it.
On a previous Christmas post (2009 I think) I looked at the picture of Fruit & Nut Loaves and thought, I know those; and yes as you mentioned they were from a Women’s Weekly cookbook. Haven’t made them in years but now that I have been reminded with do so again, especially as you give such good advice as to places to buy ingredients. I can see a trip to Auburn coming up.
About buying products more reasonably, I recently bought a 1 kg bag of Panko breadcrumbs at an Asian shop in Hurstville for $5.00. Now, you probably know that a 200g bag of Panko can cost about $4.50 from the major supermarkets.
Your blog is now in my Favourites and will be read frequently.
Regards, Carmen
Hi Carmen, thanks for stopping by! Harkola in Auburn is an Aladdin’s Cave of food treasures. Thanks for the panko tip! Have a great Christmas!
I still haven’t made a glazed ham yet so you’re a big step ahead of me :P It looks great!!
Jenny, thanks for stopping by! The ham worked so well that my mum now wants me to make one every year! :) Merry Christmas!
Just went back to this post to tell you I did the glaze with guava paste, the paste took longer to break down in the syrup of verjuice but it was sensational. Thanks for the inspiration.
Here’s to another year of blogging and sharing. Roz
Sounds amazing, Roz! Have a wonderful 2012!