A beginner’s guide to Easter ham
Easter dinner will soon be here and a baked ham is a popular entrée that will be served in many homes. If you’re new to Easter ham or you’ve not baked one for a while, here are some things to consider.
Buying the ham
Bone-in, cured, smoked, fully cooked hams are sold at supermarkets and butcher shops.
You might find a whole ham, the back leg of a pig, which could serve 20 or more, at a butcher. At supermarkets, though, you’re more likely to find that leg cut in half and sold separately as the shank portion, the lower part of the leg, and the butt portion, the upper part.
These still-quite-large pieces of ham should yield at least eight servings and it’s what I used in today’s recipe.
Both yield flavourful meat, but the shank portion, which you see in the photo here, has a more classic ham shape and presents better if the ham is served right at the dinner table.
Some stores also sell spiralsliced ham. The ham is run through a machine with an oscillating blade, slicing it, while still maintaining its shape. With all that extra processing, I’m not huge fan of this premium-priced type of ham. It’s also not difficult to slice a ham yourself.
Prepping the ham for the oven
Before baking it, many recipes, including mine, ask you trim off any excess tough outer skin and thicker areas of fat on the outside of the ham. You then cut the top of the ham with a shallow criss-cross pattern. As it bakes, the ham opens up where it was cut, creating an appealing look and allowing the glaze to seep into the meat.
How to heat and flavour the ham
The hams noted above are sold fully cooked. So, if you want to serve it hot, all you need to do is bake the ham until that’s achieved. When using a 325 F oven, I allow approximately 15 minutes per pound cooking time, or until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 140 F (60 C) or higher. To accent its flavour, you’ll want to brush the ham with a glaze during baking. There are many possibilities, but my glaze combines sweet maple syrup with Dijon mustard and mix of spices.
I don’t have room to provide guidance on how to carve a whole, shank portion or butt portion ham. But if you search online for the type of ham you want carve, you’ll find informative videos to assist you.
Baked Ham with Maple Mustard Spice Glaze
This tasty baked ham is accented with a nicely spiced maple syrup-Dijon mustard glaze.
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 110 to 120 minutes Makes: Eight to 10 servings 1 (about 8 lb. to 9 lb./3.6 kg to 4.1 kg) shank or butt portion ham 1/3 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves, or to taste • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a shallow roasting pan with parchment paper. Trim excess tough skin or excess thick fat off the top of the ham, if there is any. Set ham in the roasting pan. With a sharp knife, score top and sides of the ham in a diamond pattern, making shallow cuts about one inch apart. Bake ham, uncovered, 80 minutes.
While ham bakes, make glaze by combining syrup, mustard, coriander, paprika, ginger, cloves and pepper in a bowl.
When the ham has baked 80 minutes, baste the top and sides of it with a third of the glaze. Bake ham 10 minutes more, and then baste with half of the remaining glaze. Bake ham another 10 minutes, and then baste with remaining glaze. Bake another 10 to 20 minutes, or until the glaze is rich in colour and the centre of the ham is piping hot, about 140 F (60 C) or above when tested in the very centre with meat thermometer.
Remove ham from the oven, baste it with pan drippings, tent with foil, rest 10 minutes, and then slice and serve.