Honey Baked Ham
This is an innovative way to take that ridiculously salty taste out of your smoked and ready-to-eat ham and replace it with some delicious flavors instead.
Ingredients
1 smoked ready-to-eat ham, 13 to 15 lbs
2 - 3 bottles ginger ale (try to use a good quality one that actually has ginger in it)
3 cups dry white wine
Glaze:
5 tbsp dijon mustard
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup real maple syrup
Sauce:
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp real maple syrup
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp corn starch
Directions
1. Remove the rind and score with diagonal crosscuts. Put ham in a close fitting kettle and cover with ginger ale. Bring to boil, then simmer for 20 to 30 min. This step removes the too-salty taste and adds a delicate flavor.
2. Drain the ginger ale, add ham to a roasting pan and pour the wine over it. Cover with foil and bake at 350 F for 1 hour.
3. Combine the glaze ingredients. After the ham has baked 1 hour, brush the ham with the glaze, using all of the mixture. Return ham to oven (uncovered) and bake an additional 1 1/2 hours, or until internal temp reaches 140 F. Baste occasionally after the glaze has "set", about 45 min. If the glaze gets too dark before the temp gets to 140 degrees tent the ham with foil. When ham is done, transfer it to a serving plate and loosely cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Skim the fat from the juices, reserving all the juice and caramelized bits from the glaze. Heat this to a boil along with 1 cup of the chicken stock (reserving ¼ cup), syrup and mustard. Dissolve the corn starch in 1/4 cup of reserved chicken stock and whisk it into the sauce to thicken. The sauce should be a rich dark color. Strain and pour into a gravy boat. Serve the sauce over the ham.
