Baked Country Ham
Submitted by kbiern
Slow-baked country ham with a brown sugar, honey, dry sherry, and Dijon mustard glaze applied three times for a sticky, caramelized crust. The centerpiece for any holiday feast.
YIELD
200 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
4 hrsREADY
4 hrsBaked Country Ham
Now this right here is a showstopper.
A whole country ham gets baked low and slow until fork-tender, then scored in a classic diamond pattern and glazed not once, not twice, but three times with a sticky mixture of brown sugar, honey, dry sherry, and Dijon mustard.
Each round of glazing builds another layer of sweet, tangy, caramelized goodness that turns the outside into something close to candy.
Sliced thin and served at room temperature, this feeds a crowd and then some.
Pro Tips
- Score deep enough: Those diamond cuts need to be about ⅛ inch deep so the glaze can seep into the meat, not just sit on the surface.
- Trim the fat first: Leave just a thin layer for flavor and moisture, but don’t skip trimming or the glaze won’t stick.
- Cool before carving: Country ham is best sliced paper-thin. Let it rest and firm up so you can get those elegant slivers.
- Save the bone: That ham bone makes the best split pea soup or pot of beans you’ll ever taste.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put ham, fatty-side up, in a foil-lined metal baking pan. Cover with foil and bake for 3 hours. Combine remaining ingredients. Remove ham from oven. Carefully trim away all but ⅛ inch of fat. Score with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern, making cuts ⅛ inch deep and one inch apart. Pour excess fat from pan. Line pan with new foil, and put ham in pan.
Spoon glaze over ham and bake for 20 minutes. Raise oven temperature to 325 degrees, and glaze again. Bake an additional 20 minutes. Glaze once more and bake 15 minutes. Cool before carving into thin slivers.
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