Christmas ham is one of those old school Christmas traditions that has stayed around for a reason – It is yummy! It is super easy to make and seriously delicious. The best part is, they will look beautiful in the center of the Christmas table.
Ingredients:
- 7-8 lbs fully cooked, bone-in ham
- 6 cups pineapple juice
- 3 cups Sprite or 7-up
- 2 cups dark beer
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 20 to 30 whole cloves
Christmas Glaze:
- 2 cups poaching liquid (from boiling the ham)
- 1 cup crushed pineapples
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup yellow mustard
Procedure:
- In a deep pot, combine pineapple juice, beer, Sprite, sugar, and salt. Stir until dissolved.
- Add ham and about 6 to 8 pieces of the cloves, Make sure ham is fully submerged in the liquid. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat and continue to cook for about 1 hour.
- Drain ham, reserving about 2 cups of the poaching liquid to make the pineapple glaze.
- With a knife, score the surface fat off the ham in a diamond pattern at about ¼-inch deep and 1-inch apart.
- Prepare the pineapple glaze. Simmer 2 cups of poaching liquid and add the other ingredients. Mix until the liquid resembles a glaze.
- Liberally brush ham with ¾ of the pineapple glaze. Arrange ham in a roasting rack and bake in a 350 F oven for about 1 to 1 ½ hours or until internal temperature reaches 140 F, basting every 15 – 20 minutes with the remaining glaze.
- For the last 5 minutes of cooking, increase the temperature to 400 F and bake until nicely browned.
- Remove from the oven and brush liberally with the pan juices. Cover with foil and let rest for about 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
Ho – ho ho! What are you waiting for? Try it and check out the trending Avacraft cookware!