EASTER FEAST: BRING ON THE HAM

While the centerpiece of our holiday meal has always been a ham, we doubt that anyone has ever put much thought into it’s preparation save for following the instructions on the packet of glaze that usually accompanies the packaging.   This is possibly the reason that the Easter ham usually sticks around long after the holiday has come and gone, a situation that we have come to refer to as “ham fatigue”.

Hurt feelings and tradition be damned: throw that seasoning packet aside and follow our lead.


This year we decided to give ham the attention it deserves and as a result, will be making “Ham in Coca Cola” a recipe we’re adapting from Nigella Lawson’s book “Nigella Bites”.  While we don't often advocate using high-fructose corn syrup in anything, this recipe makes a ham that’s shockingly good; and besides, the idea of cooking something in a large quantity of soda was just too much fun to resist.  And remember, Easter comes just once a year.

RECIPE:

HAM IN COCA COLA

2 liters of Coca-Cola (and NO, you cannot use Diet Coke)

4 to 4 ½ pound bone-in ham

1 medium onion, peeled and halved

Handful of cloves

1 heaping tablespoon of molasses

2 cups dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon dry mustard, such as Colman’s

Put the ham in a large pot or Dutch oven, add the onion and then pour the Coke over all.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, place cover slightly ajar and cook for 2 ½ hours.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Remove ham from pot and let stand until cool enough to handle.   Place in a roasting pan.  Remove the skin and score the fat into diamond shapes, then stud each diamond shape with a clove.  Drizzle the molasses over the entire ham.  Combine the brown sugar and dry mustard and gently pat the mixture onto the ham. 

Bake for approximately 10 minutes until the glaze is burnished and bubbly.  Serves many and leftovers are few, if any.

Note: a bone-in ham works best for this recipe, but work with what you have available.


-G